The Knicks overturned a 16-point hole in the fourth quarter to storm back for a 91-90 win over the Celtics to take a 2-0 lead in their second-round series against Boston.
Stop if you have heard this before: Mikal Bridges overcame a poor night shooting to make the crucial defensive play to stop a potential game-winning shot by the Celtics. In Game 2, the Knicks guard, who was held scoreless through three quarters, stole the ball from Jayson Tatum in the game’s final seconds to preserve the win after Jalen Brunson’s free throws gave New York the lead.
The Knicks, who overturned a 20-point hole in Game 1, shot 12-for-24 from the floor in the fourth quarter while holding the Celtics to a horrendous 5-for-25, including a nine missed threes.
Karl-Anthony Towns kept the Knicks in the game early and finished with 21 points and 17 rebounds in 35 minutes in a game where every New York starter had a negative plus-minus, and it looked hopeless for the visitors as Boston built a 20-point third-quarter lead.
Bridges finished with 14 points on 6-for-18 shooting with seven rebounds, five assists, three steals and two turnovers in 43 minutes. He was a minus-6, but came up huge when it mattered.
Here are the takeaways...
- The game fell into a pattern: The Knicks would fall into a deep hole, claw their way back to within single digits, and then fall back into a deep hole. That was until Boston stopped making shots and New York had enough of being down double-digits.
Entering the fourth down a dozen, Bridges finally got his first bucket with 11:04 left after missing his first eight shots. He would score seven points to start the quarter, but the problem was that the Celtics scored 11 in that span and stretched the lead back to 16 with under nine to play.
That was when the Knicks went on a 14-2 run to make it a four-point game with three to play, wth Bridges scoring seven of those points. Boston went over six minutes without a made field goal (0-for-9, including seven from deep)
After a Knicks timeout, a Towns and-1 and a fadeaway from Jalen Brunson, who had a terrible start to the night shooting, gave New York their first lead of the game with 1:59 to play.
Boston's cold streak hit 13 straight missed buckets and Brunson's running layup made it a three-point New York lead with a minute to play. Tatum cut the lead to one with two at the line, Brunson had a good look at a three, and Tatum (out of a timeout) answered by going coast-to-coast, blowing past Mitchell Robinson for a dunk – Boston’s first field goal in 8:21 of game time – for a one-point lead.
Brunson's two at the line saw the lead back to the visitors with 13 to play. The Celtics didn’t use their last timeout to advance the ball and had it back in Tatum’s hands, but he was forced to his left off a pick by Robinson and turned away from the hoop by OG Anunoby – before Bridges took the ball from his hand as he looked to make a leaping pass to end the game.
- Brunson finished with 17 points (6-for-19 shooting) with seven assists and three rebounds and was a minus-1.
Josh Hart, who had just six rebounds and three assists, made up for it with efficient scoring, finishing with 23 points on 9-for-15 shooting to lead New York.
- In the third, things could have turned around when Anunoby had a monster dunk plowing through Derrick White that would have made it a seven-point game. Instead, it went for an offensive foul as the Celtics guard had both feet out of the restricted area. Boston took advantage with an 11-2 run for an 18-point edge (largest thus far), forcing a Tom Thibodeau timeout with under five to play in the quarter.
Of course, that is when the Celtics did their part to keep the Knicks in the game. Tatum and Jaylen Brown had a 2-on-1 break up 20 and three to play in the third. It went for a ball out of bounds. Could that have changed the game as Boston was enjoying a 16-5 run? New York answered with an 8-0 run to end the period. It was a harbinger of things to come in the fourth as the home team crumbled. Overall, they shot 15-for-45 (33 percent) in the second half, including going 5-for-19 from three.
- Down 11 to start the second quarter, Towns single-handedly kept New York in the game to start the second as he got Al Horford for back-to-back old-fashioned three-point plays and then blew past Horford for an easy bucket to cut Boston's lead to five on his 8-0 run.
That came with Robinson providing some solid play off the bench, adding four points, two steals, three rebounds, and was a plus-7 in eight minutes. But a hack-a-Robinson sent him to the bench. And then things, as they did all night, slide away for the Knicks. Sloppy play struck with three bad turnovers and more Boston offensive rebounds, leading to 16 16-point New York deficit with three to play.
The Knicks closed the half on an 11-4 run, with Hart going for six points. But there was much to clean up as Boston's nine offensive rebounds gave them 15 second-chance points to New York's six points on four rebounds. (And the Knicks' eight turnovers led to 13 points.)
Towns had 14 at the half (6-for-11) with 10 rebounds. Brunson was 3-for-10 in the first half for seven points and had as many assists as turnovers (two).
Brown, who settled for threes and was 1-for-10 in Game 1, was moving much better in the early goings with 17 first-half points on 7-for-16 from the floor and added six rebounds (four offensive). Tatum did not start well again with just two first-half points (1-for-7 from the floor). White continued to be a thorn in the Knicks’ side with 14 (3-for-6 from deep) in the opening half.
Brown had just three points in thes second half going 1-for-6, Tatum had 11 while going 4-for-12, and white had 16, going 0-for-5 from three.
- The first quarter was ugly. The Celtics missed their first four threes and started 2-for-11 from the floor, but the Knicks failed to capitalize as they started 0-for-7 from the field. (Anunoby made a three on the game’s opening possession, but, upon review, he didn’t beat the shot clock and the points came off the board.) The home side was quickly up seven before two buckets from Towns finally broke the seal. A deluge of buckets didn’t follow as the Knicks were 2-for-16 from the floor (0-for-3 from deep) behind 16-4 late in the first quarter.
Brunson missed his first five attempts before a bucket with 16 seconds left in the first quarter, but he wasn’t alone as Bridges (0-for-5) and Anunoby (0-for-2) went scoreless with New York shooting 6-for-23 in the quarter. Hart made the Knicks' lone three on eight attempts.
Who was the game MVP?
Thibs is the hero for the mentality of his team being able to get over the horrible play and pushing all the right buttons, including having Robinson give him 22 minutes off the bench with six points, eight rebounds (three offensive) and three steals. He was a plus-19.
Highlights
What's next
The series trades the Boston Garden for Madison Square Garden, with the Knicks having the opportunity to end the series at home, starting with Saturday's Game 3. Tip is set for 3:30 p.m.
