Pat Spencer can’t help but be amazed by Steph Curry’s astounding shooting and workout routines.
As one of the newest members of the Warriors squad, Spencer was asked what has impressed him the most about being teammates with Curry this season.
“I think you just become a little bit numb to the shooting,” Spencer said on “The Young Man and the Three” podcast. “I think you just expect the ball to go in, that’s the craziest part for me. Just watching him work out is the most eye-opening.
“Steph works out the way he plays. He’s the kind of guy who, how he’s shooting in games is how he’s shooting at practice. He’ll start on one side of the court, sprint to the other side and get one shot. I don’t know too many NBA guys who are doing full-court shooting drills on a daily basis.”
No shooter in NBA history has come close to Curry’s incredible shooting performances, and the rest of the league has tried to adjust. Now, teams play aggressive defense on the 37-year-old from the moment he gets the ball, trying to slow him down and prevent him from making long-range shots. Even when playing off the ball, Curry faces an onslaught of defenders trying all they can to stop him.
Spencer then was asked for his thoughts on Curry’s unreal physical conditioning, allowing him to sprint down the court and easily make wild shots.
“Just the ability to run nonstop and still be as precise as he is as a shooter,” Spencer said. “His endurance is off the hook. To be able to deal with all of that [aggressive defense] and still be a 44-percent shooter or whatever his numbers are is just absurd.”
Spencer and the rest of Golden State will need to figure out how to replace Curry’s production, as the latter is out with a hamstring strain for at least a week.
In what could be a tough matchup in the Western Conference semifinals against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Warriors will need Spencer and company to channel their inner Curry to win three more games and advance to the next round.
BOSTON - It was only fitting that it ended this way, with Mikal Bridges and OG Anunobysuffocating Jayson Tatum on the baseline Wednesday night.
"Great feeling," Bridges said late Wednesday.
He and Anunoby were the face of the Knicks’ struggles against the Celtics in the regular season. But in the final seconds of Game 2, Anunoby and Bridges forced Tatum into a turnover to seal another improbable win.
You’d think that that kind of moment would lead to wild celebrations in the Knicks locker room. They had come back from 20-point deficits in back-to-back road playoff games against the defending champs.
But there was no party in the visitor’s locker room at TD Garden on Wednesday.
Instead, the Knicks sounded like a team that knew it needed to play better to finish off the defending champs.
"We’ve got to watch the film, see where we can get better," Anunoby said. "…. I don’t think we’ve played as well as we can."
Josh Hart echoed those thoughts.
"We have to continue to build. We have to continue to put together a full game. I think that’s something that we haven’t done during the course of these playoffs," he said after scoring a game-high 23 points. "We get leads. We surrender leads. We come back from big leads. We’ve got to figure out (how to put together) a complete game."
The Knicks will have the chance to do that on Saturday at Madison Square Garden.
"I’m scared to see when we put it together on defense and let that push the offense and get dangerous," PJ Tucker said.
Even though they’re the lower seed, the odds are heavily in New York’s favor at this point. Ninety-three percent of the 463 teams who had 2-0 series leads in the NBA playoffs went on to win that series.
May 7, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; New York Knicks forward Mikal Bridges (25) defends against Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) in the last seconds of the fourth quarter during game two of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at TD Garden. / David Butler II-Imagn Images
They don’t get to this position without another remarkable performance from Bridges.
For the second straight game, he shook off poor shooting to play a significant role in the Knicks’ comeback.
Bridges missed his first eight shots in Game 2 but then hit six of 10 in the fourth quarter. His 14 points in the final frame helped spark New York’s comeback.
What kept Bridges locked in during the first three quarters?
"Just everything with my teammates, man… It’s really, truly been them just holding me together and keeping me mentally right and just telling me to keep going," said Bridges, who hit a huge three-pointer late in Game 1 after missing 10 of his first 12 shots."And I think coach also is just trusting me — coming out in the fourth, running a play for me, putting that confidence in me. But man, it’s really my teammates and my coaches, man. They really held me up."
Bridges and Anunoby forced Tatum into the game-sealing turnover on Wednesday. But the play doesn’t materialize without fantastic defense from Mitchell Robinson.
Robinson stayed in front of Tatum while guarding him one-on-one off of a switch. He forced Tatum to his right and Anunoby and Bridges took over.
Just like the Knicks wings, this was a fitting ending to a great night for Robinson. The team’s longest tenured player finished with eight rebounds and three steals in Game 2, wrecking the game again and again for the Celtics. Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla was intentionally fouling Robinson again to try to get him off the floor.
"That makes me feel like a threat," Robinson said afterward.
The Knicks could have traded for a veteran center at the 2024 deadline. Robinson was still rehabbing from offseason foot surgery at the time. But they chose to stick with Robinson, betting that the homegrown center could make it all the way back from his injury.
It was a risky bet, but it’s certainly paid off.
"Mitch was all over the floor," Tom Thibodeau said after the win. "Guarding, switching – just a great impact."
