Category: NBA

The Knicks mounted a second-half comeback in front of a frenzied Madison Square Garden crowd, securing a Game 4 win over the Celtics and a 3-1 series lead in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Here's how the NYC back pages reacted...

Here's our @nydnsports back page. @nyknicks#knicks@nba@APSE_sportmediahttps://t.co/bYtvRCKUiUpic.twitter.com/lAvzSNu5EW

— Back Page Guy NYDN (@BackPageGuyNYDN) May 13, 2025

The back page: SHOCK & ROLL!

Knicks a win from ousting champs
Celts star Tatum seriously Injured

Read more: https://t.co/guYIFL958epic.twitter.com/0UHWkKJTTa

— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) May 13, 2025

I’m gonna go get the papers, get the papers: back page edition. pic.twitter.com/NuXFmO3fPf

— Robert Shields (@rshields37) May 13, 2025

The ‘gut punch' of Steph's injury with Warriors' season on the brink originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Not much longer after Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum let his emotions out on the Madison Square Garden floor, grabbing at his right leg and needing a wheelchair to exit the arena, Steph Curry sat on the sidelines Monday night and watched his Warriors lose a third straight game without him against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference semifinals.

Damian Lillard tore his left Achilles in the first round. The top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers have seen their best players deal with multiple injuries in the second round and are one loss away from their season ending early. Injuries aren’t why the Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Timberwolves in the first round, but it was revealed after that LeBron James sustained a Grade 2 MCL sprain in his left knee in the last game. 

They’re inevitable, and they’ve taken down other players in these playoffs. Injuries are a cruel part of the game, no matter a player’s age. Tatum is in his prime at 27 years old, but will likely miss all of next season and there’s no telling what a serious injury will do to someone’s career long term.

Listening back to the end of Curry’s first comments after his Grade 1 left hamstring strain, the sting cuts a little deeper. 

It starts with admitting that this injury is “more frustrating” than when he had to miss playoff games in the past.

“Every opportunity I have now, you don’t want it to be wasted on an injury,” Curry said.

He recognized that other players have dealt with worse injuries than him. That he’s lucky and thankful to even have an opportunity to return. Positivity has to be the main focus of long and lonely rehab days. Reality also can’t be completely ignored. 

“Injuries are always hard emotionally, just because you know none of this is guaranteed to be back in this environment or in the playoff experience,” Curry continued. 

It was how he answered a follow-up question to that answer in closing his availability that has to make watching the last three games so infuriating for him. Curry knew. 

He knew that he was feeling himself in Game 1, bouncing around Minnesota’s home court at the Target Center. He knew that the Warriors could beat the Timberwolves, and once the Warriors make it that far, he likes his chances. Curry had just rattled off 14 points in the fourth quarter 48 hours prior in Houston to again crush the Rockets’ fan base in Game 7, and he was then up to 13 points in 13 minutes against the Timberwolves. 

Steph was rhythm and flow, tapping into his powers before the pain he felt in the back of his left leg might as well have been stabbing at his heart. 

“You fight through the last two months of the season, a hard first round, you get to a Game 7 – the way that we were playing and the way that I was playing individually that first half, I was starting to feel really, really good about where we were at,” Curry said. “And then you kind of get a gut punch like that.” 

Steve Kerr said Curry was “crushed” when he saw him at halftime of Game 1. Reports have tears trickling down his face. Steph knows. 

That he’s 37 years old and greatness always has an expiration date, even as he keeps pushing back the goal posts. Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy went all-in at the NBA trade deadline, acquiring Jimmy Butler from the Miami Heat. Butler is 35, as is Draymond Green. 

This is it. Curry, Butler and Green’s contracts are all lined up through the 2026-27 season for one last run. Each year, the mountain becomes steeper to climb, and an injury is only another hurdle in the obstacle course they’re navigating at this point of their careers. 

Curry will be re-evaluated Wednesday, the same day of Game 5 with the Warriors’ backs against the wall and one loss away from the door being shut on their season. Curry never expected to play Game 5, and nobody within the Warriors is going to ask him to rush an injury as a savior. 

“We’re not going to Superman this thing,” Draymond Green said. “If he’s in a place where he can play, I’m sure he will. Him and Rick [Celebrini] and everybody will figure that out. But we don’t need Superman.

“Gotta play the long game. If he can, we know he will. But there’s no pressure. We’ve got to figure out how to win whether he plays or not.” 

