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WALTHAM, Mass. — Willis Reed is not going to limp onto the court. There will be no references to Bill Mazeroski or Mickey Lolich or Luis Gonzalez.
But tonight is a Game 7 for the Celtics at Madison Square Garden. Just like a Game 6 would be, just like Game 4 was.
Survive: being down 3-1, having barely averted a sweep, that is the only way the Celtics can think. They beat the J.R. Smith-less Knicks in Boston Sunday. Now it will be even harder. The Knicks will have Smith and the MSG crowd.
“We really don’t care how they’re going to be, it’s more about us and how we approach the game. So whoever’s in uniform, so be it. We’ve got to come out, again, Game 7, every possession,” said Jason Terry. “It’s every shot, it’s every defensive stop. It means that much. If you come in with that approach you’re going to put yourself in position to win.
“I’m just feeding off the fact I don’t want to go home right now.”
“It’s going to be very difficult with their fans behind them, but we can’t think about that too much,” Jeff Green said. “They don’t impact the game, we do.”
The Knicks are sort of thinking that way too. But again, the Celtics could care less what the Knicks think. They have one goal in mind, get to another game. And the only way to do that is win Game 7 in its Game 5 wrapping.
“It’s like I told them, ‘What’s the difference between being down 0-3 and being in a Game 7?’ ” Boston coach Doc Rivers said. “It’s no different. It’s an elimination game. The difference is your mindset. In a Game 7 you are thinking, ‘Let’s win it to win it.’ When you are down 0-3, you may have a couple of guys making vacation plans, not thinking you can do it.
“It’s all about the mindset and that will be the message. Each game you win, it is a Game 7, you do advance. You just advance to another game instead of the next round. That’s got to be our mindset.”
The Celtics blew a 20-point lead in Game 4 and survived in overtime. Boston has shown familiar failings in the series —at least one horrible quarter per game, lots of turnovers (16.8 to 12.8 for the Knicks), getting hammered in offensive rebounding (39 Knicks, 21 Celts), impatience on offense.
“Consistency is what we need more. We’ve shown we can handle their pressure. Patience would be a good word to use. Being more aggressive, being more consistent at being aggressive,” Kevin Garnett said. “It’s something I plan on being.
“We put ourselves in this position so we can’t bitch and moan about too much,” Garnett added.
“We’re just taking it one game at a time, trying to focus on some of the things that we did well in the game we won and go over some of the things that we didn’t do well and try to correct those,” Paul Pierce said.
The future for Garnett and Pierce is decidedly undecided. The game could signal their end as Celtics.
“I’m thinking about the game Wednesday and pretty much I haven’t thought about post, after,” Garnett said. “I’m focusing on what it’s going to take to get to the next game.”
The next Game 7.
fred.kerber@nypost.com