The Boston Celtics came into their Eastern Conference semifinals series versus the New York Knicks as heavy favorites. And it made sense — Boston is the defending champ and dominated the regular season series versus New York with a 4-0 record.
The Knicks struggled beating good teams all season and were just an OK road team.
But the Knicks shocked the basketball world this week by winning both of the first two games in Boston, including a 91-90 victory Wednesday night in Game 2. Now they have a chance to take a commanding 3-0 lead Saturday afternoon when the series shifts to Madison Square Garden.
How can the Celtics get back in the series after two crushing losses in which they blew leads of 20-plus points?
Here are four areas of emphasis:
Don’t worry about Mitchell Robinson
There are times when “Hack-a-Robinson” is a good strategy. Robinson is an atrocious free throw shooter. He’s 4-for-11 in the series and shooting 26.7 percent from the free throw line in the playoffs.
But it doesn’t make any sense to put your team on the verge of being in the penalty just to put him on the line or get him off the floor. That’s what the Celtics did late in the fourth quarter of Game 2. The C’s had two fouls to give with 2:41 left in the game and they committed two take fouls on Robinson. The second one was the Celtics’ fourth team foul, which meant the next foul would put the Knicks at the free throw line.
Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau was going to sub out Robinson after the first take foul, but kept him in to see if the C’s would foul him again, which they did. Then he took out Robinson.
Here is Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla’s explanation for fouling Robinson twice wth under three minutes to play:
"He was a +19, all their starters were in the negative"
Joe Mazzulla was asked about fouling Mitchell Robinson and getting him off the floor late in the game: pic.twitter.com/GYlsJ4mXbO
When Robinson exited, OG Anunoby came in. Anunoby is an elite defensive player and capable of hitting 3-pointers. The Celtics should want Robinson on the floor over Anunoby at all times.
Robinson is a very good defensive player. He’s a strong rebounder and the best shot blocker on the Knicks. He makes an impact, there’s no doubt about that. But he’s mostly a non-factor offensively, which allows the Celtics to double and put more pressure on other Knicks players on defense.
Robinson also is someone the Celtics can hunt on the perimeter by getting him matched up on Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown on pick-and-rolls. Tatum and Brown are both quicker than Robinson and can drive to the basket against him.
Hack-a-Robinson works in the right situations. But not late in the game when it puts you close to the penalty. The Celtics need to worry about their own offensive issues and less about whether Robinson is on the floor.
Switch OG Anunoby off of Jayson Tatum
Jayson Tatum played like a superstar in the first round against the Magic. He scored an average of 31.3 points with 11.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game. He’s played nowhere near that level in the second round.
Tatum is averaging 18 points on 12-for-42 shooting (5-for-20 on 3-pointers). In Game 2, Tatum scored just 13 points on 5-for-19 shooting.
After an awful 3-point shooting display in Game 1, Tatum attempted more of his shots from two-point range in Game 2. But even then, he settled for too many contested mid-range field goals (see shot chart below). He didn’t get to the basket enough, evidenced by his two free throw attempts.
One reason for Tatum’s lackluster scoring in this series is OG Anunoby. The Knicks forward held Tatum to 4-for-16 shooting in the regular season, and he’s continued that success in this series. Tatum is shooting 1-for-7 versus Anunoby through two games.
Anunoby spent 8:26 as the primary defender on Tatum in Game 2 and Boston’s superstar attempted only one shot. Anunoby was all over Tatum on the final play of the game, forcing a turnover that sealed the Celtics’ loss.
Mikal Bridges guarded Tatum a bunch during the four regular season matchups and Tatum scored 35 points on 13-for-19 shooting versus the Knicks wing. The Knicks made an adjustment going into Round 2 to make Anunoby the primary defender on Tatum, and it’s working great for them.
The Celtics must do everything they can, whether it’s the pick-and-roll or something else, to get Anunoby away from Tatum as often as possible. They’ve done it a few times in the series, which resulted in Tatum getting Jalen Brunson or Mitchell Robinson in a switch.
That’s the kind of matchup hunting the Celtics must do in Game 3.
Lean on road success
The Celtics were a historically great road team this season, setting a franchise record with 33 victories. In fact, their 33-8 road record was tied for the second-best in league history.
Boston ranked No. 2 in offensive rating, defensive rating and net rating away from home during the regular season.
Furthermore, the Celtics are 13-6 in New York since 2016, and they’ve won four straght and five of their last six at MSG. Boston’s last loss in New York came in the 2022-23 season.
Meanwhile, the Knicks are 1-2 at home in the playoffs.
The Celtics are a great road team, and that should give them plenty of confidence entering Game 3 despite the rough start to the series.
Knock down 3-point shots
Seems obvious, right? It’s a make or miss league, and unfortunately for the Celtics, they’ve missed a ton of open shots in this series that they normally make.
They made only 10 3-pointers on 40 attempts in Game 2. It was a huge outlier for them, because during the regular season, the C’s made 10 or fewer 3-point shots in just three of their 82 games.