Steph has worn the colors of Superman under his Warriors threads and tied an invisible cape countless times. He has his Robin now, but everybody knows who Batman is. Butler was brilliant in a five-point Game 3 loss that was the Warriors’ chance to steal a game and extend the series, furthering the probability Curry comes back, and wasn’t the same Monday night in their Game 4 loss. 

For as great as it is to see Jonathan Kuminga regain his strength in Curry’s absence, he isn’t going to carry the Warriors past the Timberwolves. Brandin Podziemski is shooting historically bad this series, Buddy Hield’s scoring has amounted to empty points and Moses Moody has a total of six points and one made shot in the last five games. 

There’s always the possibility the Warriors defy the odds. Nothing is definitive with Curry’s injury or what will happen the rest of the series, starting Wednesday night in Minnesota. The three-day break the Warriors get between Game 5 and Game 6 could be found money for Curry’s recovery. 

Yet nothing changes the gut punch Curry, the Warriors and the rest of the basketball world is feeling right now. 

The album isn’t the same as it once was. A Steph Show, though, is still second to none.

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NBC Sports adds Vince Carter to NBA broadcast team as a studio analyst originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Another Basketball Hall of Famer is joining NBC.

One day after announcing Michael Jordan would be a special contributor, NBC Sports revealed Tuesday that Vince Carter will be a studio analyst next season.

“I could not be more excited and appreciative to have the opportunity to be a part of the historic return of the NBA to NBC and now Peacock,” Carter said. “I am truly looking forward to joining Melo in the studio and the rest of the broadcast team overall, as we embark on bringing NBA fans best-in-class coverage of the league they love.”

Carter will be in the studio one or more nights per week alongside Carmelo Anthony, who will be enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame this year. Carter was inducted last year with the class of 2024.

Aside from Carter, Anthony and Jordan, NBC has made several other hires with the NBA returning to the network for the first time since 2002. Reggie Miller and Jamal Crawford will be lead game analysts, while Mike Tirico and Noah Eagle will be play-by-play announcers.

Throughout his 22-year career, Carter was an eight-time All-Star who was known for his emphatic dunks. His iconic moments include winning the 2000 Slam Dunk Contest and jumping over 7-foot-2 France center Frédéric Weis in a dunk at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Carter played for eight teams: the Toronto Raptors, New Jersey Nets, Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies, Sacramento Kings and Atlanta Hawks.

More hires for the NBA on NBC team are expected to be announced in the coming days and months ahead of the 2025-26 season.

Championship to uncertainty: Tatum injury changes everything for Celtics originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

No matter how long you’re around this game, it’s still absolutely jarring just how quickly things can change in the NBA.

One moment it feels like everything is lining up for the Boston Celtics to fight their way back to the championship stage. An instant later, the team is on the brink of elimination and starting at an impossibly murky future.

Everything got flipped upside down for the Boston Celtics with 2:58 remaining in Monday’s Game 4 loss to the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Jayson Tatum crumpled to the floor clutching his right ankle as Boston fumbled away another double-digit, second-half lead.

The visuals seem to suggest everyone’s worse fear: a potential ruptured Achilles and the possibility that Tatum could be sidelined until the 2026-27 season.

Boston’s title hopes were already slipping away in the fourth quarter before Tatum’s injury. The Celtics were scrambling to avoid a 3-1 hole, and yet things went from bad to so much worse.

Before we get too deep in the future weeds, let’s state the obvious: The Celtics have to somehow dust themselves off and put their entire focus on keeping their 2024-25 season alive with Wednesday’s Game 5 at TD Garden. You can’t win three games on Wednesday, but you can win one.

The Celtics are 16-3 without Tatum since the start of last season, including a gritty Game 2 win over the Magic in the opening round of these 2025 playoffs. There is more than enough talent to remain competitive, though it’s understandable if players’ heads are spinning after watching Tatum get helped off the floor. It doesn’t help that Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, and Sam Hauser have all battled their own ailments this postseason.

Even before the Tatum injury, there were already questions about the future of this core with Boston having a prohibitively expensive roster. Now, if Tatum spends all of next season rehabbing, there could be even more motivation to trim costs with hopes of eliminating some of the second-apron restrictions that were set to hinder Boston’s quest for long-term title contention.

You could sense the reality sinking in for the Celtics as players spoke in Boston’s hushed locker room after the game. Forget the daunting task in front of them in trying to rally out of a 3-1 hole; the team must decide the most prudent path forward this summer. Changes were already coming, and now they feel particularly inevitable.

