The never-say-die Knicks did it once more.
Down by 14 factors within the third quarter of Recreation 4, the Knicks got here roaring again for one more unbelievable, instant-classic victory over the defending champion Boston Celtics.
Jalen Brunson fueled the 121-113 win at Madison Sq. Backyard on Monday night time with 39 factors and 12 assists, main the Knicks to a 3-1 lead within the best-of-seven second-round playoff collection.
And now they’re one win away from their first journey to the Jap Convention Finals since 2000.
“It means a lot,” Brunson stated of the victory. “A good game for us. It’s the way we responded that I’m the most proud of.”
Brunson scored 26 factors within the second half, together with 18 within the third quarter. Mikal Bridges added 10 factors within the fourth to assist shut out the Celtics.
That was sufficient to beat a 42-point efficiency by Boston’s Jayson Tatum, whose big night time ended immediately when he went down with a non-contact harm to his proper leg.
Tatum, who is ready to bear an MRI on Tuesday, was helped off of the court docket with 2:58 left in regulation and was later seen within the Backyard tunnel in a wheelchair.
“Prayers out to JT, man, first and foremost,” Brunson stated. “Praying for the best.”
The Knicks fell behind 72-58 after Tatum and Derrick White drilled back-to-back 3-pointers with 9:06 left within the third quarter. However that proved to be no downside for a Knicks crew that erased 20-point second-half deficits to win Video games 1 and a pair of in Boston.
Popping out of a timeout, Brunson scored seven consecutive factors to kick off a 32-13 Knicks run. Brunson shot 7-of-11 from the sphere within the third and assisted on the OG Anunoby 3-pointer that put the Knicks up 86-85 with 32 seconds left within the quarter.
All 5 Knicks starters performed the total third quarter.
Bridges, in the meantime, made jumpers on the Knicks’ first two possessions of the fourth, extending the result in 92-87.
However the Celtics had one other punch in them. Tatum scored 11 factors within the first six minutes of the fourth, together with a three-point play that tied the sport 102-102.
Anunoby made a 3-pointer on the following possession, placing the Knicks up 105-102 with 5:52 to go, and so they by no means trailed once more.
Brunson scored eight factors within the recreation’s remaining 5:04, together with a 3-pointer with 2:25 remaining that gave the Knicks a 116-104 lead and served because the dagger.
Bridges shot 5-of-6 within the fourth quarter and completed with 23 factors.
“We’ve been down way worse before,” Bridges stated of the second-half run. “Just [wanted to] come out with an edge, and don’t let up and don’t let them get the lead even higher. Just stay the course, one possession at a time, and that’s what we did.”
In a scene harking back to their blown-lead losses in Video games 1 and a pair of — when Boston shot a mixed 4-of-26 on 3-pointers in these fourth quarters — the Celtics missed 16 of their remaining 19 makes an attempt from behind the arc on Monday.
“When you’re playing a 3-point-shooting team like that, there’s gonna be variances in the game,” Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau stated. “There’s runs, and you can’t go away. You gotta keep fighting. … We have to have the determination to come back and do it over and over again and stick together.”
Monday was a far cry from the Celtics’ 115-93 win in Recreation 3 on the Backyard, once they shot 20-of-40 on 3-pointers and by no means trailed.
After that Recreation 3 loss, Brunson, Josh Hart and Thibodeau all burdened the necessity for extra urgency in Recreation 4.
However Boston jumped out to a 39-28 lead by one quarter Monday, with White taking pictures 4-of-4 on 3-pointers and Tatum going 3-of-3.
The Celtics shot 9-of-14 on 3-point makes an attempt in that opening interval, which they ended on a 12-0 run with 4 threes of their remaining 4 possessions.
“Early on, [there was] miscommunication in transition,” Bridges stated. “Derrick White got a lot of looks. As the game came on, they made a lot of tough shots. We can live with that. But early, having early struggles offensively, we can’t let that happen on the other end.”
The Knicks out-rebounded the Celtics, 43-31, and turned 13 offensive rebounds into 15 second-chance factors. Karl-Anthony Cities scored 23 factors with 11 rebounds, whereas Mitchell Robinson gave the Knicks eight rebounds, together with 5 offensive boards, off the bench.
Anunoby — who stated he was OK after a short hamstring scare — added 20 factors.
It was the perfect efficiency of the collection by Brunson, who shot 38.1% within the first three video games however went 14-of-25 (56%) on Monday.
The Knicks, who’re 5-0 on the highway this postseason, will look to complete the collection in Recreation 5 in Boston on Wednesday night time.
“I don’t even think we’re playing our best basketball yet,” Brunson stated. “We have a team that’s fairly new this year, and we still have a long way to go to be the best we can be. There’s always time to learn for us, so we’ve got to make sure we’re never satisfied.”
Initially Printed: Could 12, 2025 at 10:29 PM EDT