Through two games against the Knicks, the Celtics are shooting 25 percent (25-for-100) from beyond the arc. That’s 11.8 percent worse than their regular season average, which is a huge dropoff. The Celtics are shooting at least 10 percent worse in the playoffs compared to the regular season on pretty much every type of 3-pointer imaginable.
Plenty to lament with Boston's play but so much boils down to shot making. Even beyond the 3s, double-digit dips in almost all shooting categories: pic.twitter.com/oyfgXMkDdp
Despite missing a record amount of 3-pointers, the Celtics still only lost Game 1 by three points and Game 2 by one point. If they missed 72 3-pointers instead of 75, they could easily be up 2-0 in the series.
The Celtics are a much better outside shooting team than they’ve shown against the Knicks. It’s hard to imagine these 3-point shooting woes extending much longer. There were only four instances in the regular season in which Boston made 15 or fewer 3-pointers in consecutive games.
The turnaround needs to happen ASAP, though. No team in league history has overcome an 0-3 series deficit.
MINNEAPOLIS – Warriors superstar Steph Curry has a long history of rehab and injury recovery. This season alone, Curry has dealt with issues to his knees, neck, right thumb and pelvic area. His latest injury is the land of the great unknown.
Curry, in the second quarter of the Warriors’ Game 1 win against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday in the Western Conference semifinals, grabbed at the back of his left leg and was ruled out for the rest of the game with a strained hamstring. An MRI the next day revealed a Grade 1 strain, with the Warriors announcing Curry will be re-evaluated in one week.
"I'll do everything in my power to get back as soon as possible."
Having never dealt with a hamstring injury, not even tightness, the 37-year-old says he doesn’t have a target date at the moment for his return.
“This is new and from all that I’m learning about how quickly you can get back, there has to be a healing process,” Curry said Thursday at Warriors shootaround before Game 2. “It’s just the way the body works. You can’t accelerate more than what it’s telling you.”
After a week of rest and rehab, Curry and the Warriors’ training staff will re-evaluate his hamstring every day to know when it’s safe to even think about playing, let alone thinking about how hard he can push it, which seemingly should keep him out for Game 5 – and possibly longer.
Eventual conversations will be had with teammates who have dealt with hamstring injuries in the past, such as Gary Payton II. Not quite yet, though.
“I will, for sure,” Curry said. “I’ve been in my feelings a little bit.”
Curry scored eight of the Warriors’ 18 points in the first quarter, and then looked to be heating up after making a high-arching step-back three on Jaden McDaniel three minutes into the second quarter. But on the other side, Curry felt something wrong playing defense. He jumped out to help on Mike Conley and almost immediately grabbed at the back of his left leg after planting and pivoting.
Still, he initially stayed in the game and made a floater on the Warriors’ next offensive possession. Jogging back to defense with a clear limp, Curry motioned towards the Warriors’ bench to get him out of the game.
After making a deep 3, this appears to be when Steph Curry felt something wrong with his hamstring on defense pic.twitter.com/uCVGJeEoVs
There weren’t any warning signs. Curry felt great up until that point, and even said so prior to Game 1 after playing 46 minutes just 48 hours earlier in Game 7 of the Warriors’ first-round win against the Houston Rockets.
What he first felt didn’t appear to be anything too bad. Curry thought he could go to the locker room, get it released and come back, but with a soft tissue injury like a hamstring, he quickly learned he could have done more damage if he tried to play through it.
The natural healing process is all that Curry can rely on right now. He isn’t even entertaining thoughts of rushing back and what that might do to him. Hamstrings are tricky, and Curry could be fooled by the gray area these injuries bring.
While the injury is new to Curry, this isn’t the first time he has missed games in the playoffs. When he missed six games in 2016, the Warriors went 4-2, and they went 5-1 when he missed six games to injury in 2018. Those teams also were much different in the heyday of the Warriors’ dynasty.
Curry has all the trust that his teammates can right the ship until he returns. The Warriors went 7-5 in the regular season in games he didn’t play. His experience of dealing with prior injuries in the playoffs, however, doesn’t exactly add a sense of comfort in Year 16.
“It’s more frustrating,” Curry admits. “When you’re 27, you feel like you’re obviously in your prime. Every opportunity I have now, you don’t want it to be wasted on an injury. I’m thankful it wasn’t worse and I’m very aware of and appreciative that I even have a chance to come back. There’s been injuries around the league that you’ve seen guys don’t have that option. I’m just trying to stay in that midframe and hopefully things work out where I can come back and we have a chance to keep doing something special.
“Injuries are already hard emotionally, just because you know none of this is guaranteed to be back in this environment and the playoff experience and have an opportunity like that. When you get hurt, you have to be intentional in what you focus on.”
Despite the injury, Curry was at shootaround dressed like he was ready to drop 30 points on the Timberwolves in Game 2. Instead, he served as a rebounder and fed passes to Buddy Hield over and over and over again. Curry said he’s still “a little ways away” from doing any type of stationary shooting himself.
He hasn’t given any type of inspirational speech and doesn’t plan to. His guys have his back, and that’s all Curry can ask for.