🔊 Celtics Talk POSTGAME POD: C’s season pushed to the BRINK after losing Game 4, Jayson Tatum to injury | Listen & Subscribe | Watch on YouTube

The Celtics are already committed to $228 million in contracts next season. They are nearly $20 million over the second apron, and that’s before addressing a pair of free-agents-to-be in Al Horford and Luke Kornet. The team is currently projected to have a $238 million luxury tax bill, which would push the team closer to a half billion total spend if the roster was maintained.

The big question now isn’t how Boston keeps as much of its title core as possible, but instead, how does the team shed the necessary salary that will allow it to best compete when Tatum is healthy again? Would the team embrace a potentially bumpy 2025-26 with hopes of both stabilizing costs and adding young talent? (Think what the Spurs did in 1996-97 when David Robinson’s injuries begat Tim Duncan.)

The core of this team is wildly expensive. Tatum’s maximum-salary extension kicks in next season, and he’ll earn $54.1 million even if he doesn’t touch the floor. Brown will make $53.1 million in the second year of his max contract. Holiday is slated to earn $32.4 million, while Porzingis is at $30.7 million. Derrick White’s salary spikes to $28.1 million. That’s nearly $200 million on your starters.

Does 39-year-old Al Horford want to come back to a team in transition? Can the Celtics afford to keep Sam Hauser in the first year of his four-year, $45 million extension?

The Celtics must ponder every avenue forward. Do you toss the keys to Jaylen Brown and hope he can keep you competitive without Tatum? Or do you ponder a more jarring roster teardown and the possibility of moving Brown’s bulky salary to best reshape this core?

Chasing titles is a lot more fun than figuring out how it might look the next time the Celtics are in position to do so. We all knew this core had a short window when Brad Stevens made the big-swing moves to add Porzingis and Holiday in the 2023 offseason. We all tried to focus on the current quest to repeat and said we’d worry about those tougher decisions down the road.

The Tatum injury is accelerating those questions.

If the Celtics aren’t able to rally out of a 3-1 deficit — a spot they probably shouldn’t be in, regardless of injury, after fumbling away three double-digit, second-half leads to the Knicks — there will always be a bit of “What if?” with this team. This is a championship squad that won in its first season together but could never quite bottle up that magic again.

It feels a lot like the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons. Kevin Garnett’s knee injury in 2009 derailed a team that seemed like it might be even better than the title squad from a season prior. Even if the 2024-25 squad never quite popped to the level of last year’s title team, it felt like the path back to the Finals might be opening, particularly with top-seeded Cleveland on the ropes in its semifinal series against the Pacers.

And yet the Celtics couldn’t get out of their own way even before Tatum got hurt.

All eyes now turn to Stevens, the architect behind this title roster. Stevens made bold decisions to acquire Porzingis and Holiday, shipping out core members in Marcus Smart and Robert Williams III. Even of the heels of a disappointing exit in the 2023 East Finals, those moves hit like gut punches that offseason.

The moves this summer could feel the same. We feel for new owner Bill Chisholm, who soon will finalize a $6.1 billion splurge to purchase the team but potentially will have to navigate Year 1 without the face of his franchise.

This would all be even more difficult if Boston hadn’t raised a banner last year. This core still carved out its own slice of Celtics history by obtaining Banner 18. But it’s also another harsh reminder of just how fast things flip in the NBA, and that nothing is ever promised in a league where things change in a blink of an eye.

Losing a season of Tatum’s prime is particularly infuriating. That it could force the Celtics to further overhaul their roster and take a step back is even more infuriating. You’re left hoping that Tatum comes back even more motivated after the recovery in front of him.

There is still more basketball to be played. The Celtics seem to produce some of their best ball whenever a key member of their core is missing. The task in front of them is daunting.

But maybe not as ominous as what comes next whenever this 2024-25 ride ends.

ESPN analyst blasts Butler for underwhelming Game 4 vs. T-wolves originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Jay Williams did not hold back his criticism of Jimmy Butler’s performance in the Warriors’ 117-110 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals.

The ESPN analyst expressed his dismay that Butler was a non-factor offensively for most of the game.

“I don’t even know what to say about this one,” Williams said Tuesday on ESPN’s “First Take.” “This is crazy. I mean, this is why Jimmy Butler was brought to Golden State, for moments like this.

