The New York Knicks overcame a 20-point third-quarter deficit to stun the Boston Celtics in a 108-105 overtime thriller to open their Eastern Conference semifinal series. The Knicks were collectively struggling throughout the first two-and-a-half quarters of Game 1, but their star-studded top-five turned it around in the final 20 minutes.
“We told each other just keep believing. Just keep fighting and sticking together, and keep chipping away. There wasn’t going to be a 20-point shot,” Jalen Brunson said.
Brunson scored 20 of his 29 points in the second half and OG Anunoby had 23 of his 29 after halftime. Mikal Bridges ended the game with just eight points, but played 51 of a possible 53 minutes and had three steals and two blocks.
Bridges also hit a clutch 3-pointer in the overtime period, benefiting off a rebound from Karl-Anthony Towns. Towns then tipped in a Brunson miss with 1:47 remaining in OT to give the Knicks a 108-102 lead.
They didn’t score after that, but their defense closed it out.
In fact, they allowed just 33 points in the final 25 minutes of the game and got hot on offense to complete the comeback.
The Celtics led 72-52 with 6:19 remaining in the third after an Al Horford dunk, but the Knicks closed that quarter on a 23-12 surge to cut the margin to 11. Then New York scored the first eight points of the fourth quarter, and eventually tied the game at 86 with 7:21 remaining.
The teams traded leads from that point and were knotted at 100 with 53.1 seconds left. Each team had a chance to win it in the final seconds of regulation, but Jayson Tatum missed a fade-away and then Brunson couldn’t convert on a great look on the left side of the basket with 2.1 seconds left.
Despite Brunson’s miss, the Knicks were able to carry the momentum into the overtime period and outlasted the Celtics.
Boston seemingly had put the game away midway through the third quarter, but they let it up and it caught up to them.
Tatum and co-star Jaylen Brown combined for 14-of-43 shooting from the field and each had 23 points. Neither, though, could come up with much-needed baskets down the stretch.
Jrue Holiday returned to the starting lineup after a strained right hamstring caused him to miss the final three games of Boston’s first-round series with Orlando. He finished with 16 points in 39 minutes, but center Kristaps Porzingis played only 13 minutes and didn’t return after halftime because of an illness.
“Obviously, it impacts the game with his ability on both ends of the floor,” Mazzulla said about Porzingis. “It’s no excuse. We had plenty of opportunities. … Hopefully he’s ready for Game 2.’
The Celtics biggest issue was their 3-point shooting as they finished 15-for-60 from beyond the arc. Their 45 missed 3-pointers set an NBA playoff record.
“In those spots where they have momentum, we can’t just fire up 3s,” Brown said. “I felt like we just settled in the second half a lot.”
Game 2 is set for Wednesday at TD Garden, before the series moves to New York for Games 3 and 4.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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