Knicks use more second-half magic to take commanding series lead over Celtics with Game 4 win
The Knicks might not be making it easy on themselves, but it’s mostly working.It sounded a little like 1999 inside Madison Square Garden Monday night.The heavily favored opponent couldn’t hold a lead.
The home team refused to give in, even as it trailed big early in the third quarter.And now, after another come-from-behind win in a postseason full of them, the Knicks and their fans can start to really dream big.For the third time in this series, they eliminated a big second-half Celtics lead, and this time they did it in front of their fans, rallying from 14 down to take a commanding 3-1 series lead with a 121-113 victory in Game 4.Mikal Bridges and Jalen Brunson took turns sticking daggers in the Celtics, and the Knicks were dominant over the last quarter and a half, outscoring Boston by 22 points in the final 20:47.Chants of “Knicks in Five” echoed throughout the building in the final seconds.Making matters worse for the Celtics, superstar Jayson Tatum was lost to a noncontact right ankle injury late in the fourth quarter.
Tatum was writhing in pain on the Garden floor and was helped off.He was later shown in the tunnel in a wheelchair.Tied at 102 with 6:12 left in the fourth quarter, the Knicks ripped off a 14-2 run to ice it.
Brunson and Bridges, the two Villanova teammates, scored nine points in the burst.Brunson finished with 39 points and 12 assists, Bridges added 23 (10 in the fourth) and Karl-Anthony Towns had 23 points and 11 rebounds.
OG Anunoby broke out of his recent scoring slump with 20 points.Tatum poured in 42 points and seven 3-pointers for the Celtics in defeat.The Knicks can advance to their first Eastern Conference final in 25 years with a win Wednesday night at TD Garden.The Knicks were unable to snap out of their first quarter woes.
Again, they dug themselves an early hole, 11-4 out of the gate, and 39-28 after one period.Boston closed the quarter with a 12-0 burst on a quartet of 3-pointers, three coming from Tatum.The Knicks di...