“No, they talk to me,” Curry said. “This is a great vibe in our locker room in terms of them trying to hold the fort down. We have a lot of confidence that we can still win the series. Guys will step up, no matter how it looks. It’s obviously a situation where you want to think positively and optimistically that we can win games and buy me some time to get back and hopefully have another series after this and be in a position where I can get back out there safely, where I’m not putting too much risk on the body if it’s not ready.
“They understand the task. We all are in it together.”
Anthony Edwards helped the Timberwolves past the Lakers in the first round of this year’s playoffs. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images
Welcome to Act III of the 2024-25 NBA season. It was a rough start for the league this year. People came out of the woodwork to criticize it, offering wild solutions, and pointing out the low early season TV ratings. But then the Dallas Mavericks traded Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers and things got real interesting in Act II.
Now, though, we’re in the third portion of the season and it couldn’t be more exciting. Indeed, we seem far away from those calls for sweeping change. Let’s look at five players who have wowed us and taken us to the edge of our seats in this third act.
Jalen Brunson
For the entire postseason so far, Brunson and the New York Knicks have been walking a razor’s edge. To the surprise of many, it took New York six games to send Detroit packing and none of those games were easy. But the Knicks keep finding ways to win. Just ask Boston, a team the Knicks were 0-4 against during the regular season. So far, in back-to-back games on the road, New York have come back from 20-point deficits to beat Boston by a total of four points. Now, the series is headed to the Big Apple. For the NBA’s Clutch Player of the Year (and former second-round pick), who had 29 points in Game 1 and 17 points with seven assists in Game 2, a shocking sweep of the reigning champions is still on the cards.
Tyrese Haliburton
What you saw Tuesday night when the Indiana Pacers’ star point guard, Tyrese Haliburton, got his own rebound off a free-throw miss and, with just a few seconds on the clock, hit a step-back three-pointer to win the game was not a mere basketball play. It was the end of a video game where one character reaches into the chest of another and rips their still-beating heart out. Indeed, the No 1 seed Cleveland Cavaliers, who had been led by a prolific Donovan Mitchell, lost at the buzzer in a game the entire world (besides Haliburton) thought they would win. Like Boston, Cleveland are now down an unthinkable 0-2 (and both teams are nursing significant injuries). For Haliburton, who was recently voted the most overrated player in the NBA, victory must taste sweet. (Even if his dad isn’t allowed to watch.)
Stephen Curry
What is it about big sporting events – we love seeing our aging stars have one more run. Like Jimmy Connors reaching the US Open semi-finals at 39 years old, the Golden State Warriors and their two veterans, Steph Curry and Draymond Green, are enjoying one more deep run. Or at least they’re trying to. The Warriors hung on and beat the up and coming Houston Rockets in the opening round. Next, they took the first game from the Minnesota Timberwolves. But it was costly. Curry went out of that game with a pulled hamstring. He’ll be out at least a week. Can new acquisition Jimmy Butler help his team hold on against Minnesota? Will we see Green throwing pocket passes to Curry again this year? Well, that leads us to our next player …
Aaron Gordon
How many incredible buzzer beaters is a team allowed to have in the playoffs? Last year, the Denver Nuggets’ Jamal Murray hit two to beat the Lakers. This year, his teammate Aaron Gordon boasts two of his own. The first came on a tip-in dunk with .01 seconds left against the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round. The next came in Game 1 against the Oklahoma City Thunder in a double-digit-point comeback. The No 1 seed Thunder are led by presumptive MVP favorite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. But it’s the Nuggets who have the best player in the world in Nikola Jokić. He proved that against the Thunder on Monday, leading his team expertly, and giving Gordon the opportunity for his second game-winner. OKC came back big in Game 2, though, officially making it a series.
Anthony Edwards
It’s all on a platter for Ant-Man. Already he and his Minnesota team have knocked off the Lakers and their stars, Dončić and LeBron James. That seemed almost impossible at the start of the playoffs – most analysts picked LA. But now Edwards could knock off Steph, Dray and the Dubs. All this after trouncing Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns in last year’s playoffs and winning an Olympic gold medal in the summer. Edwards is charming, talented and accomplished. If he were to lead his team to the Western Conference Finals (again) or beyond, he could become one of the biggest sports stars in America. But he laid an egg in Game 1 against Golden State, even getting called out by his coach. It was a rare dud. If he wants to sniff the rarest of rarefied air, he can’t post another.
Jaylen Brown often is the critical voice that holds his teammates accountable following difficult losses.
But late Wednesday night, on the heels of a second consecutive crushing defeat, the Boston Celtics star sensed a different message needed to be delivered.
“Not an ideal situation, being down 0-2. But what’s done is done,” Brown said after the Celtics’ Game 2 loss to the New York Knicks, in which they became the first team in NBA history to blow 20-point leads twice in the same postseason.
“You’ve got to make sure we’re ready to come out — make sure my guys are ready to come out for Game 3. I think we’re due for a lot of makes. I think we had a lot of great shots tonight that, once again, didn’t go in.”
