New York looks to finish out series against Boston in Game 5
Jalen Brunson had 39 points and 12 assists, and the New York Knicks moved a win away from their first Eastern Conference finals appearance in 25 years and pushed the defending champion Boston Celtics to the brink of elimination with a 121-113 victory in Game 4.
The Celtics will have to make just the 14th comeback from a 3-1 deficit in NBA history to extend their title reign and may have to do it without All-Star Jayson Tatum, who was carried off the court with a leg injury in the final minutes.
The series resumes Wednesday nighty in Boston with the Celtics needing to win to extend their NBA title reign.
After leading by at least 20 points in the first three games – but blowing the first two of them in Boston – the Celtics had another double-digit lead less than five minutes into this game.
They led 62-51 at halftime, but the Knicks played their starters the entire way in a desperate third quarter in which they outscored the Celtics 37-23 to set up a thrilling final period.
'I don't know,' Brunson said when asked about what had changed in the second half. 'Just find a way to make plays and get us going … I was just in the flow.' Tatum's three-point play tied it for the final time at 102-all before Anunoby hit a three-pointer and the Knicks later put it away for good with an 11-0 burst that made it 116-104.
Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns each added 23 points and OG Anunoby bounced back from two poor performances by scoring 20 for the Knicks, who can win the series on Wednesday night at Boston. If not, they would come back to Madison Square Garden to try to do it on Friday night.
'They played phenomenal, didn't quit, they kept fighting, that's what's most important whenever we get in a hole – you can't quit and we showed that,' Brunson said of his teammates.
Tatum scored 42 points, his high in these playoffs, before he was hurt when the Celtics turned the ball over and his leg gave out as he tried to lunge forward toward the loose ball. He immediately grabbed his leg and appeared to be in significant pain as he was treated by medical staff on court. Tatum was later seen being pushed to the locker room in a wheelchair with his hands over his face. The Celtics did not issue an official statement on the injury but Tatum will undergo an MRI.
'I mean, at this point, I'm concerned about Jayson,' Celtics centre Al Horford said. 'That's the most important to me ... The game stuff, we'll address it. But I'm just hoping that he's OK.'
The Knicks had taken control just before Tatum's injury in front of a delirious crowd of fans who haven't seen them play in the conference finals since they lost to Indiana in 2000.
NOT THIS TIME: THE Celtics' Jayson Tatum (left) intercepts a pass from New York's Karl-Anthony Towns in Monday's Game 4 of the Eastern Conference NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks lead the series 3-1.
Nobody has come from 3-1 down since Denver did so twice in 2020. It hasn't happened when a team had to win a true road game since Cleveland rallied past Golden State in the 2016 NBA finals.
Asked what the Knicks need to close out the series in Boston, Brunson was to the point. 'We've got to focus, that's a great team over there.'
In Monday's other game, Anthony Edwards scored 30 points for his second straight 30-point performance, Julius Randle had 31 points and the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Golden State Warriors 117-110 for a 3-1 lead in their Western Conference playoff series. Now, it's back home to Minneapolis for the Wolves with a chance to clinch the series in Game 5 on Wednesday. The Warriors will still be without Stephen Curry, who sat out his third game in a row and is scheduled to have his strained left hamstring re-evaluated that day.
Play-Offs - Eastern Conference: New York Knicks 121 Boston Celtics 113 (Knicks lead series 3-1); - Western Conference: Golden State Warriors 110 Minnesota Timberwolves 117 (Timberwolves lead series 3-1).
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