When you come at the kings, you best not miss. (Thanks, Omar Little).

Even without injured All-Star Jayson Tatum, the defending NBA champion Celtics avoided elimination with a dominant second half for a 127-102 Game 5 victory Wednesday over the Knicks at TD Garden.

Derrick White scored 34 points with seven made 3-pointers, Jaylen Brown netted 26 with 12 assists and reserve big man Luke Kornet contributed had 10 points, nine rebounds and seven blocked shots -- with Kristaps Porzingis sitting out the entire second half -- to send the Knicks to their first road loss of these playoffs after five straight victories in Detroit and Boston.

Jalen Brunson scored 22 points before fouling out with about seven minutes remaining to ensure there would not be a fourth double-digit comeback victory for the Knicks, who will have another chance to close out the series Friday night in Game 6 in New York.

Josh Hart had 24 points to lead the Knicks, but OG Anunoby finished with just six and missed 11 of his 12 field-goal attempts.

Brunson just fouled out with 7:19 remaining, finishing with 22 points (7-for-17) in 33 minutes. His night is over, and so, too, is the Knicks' night. They are down by 25.

Never say never with these Knicks, but it's not looking promising for another big comeback victory as a Pritchard 3 and Holiday's layup from Brown push the deficit to a game-high 23 with 7:32 to go.

With 3s by vets Horford and Holiday, Boston netted eight of the first nine points in the fourth for a 22-point advantage with 9:42 left.

The Celtics will need to close out a double-digit lead to stave off elimination.

White (32 points) and Brown (22) have carried the scoring load without Jayson Tatum, and Luke Kornet has eight points, eight boards and six blocked shots (plus-18) off the bench with Kristaps Porzingis logging only 12 minutes so far.

OG Anunoby is 1-for-11 and Brunson is 7-for-17 with five fouls, but can the Knicks storm back one more time?

Kornet, a former Knicks reserve, has been all over the place, with six blocked shots and now a pick-and-roll dunk for a 91-76 lead.

Brunson just picked up his fifth foul, all in this quarter, and he and Towns are replaced by McBride and Robinson. Mitch is fouled right away by Hauser, and he sinks two more for an amazing 6-for-6 from the stripe.

Kornet rejected Towns, and Pritchard rattles in another 3-pointer for 11 straight by the Celtics to stretch the cushion to 13. Hauser also just nailed a long-range bucket for an 84-70 game. Kornet now has five blocks.

Does that set up another double-digit comeback for the Knicks, or not this time?

A Celtics fan showed no mercy after Knicks shooting guard Josh Hart was wacked in the face and started bleeding down the bridge of his nose during the first half of the Game 5 matchup.

“I don’t give a rat's ass about Hart’s boo-boo,” said 31-year-old Jordan Long, who plans on framing a photo of the banged-up Knicks player.

“He hit him with his armpit. The man is bleeding from the armpit,” the high school special education teacher continued to rant to The Post inside a bar near Boston's TD Garden.

“An armpit did that to him. We are dealing with real injuries. That guy can suck it up.”

She then sent a larger message for all Knicks fans.

“When you go back to New York, you tell all these people we are not scared,” Long said. “We are not worried. We are going to win in seven. We will be just fine. We always beat New York. So you remember the regular season?”

Derrick White's seventh trey in 11 tries gives him a game-high 27 points and extends the Celtics' cushion to 75-68.

A blocking foul on Towns against Brown is his fourth pesonal barely three minutes into the third. He stays in for now.

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla was hot after White was whistled for an offensive foul for elbowing Brunson's chin on a drive. Upon review, the call was overturned to a shooting foul on Brunson.