“We’ve just got to relax, take a deep breath, come out and play Celtic basketball,” Brown said. “Just like we’re down 0-2, we can tie this thing back up.
“Just be poised, take a deep breath, and just go out there and do what we supposed to do,” he added. “But we’ve got to be better to close games, and we’ve got to learn and respond fast. So, that’s the key.
“Shift your mentality, shift your focus. What’s in the past is over with; let it sting a little bit and then do whatever it takes in Game 3.”
The Celtics were one of the NBA’s best late-game teams during the regular season with a league-best 24-11 record in “clutch” games (score within five points; final five minutes). That makes their collapses to the Knicks in Games 1 and 2 all the more stunning.
So, what makes Brown confident that the last two games were just an aberration and not a potential death knell for a team with championship repeat aspirations?
“Resiliency. Toughness. We’ve got a great group that stays together through it all,” Brown said. “These are the moments when we need to show our resiliency. We need to show our toughness, our mental toughness because we can get back in this thing — no question.
“Obviously, being down 0-2, it sucks, but we’ve got a great group, and if I could select any guys that could get it done, it’s the group we have in the locker room. We’ve just got to come out, be a little more poised, take a deep breath, convert our opportunities.
“We missed layups, easy baskets. In two games, we (were) up twenty points and somehow (didn’t) end up with wins. It’s inexcusable, but we’re going to learn from it. We’re going to respond.”
We’ll find out of the Celtics can channel Brown’s mindset on Saturday afternoon at Madison Square Garden. Tip-off is set for 3:30 p.m. ET, with NBC Sports Boston’s coverage beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET with Celtics Pregame Live.
The reigning NBA champions entered their second-round playoff matchup with the New York Knicks as heavy favorites after sweeping them in the regular season and raced out to a 20-point lead in Monday’s Game 1 at TD Garden.
So, what’s gotten into this team over the past two games? Former Celtics teammates and 2008 NBA champions Brian Scalabrine and Eddie House had plenty to get off their chests after Wednesday’s loss on NBC Sports Boston’s Celtics Postgame Live.
Scalabrine pointed to one play in particular — Jaylen Brown fumbling a Jayson Tatum pass out of bounds on fast break late in the third quarter with Boston up 20 — that seemed to turn the whole tide of Game 2.
“From that 73-53 moment, they make one mistake and they seem to just fracture at that point,” Scalabrine said. “You have a 20-point lead and a transition opportunity. You throw it away, which is fine, like, mistakes happen. But you can’t let that carry over to the other side.
“They did it last game; they did it this game. They’re not attacking the end of games.”
The Celtics’ late-game offense has been hideous in this series; in Games 1 and 2 combined, they shot 9-for-45 (20 percent from the floor and 4-for-24 from 3-point range (16.7 percent) for a total of 33 points in the fourth quarter.
Those struggles are partly a result of settling for 3-point shots instead of driving to the rim and pressuring the Knicks’ defense. But Boston’s defense has lapsed in the closing minutes as well, and House believes that comes down to effort.
“We just did not close out quarters well,” House said. “We did not close out the second quarter well. We did not close out this fourth quarter well.
“… I’m over here heated right now because I’m looking at a basketball team that’s getting outworked. They’re getting outworked.”
The Celtics were one of the NBA’s best teams in “clutch” situations (score within five; final five minutes) during the regular season, as their 24-11 record in those games led the league. That makes their collapses in Games 1 and 2 all the more perplexing, and Scalabrine believes head coach Joe Mazzulla deserves at least some responsibility for how he managed the clock in the fourth quarter.
“I’m not really into the timeout thing, but in the playoffs, I think it’s a little bit different,” Scalabrine said. “We had a ‘use it or lose it’ timeout with three minutes (remaining). The Knicks are on this run. We have a ‘use it or lose it’ timeout. We don’t use it, and we lose it.”
Mazzulla also declined to call a timeout before the game’s final possession, which resulted in the Knicks double-teaming Tatum and forcing him into a turnover.
“We also go to the end with 12 seconds to go. We don’t call a timeout (before the final possession). We don’t get a great shot off of that,” Scalabrine added.
“In the regular season, you’ve got to be able to figure that out, but in the playoffs, right now, you can clearly see this team is fractured. … Maybe you’ve got to use some of these (timeouts) to get this team going the right direction again.”
The Celtics aren’t out of this series yet. They were a historically good road team during the regular season (33-8) and led for all but 12 combined minutes in Games 1 and 2. If they can play a full 48 minutes, there’s no reason why they can’t take Game 3 in New York on Saturday and get back in this series.
But at present, it’s hard to trust a team that’s inexplicably let its guard down in back-to-back playoff games.
Jalen Brunson scored twice with 12.7 seconds on the clock [Getty Images]
The New York Knicks produced another stunning comeback to win the second game of their NBA Conference play-off semi-final against the Boston Celtics.
Jalen Brunson made two free throws with 12.7 seconds remaining to give New York a 91-90 lead, before Mikal Bridges knocked the ball away to deny Boston a last-gasp chance.