“And what did we see [in Game 3]? We saw Jimmy Butler, the pace was incredible. My man took 23 shots. He was hunting his shots. There was nothing that was calculated about the way he was playing. He had to let loose, he had to be aggressive. Because that gave his team the best opportunity to win. Nine shots in 34 minutes [in Game 4] to me feels like you aren’t the aggressive Jimmy Butler. It feels like you’re not even really on the court.”

"Where are you? What is happening in this game where I need you to be HIM?"

—@RealJayWilliams on Jimmy Butler having nine shots in the Warriors' Game 4 loss 😳 pic.twitter.com/4l3XEfEdhO

— First Take (@FirstTake) May 13, 2025

Butler’s ineffectiveness doomed the Warriors to another crushing loss. The team was unable to respond to Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle’s scoring barrage, particularly during a backbreaking third quarter that saw Minnesota outscore Golden State by 22 points.

The Warriors have looked frazzled on offense since Steph Curry left Game 1 with a Grade 1 hamstring strain. For Williams, this was the time for Butler to step up and become the hero of Game 4, even if he was feeling the cumulative fatigue of the NBA playoffs.

“Now I know what people can say, ‘we might be tired,’ I don’t need to hear any of that,” Williams said. “This is a game that is molded perfectly for Jimmy Butler to show up. And for nine shots, that’s not a sign of someone showing up when a team needs him to be aggressive offensively.”

Now the Warriors are facing a 3-1 deficit in the series, and they likely will be without Curry for Game 5. Unless Butler can figure out how to be the dominant player on the court, Golden State is headed for an early postseason exit at the hands of the Timberwolves.

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How does one city get so lucky in hoops?

The Dallas Wings won the WNBA Draft lottery last November and drafted Connecticut star Paige Bueckers last month. Then on Monday, the Dallas Mavericks won the NBA Draft Lottery.

The basketball gods have nodded in Dallas’ favor not once, but twice in a matter of months.

That’s two basketball teams in the same city now united by the hope that comes with the No. 1 pick after trying seasons. It’s the second time one city has held the top pick in the NBA and WNBA drafts in the same year. It happened in Cleveland in 2003, when the Cavaliers drafted LeBron James and the now-defunct Rockers drafted LaToya Thomas.

After the 2024 WNBA season and the 2024-25 NBA season, Dallas was a city looking for reasons to feel good about basketball. The Wings needed a fresh start on the court and in the front office. The Mavericks need something to ease the anger of fans stung by the shocking trade of superstar Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers in February that made general manager Nico Harrison as popular as someone wearing a Jalen Hurts jersey at AT&T Stadium.

Good fortune from the lottery balls isn’t going to make basketball the biggest draw in Dallas. Win or lose, that title belongs to the Dallas Cowboys. The lotteries, however, did provide renewed optimism, and it’s not crazy to look at Dallas as a basketball city. Nothing engages a fan base quite like hope, and both basketball teams can sell that thanks to their luck in the lottery.

The Dallas area has produced NBA lottery picks such as Larry Johnson (No. 1 pick, 1991), LaMarcus Aldridge (No. 2, 2006), Deron Williams (No. 3, 2005) and Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Chris Bosh (No. 4, 2003), in addition to active players like Cade Cunningham (No. 1, 2021), Julius Randle (No. 7, 2014) and Myles Turner (No. 11, 2015). The list of WNBA lottery picks consists of Odyssey Sims (No. 2 pick, 2014), Moriah Jefferson (No. 2, 2016), Lauren Cox (No. 3, 2020) and Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Tamika Catchings (No. 3, 2001).

Dallas may not have the hoops legacy of New York, but the area has had good basketball for a long time. Fans care. They cared about Dončić. They care about Dončić, even as a Laker. They care about Bueckers as the WNBA regular season tips off Friday for the Wings. And they will care about Flagg if the Mavericks draft him.

Lottery luck was the result of a variety of actions. The Wings finished 9-31 in 2024, the second-worst record in the WNBA, and fired coach Latricia Trammell. The Wings hired a new general manager, Curt Miller, in November, then hired a new coach, Chris Koclanes, the following month to revamp the roster.

The Mavericks had a season marred by injuries and executed a trade that not only shocked the NBA but also enraged fans. The Dončić trade sent the team’s generational talent — and most popular player — to the Lakers. Anthony Davis, the marquee player acquired in the Dončić trade, was injured when the trade was finalized and was hurt again in his first game with the Mavericks. He played only nine games for Dallas in the regular season.

And then Kyrie Irving, the team’s other remaining star, tore his ACL on March 3. Additionally, there were injuries to players like Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II.