Josh Hart had a game-high 23 points for New York, who trailed by 20 points in the third quarter and by 16 in the fourth in Boston.
The Knicks lead the reigning NBA champions 2-0 in the best-of-seven series after finishing 10 wins behind their opponents in the regular season.
"I got up there, heard the noise and then I just tried to block everything out. And then I made two," said Brunson - who finished the night with 17 points and a game-high seven assists - on his decisive foul shots.
Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 21 points and 17 rebounds for the Knicks, while Bridges scored all of his 14 points in the fourth quarter.
After coming back from 20 points down in an overtime win in game one, New York did not take the lead in game two until the last two minutes.
"We started slowly, got in a big hole, dug our way out and then guys made a lot of tough plays," said Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau.
"[Our players] were at their best when their best was needed down the stretch."
Derrick White and Jaylen Brown each scored 20 points for the Celtics, who will travel to New York for game three on Saturday.
"They made the necessary plays to win," Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said of the Knicks.
"We put ourselves in position to do that and we just didn't make the plays."
Meanwhile, the Oklahoma City Thunder levelled their semi-final with a 149-106 home blowout win against the Denver Nuggets.
After losing on a three-pointer in the closing seconds of game one, Oklahoma City scored 45 points in the first quarter and tied the NBA play-off record for the most points in a half with 87.
MVP favourite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the game with 34 points before watching the fourth from the bench.
"We knew what was at stake tonight," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "We came out desperate."
"I didn't really look at tonight as a response as much as I looked at tonight as just us being who we are, and that's how we've been all season," Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault said.
After his 42-point performance in game one, Denver's Nikola Jokic tallied just 17 points and eight rebounds in game two before fouling out in the third quarter.
"We got punked," Denver interim coach David Adelman said.
"They came out with the right intensity and we didn't. We aren't just going to flush this. We have to play better and we know that."
Entering the second-round series in Boston, grabbing a split on the road in the first two games, and the Knicks steal homecourt advantage. Winning both games in dramatic fashion, with your opponent blowing 20-point leads in each of them for a 2-0 lead? Then you can start thinking about not having to return for Game 5.
“Going home and realizing the opportunity that we have, just gotta make sure we’re still locked in,” Jalen Brunson said after the Knicks’ 91-90 win over the Celtics in Game 2. “Know we’re close to being done, just make sure our mindset is the same.”
For Karl-Anthony Towns, who remembers taking a 2-0 lead at Denver last year with Minnesota in a series that eventually went seven games, the lead doesn’t amount to much.
“It means we up two zip, but it doesn’t really mean anything,” Towns said before mentioning the Nuggets won the next two games on the road to even the series. “We can’t take anything for granted, we gotta find ourselves executing at a higher level. We can’t keep doing these 20-point leads for Boston and hope to come back and win the game.
“We gotta play better, we gotta shoot better, we gotta execute better. We can’t start having that Knicks basketball being played down 20, we gotta start the game that way and finish the game that way.”
Before Game 2, head coach Tom Thibodeau said a “big challenge of the playoffs" is dealing with emotions and not looking past the next game.
“There are a lot of emotional highs, lows, and then the challenge is to reset the next day," he said. "And don’t get caught up in playing a series, you gotta focus on the task at hand, which is to win the game. Reset and focus on the things that you have to do to win that next game.”
"The jobs not done," Mitchell Robison, who was a team high plus-19 during 22 minutes Wednesday, said. "We just gonna leave it at that and continue to play basketball.
Boston’s Jaylen Brown, who scored 17 of his 20 points in Game 2 in the first half, said the defending champs “can get back in this thing no question.”
“Being down 0-2 it sucks, but we got a great group,” he said. “We just gotta come out, be a little bit more poised, take a deep breath, convert our opportunities – we missed layups, easy baskets – take advantage.
“Two games we were up 20 points somehow ended up not with wins. It’s inexcusable, but we gonna learn from it, we gonna respond.”
How are the Celtics planning on shaking off back-to-back blown big second-half leads? “In a way, it kinda takes all the pressure off of us, no?” KristapsPorzingis said. “If you check the odds, maybe the Knicks are the favorites now to win. Who knows?
"We were expected to win, so for us to be in this hole right now, with our backs against the wall, we have nothing to lose. We got to go out there and leave it all out on the floor."
Do the Celtics feel like they’re on the ropes?
“We’re definitely in a tough situation,” Porznigis said. “Down 2-0, but again, I’ve been in this situation on both sides, there’s a lot of basketball still to play, the momentum can change.”
Brown called it an “opportunity to show what we’re made of.”
“Not ideal situation being down 0-2,” he said. “But what’s done is done, we gotta make sure we’re ready to come out, make sure my guys are ready to come out Game 3. I think we due for a lot of makes. I think that we have a lot of great shots [Wednesday night] that didn’t go in.
“We just gotta relax, take a deep breath, come out and play Celtic basketball. Just like we down 0-2, we can tie this thing up.”
After shooting 25-for-100 from three and 29-for-93 after halftime in the first two games, Porzingis said the Celtics need to play with more “urgency.”
“It sucks really bad right now,” Porzingis said, “but we got a lot of basketball to play and let’s see where this goes.”
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 34 points in three quarters, and the Oklahoma City Thunder set league and team records in a 149-106 win over the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night that tied the Western Conference semifinal series at one game apiece.
Oklahoma City set an NBA playoff record for first-half points with 87, surpassing the 86 scored by the Cleveland Cavaliers against the Golden State Warriors in Game 4 of the NBA Finals on June 9, 2017. Chet Holmgren, who missed two critical free throws late in Game 1, made a pair with one second remaining in the second quarter to set the record and give the Thunder an 87-56 lead.
The Thunder tied the record for points in any half of a playoff game. Milwaukee had 87 in the second half against Denver on April 23, 1978.
Oklahoma City became the first home team to win a game in the second round. Game 3 is Friday in Denver.
Gilgeous-Alexander made 11 of 13 field goals, all 11 of his free throws and had eight assists. He led eight players who scored in double figures.
Russell Westbrook led the Nuggets with 19 points. Nikola Jokic, who had 42 points and 22 rebounds for Denver in a Game 1 win, had just 17 points and eight rebounds on Wednesday before fouling out late in the third quarter.
The crowd cheered for Westbrook, the ex-Thunder star, when he entered Game 1 as a reserve for Denver, but booed him shortly after he entered Game 2. Westbrook got called for a technical foul moments later, and Gilgeous-Alexander made the free throw to make it 34-13.
The Thunder led 45-21 at the end of the first quarter after shooting 71.4% from the field and setting a team record for points in a quarter in a playoff game.
Oklahoma City continued its dominance in the second quarter. A lob from Gilgeous-Alexander to Jalen Williams for a two-handed jam gave the Thunder a 78-43 lead.
Oklahoma City led 124-76 after three quarters. The largest lead was 49 points.
Mikal Bridges' performance has been a hot topic during the playoffs as he's struggled shooting at times, causing critics to say the Knicks overpaid when they traded five future first-round picks to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for the wing last offseason.
It's been a quiet 72-hour stretch for those people with Bridges coming up in the clutch on game-sealing defensive stops in both of New York's wins over the Boston Celtics. Bridges ripped the ball away from Jaylen Brown in the Game 1 win on Monday and then stole the ball from Jayson Tatum to ice the Game 2 win on Wednesday night.
"That's what he does, that's what he does," Karl-Anthony Towns said of Bridges after the victory. "We got the Clutch Player of the Year in the NBA, and we possibly got one of the most clutchest defenders in the NBA, as well. It's only right that for all the talk people have done about Mikal, it's when the lights are the brightest that he gets to show his worth."
Jalen Brunson gave New York a 91-90 lead with 12.7 seconds remaining in Game 2, and Boston chose not to call a timeout and played it out. Tatum brought up the ball and was picked up on the defensive switch by Mitchell Robinson, who stayed with Tatum and got help from OG Anunoby before Bridges came over and knocked the ball out of Tatum's hands.
After the win, Bridges thanked his teammates for doing all they could to help get the final stop and for pushing him throughout the game. Bridges was held scoreless through three quarters, but scored 14 points in the fourth quarter to help pull off another 20-point comeback victory and take a 2-0 series lead.
"Just a hell of a job with Mitch and OG guarding pick and roll," Bridges said. "Mitch running him off the line, playing good defense. OG even helping him out. Just trying to re-react. OG make him take a tough step-back and just try to help and try to win the game."
He added: "Everything to my teammates, man. They helped me up, throughout the whole, me missing every shot until that point. It's really, truly them, just holding me together and keeping me mentally right and just telling me to keep going. I thank coach also just trusting me, coming out the fourth and running a play for me, putting that confidence in me. It's really my teammates and my coaches, they really helped me up."
Bridges credited his mental toughness but admitted it "hurts" when he's missing shots and it affects the game. He reiterated thanks to his teammates for helping him through the adversity and shared what's built him for moments like the past two games.
"Just how I was raised. My mom's real strong, mentally tough. Growing up, my mom just made me like that," he said. "Going through experience, going through college with Coach Wright and Villanova, he preached mental toughness. That really brought it out of me. I had it growing up, but I think college made it even more and established that. That's who I am."
Despite being down by 20 points in both games against Boston, Bridges and the Knicks never lost faith in their chances.
"I think we're just confident, confident knowing just always gonna find a way," Bridges said. "A lot of us saying on the bench while we were down, just like, 'We've been here before, we've been here before. Pretty sure we're going to win this game.' You can look in everybody's eyes and it's not a stressed look, it's kinda like a confident look. Knowing, alright, see how much time left, take it one play at a time, you can't get it all back on one play. Score on offense and get a stop, keep trying to do it on both ends."
“Teamwork is what wins,” Thibodeau said. “It’s not the individual player as much as it is ‘how does the team function together’ and ‘how do they bring the best out of each other?’ And, when you think about the playoffs, the teams that are successful: It’s defense, it’s toughness, and it’s teamwork.