The Mavericks, a team that made the NBA Finals last year, finished 10th in the Western Conference and eventually lost to the Memphis Grizzlies in a Play-In Tournament game, missing out on the playoffs. The Mavericks had a 1.8 percent chance of winning Monday’s lottery. If they draft Duke’s Cooper Flagg as most expect next month, it will add to what Bueckers gave the city last month: another opportunity for a rebrand and boost in basketball.

Flagg and Bueckers have similar characteristics that should resonate with the Dallas fan base. Both players earn the respect of basketball die-hards. Neither player will arrive in Dallas unfamiliar with what it takes to please the hardcore fans. And based on where they played in college and the attention they received, even the casual fans will know about these two.

Bueckers won a national championship with UConn last month. She is the sixth UConn player selected as the No. 1 pick in a draft, most in WNBA history, joining Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Tina Charles, Maya Moore and Breanna Stewart. As for Flagg, Duke is one of the most successful-yet-polarizing brands in college basketball. The program is loved by many, but plenty of fans also love to watch them lose.

Both players have also been in the public spotlight for several years. Bueckers is the last of the famed top five of the 2020 recruiting class to make it to the WNBA. The other four stars of that class: Caitlin Clark, Cameron Brink, Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese. Flagg has been the projected top pick in 2025 since he was in high school. When he announced his commitment to Duke in October 2023, it was presumed he was following the footsteps of Irving and Zion Williamson, who both played for the Blue Devils for a season before becoming the top pick.

In discussing Flagg and Bueckers, their level of popularity is high, and their potential alone is enough for fans to pay attention when they are on the court. They can give Dallas a reason to look forward to basketball in the future.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

Dallas Mavericks, Duke Blue Devils, Dallas Wings, Connecticut Huskies, NBA, WNBA, Sports Business, Culture, NBA draft, NBA Draft Lottery

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Kerr confident Butler will be ‘ready to roll' in Game 5 vs. Wolves originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Two nights removed from attempting 26 shots in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals, Jimmy Butler went just 5 of 9 in the Warriors’ Game 4 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night at Chase Center.

Butler finished with 14 points, six rebounds, three assists and one block, and was a game-low minus-30 in plus/minus rating in 34 minutes as Golden State fell 3-1 in the best-of-seven playoff series.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr anticipates a more aggressive Butler Wednesday night in Minnesota, as the Warriors face elimination in a do-or-die Game 5.

“I don’t have to say a whole lot to Jimmy,” Kerr told reporters Monday night. “We collaborate all the time and we talk about ideas. I always feel like he has a great sense for the game. And he does whatever’s necessary to win. He’s proven that. Not only here since we traded for him, but over the years.

“He knows what’s needed. I’m confident that Game 5 — he’s the ultimate competitor, he’ll be ready to roll.”

The Warriors’ offense took a major hit ever since losing superstar point guard Steph Curry, who sustained a Grade 1 left hamstring strain in Game 1 against the Timberwolves.

Since Curry’s been sidelined, Butler was supposed to be the guy to step up in his absence. He did so in Game 3 alongside Jonathan Kuminga, as the two combined for 63 points in a late loss.

But nine shot attempts just won’t cut it.

Kerr knows it, and he’ll work to make the necessary adjustments for Game 5.

“Well, he wasn’t as aggressive tonight, but I didn’t see a lot of openings either,” Kerr said. “Ideally, we could put more shooting around him to open up the floor a little bit. But with Steph out, we’re not going to be able to do as much of that.

“With that said, we’ll look at the tape and see where we can find some openings for him and I know he’ll be aggressive for Game 5.”

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Jalen Brunson scored 39 points as the New York Knicks beat the Boston Celtics 121-113 to leave the reigning NBA champions on the brink of elimination from the play-offs.

The Knicks stormed back from 14 points down in the third quarter to go 3-1 up in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semi-final and are in sight of the finals for the first time since 2000.

The Celtics also lost forward Jayson Tatum, who scored 42 points before being carried off in the fourth quarter with what coach Joe Mazzulla described as a "lower body injury".

The six-time All Star, who was later seen being taken to the Madison Square Garden locker room in a wheelchair, will have a scan on Tuesday to assess the damage.

"He'll get the MRI and we'll see what it is," said Mazzulla.

"Obviously you're always concerned about someone's health. It's two-fold, we're concerned about his health and where's he's at. And then we're concerned what we've got to do better in game five."

The Knicks can clinch the series with a win in Boston on Thursday (00:00 BST).

Boston, who won game three on Saturday, started strongly with Tatum and Payton Pritchard leading the charge.

A Derrick White three-pointer gave the Celtics their biggest lead of the night early in the third quarter (72-58) but from then on the Knicks took over, taking an 88-85 lead into the final quarter.

Brunson controlled matters and when OG Anunoby grabbed a steal off Tatum in the incident that left the Celtics star writhing in pain before making a dunk, the Knicks were 118-106 ahead.

"I was just in a flow and doing whatever. I wasn't really trying to take over. It was just 'whatever we've gotta do'," Brunson said.

"We didn't quit, kept fighting. And that's what's most important. Whenever you get in a hole you can't quit."

Timberwolves edge closer to Western Conference final

The Minnesota Timberwolves went 3-1 up in their Western Conference semi-final series against Golden State Warriors thanks to a 117-110 win on the road.

Anthony Edwards finished with a 30-point tally in the win over the Warriors, who are missing injured star player Stephen Curry.

The Timberwolves hit 17 unanswered points in the the third quarter which helped them build an 85-68 advantage which they never looked like losing.

A win on their home court in game five on Thursday (02:30 BST) will see them advance to the finals.

Edwards revealed a half-time dressing down by Minnesota coach Chris Finch had sparked the second-half revival.

"We came out like we had won the series already, and when we went in at half-time coach said we were playing like losers," he said.

"He told me I wasn't defending at a high level, and needed to do better offensively, so in the second half I tried to do that."

Six months ago, Josh Hart was sitting at his locker after a brutal loss to the Celtics, pushing back against criticism of his friend Mikal Bridges. 

“We don’t care about all that background noise about Mikal, his shot, all that other — we don’t care about it. He puts the work in every day. He’s going to be good. The talk around it is stupid,” Hart said then. 

So what Bridges did on Monday -- scoring 23 points in the Knicks’ Game 4 win over Boston -- meant something to Hart. 

“I’m so proud of him as a teammate, as a friend, going through all the adversity that he’s gone through this season,” Hart said late Monday night. “He’s never complained. He always comes to work happy, smiling. He deserves his credit and his flowers.”

After an uneven regular season, Bridges has come up big night after night in the playoffs for the Knicks. Monday night was just the latest example; Bridges had 10 key points in the fourth quarter to help New York build and maintain a lead against Boston. 

He also had three steals, seven rebounds and three assists in the game while defending Boston’s tough wings/perimeter players. He started the game slowly (5-for-14) but hit seven of his final 10 shots, including five in a row at the beginning of the fourth. 

“That's what I love about him,” Tom Thibodeau said afterward. “He played hard the whole game. I thought he had some good looks that didn't go in, but that didn't sway him at all.”

Bridges wasn’t the only offseason acquisition to deliver on Monday. OG Anunoby defended well for much of the night and hit several big shots on the way to 20 points on 8-for-14 shooting. 

Mitchell Robinson -- whom the Knicks elected not to trade at the deadline -- had five offensive rebounds (eight overall) in 25 minutes. 

Of course, there’s Jalen Brunson -- the most important acquisition of the Leon Rose era. 

Brunson had another masterclass (39 points, 12 assists, 5 rebounds). His 18-point third quarter turned the game. 

Add it all up and the Knicks are one win away from their first Eastern Conference Finals appearance in 25 years -- they got here with a Game 4 win on the night of the NBA Lottery. 

For a long time, the lottery was the most exciting night of the season for Knicks fans. That still holds true today, but for a much different reason.  

New York took a commanding 3-1 lead against a Celtics team that dominated them in the regular season. 

How is that possible?

“I think just getting better throughout the year…Just takes some time,” Bridges said. “I know everybody wants success early on. But just kept getting better (all season), all of us.”
No one epitomizes that more than Bridges himself. All anyone wanted to talk about this year was the five first-round picks New York used to acquire him.

Now, thanks to Bridges, the Knicks are five wins away from the NBA Finals. 

PRAYERS FOR TATUM

Jayson Tatum was in severe pain on the court late in the fourth quarter with what looked like a lower leg injury. The ESPN telecast showed Tatum in the back of the arena on a wheelchair. 

Obviously, the Celtics are a much different team without Tatum. But no one wanted to talk about that in the immediate aftermath of the injury. The players’ focus was on Tatum’s health and well-being. 

“I just wanted to send prayers out to JT man. First and foremost,” Brunson said at the beginning of his post-game press conference. “Praying for the best.”

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