“You have to do this together. It’s very difficult to do individually.”
The Knicks spent the next 48 minutes of game time at the Boston Garden executing their coach’s plans to perfection, pulling out another stunning 20-point comeback for a 91-90 win to take a 2-0 series lead over the Celtics.
“Always have the belief in each other,” Thibodeau said after the win. “It’s about your mental toughness, defense, your teamwork, and always having the belief that you could do something better and find a way to win. It’s a long game, keep playing, and that’s what they did.”
On the final Celtics possession, he got all three. With Boston not using a timeout after Jalen Brunson’s second free throw put the Knicks ahead, the defense was switched on and ready for Jayson Tatum: Michell Robinson forced Tatum to his left, got help from OG Anunoby to turn the Celtics forward away from the hoop, and, with Tatum in the air, Mikal Bridges came off Jaylen Brown to snatch the ball to end the game.
“There was good team defense on that. There was a swarm,” the head coach said. “Tatum is so tough when gets any speed and he’s going downhill, so you need bodies in front of him. And then the pursuit from behind is also important.”
Of course, Thibodeau said nothing about offense in there as the Knicks struggled big time from the field, shooting 39 percent from the floor in the first half with Brunson going 3-for-10 and Bridges 0-for-6. Late in the game, it was another story as Bridges, who scored all 14 of his points in the final quarter, combined with Brunson to go 9-for-16 as the rest of the team was 3-for-8 in the fourth.
“We started slow, got in a big hole, dug our way out, and then guys made a lot of tough plays,” he said. “They were at their best when their best was needed down the stretch.”
On the defensive end they tigthened the screws, closing the game on a 38-17 run over the final 15 minutes of action. In the second half, the Knicks forced nine Celtics turnovers and held them to 15-for-44 shooting (34 percent), including 5-for-24 (21 percent) in the fourth.
“Our defense was outstanding and that’s what we need to do for the entire game,” Thibodeau said, before adding, in typical coaching style, “Now, we’re still really concerned about the rebounding. We have to fix that.”
New York was outrebounded 51 to 46, including 16-10 on offensive boards, leading them to be outscored 23-14 in second-chance points.
“We know we have to play for 48 minutes against them,” he added. “If you give them open shots, they’re gonna make them. If you give them a second crack at it, they’re gonna make you pay.”
Just like Game 1, the Celtics had a 20-point lead (this time with 2:30 left in the third quarter) but could not hold it. Just like Game 1, Boston shot 25% on 3-pointers (10-of-40). Just like Game 1, Kristaps Porzingis (battling an illness) was a non-factor. And just like Game 1, Jalen Brunson was clutch down the stretch while Mikal Bridges made the defensive play to seal the win (and scored 14 points in the fourth).
MIKAL BRIDGES WAS ON A MISSION IN THE 4TH
All 14 points of his points... and the game-sealing steal (again)!
"We'll always have the belief in each other…" Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. "It's about your mental toughness, your defense, and your teamwork."
New York won 91-90 on Wednesday and now has a commanding 2-0 series lead as the series shifts to Madison Square Garden in New York. In NBA playoff history, teams that win the first two games on the road win in a best-of-seven win the series 85.7% of the time.
The defending champs shot 5-of-24 in the fourth quarter, including 2-of-11 from 3, and 3-of-10 in the paint.
"We've gotta be better to close games and we've gotta learn and respond fast," Jaylen Brown said. "So that's the key. Shift your mentality. Shift your focus. It's in the past. It's over with. Let it sting a little bit and do whatever it takes in Game 3."
Boston has to do a lot of things better. Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla threw the team off rhythm at one point with hack-a-Mitch, sending Mitchell Robinson to the line. Boston tried to attack Brunson in the clutch, but New York tried not to switch or send help, and it has worked well enough.
Mainly, Boston just needs to shoot better.
"We had physicality. We had energy on defense. Our offense let us down," Jayson Tatum said.
Brunson scored 17 points and knocked down the two free throws with 12.7 seconds left that gave the Knicks the 91-90 final margin of victory. Josh Hart was critical for the Knicks, scoring 23 points and making a number of clutch plays in the fourth quarter. Karl-Anthony Towns added 21 points with 17 rebounds.
Boston got 20 points from Brown but on 8-of-23 shooting. Tatum was 5-of-19 for 13 points and had his game-tying shot blocked. Derrick White scored 20 on 6-of-17 shooting. As a team, the Celtics shot 36.2%.
If that doesn't change, if the Celtics don't get a few easy buckets and start to find their groove — and fast — they will be on vacation in a week, watching a tougher Knicks team on television.
New York entered the fourth quarter down 12 points, but outscored Boston 30-17 in the final frame. Jalen Brunson put the Knicks ahead with two free throws and Mikal Bridges – with big help from Mitchell Robinson and OG Anunoby – once again stepped up in the fourth quarter, coming through in the clutch and getting a stop on Jayson Tatum with the clock expiring.
After the Game 2 win, Knicks fans (and Josh Hart) shared their reactions online:
