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Irish Examiner
13-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
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).
USA Today
25-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Orlando star Paolo Banchero hopes home crowd helps Magic steal a game vs. Boston Celtics
Orlando star Paolo Banchero hopes home crowd helps Magic steal a game vs. Boston Celtics Even with star Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum sidelined with an injury to his wrist sustained in Game 1 of their 2025 Eastern Conference NBA Playoffs first round series, the Orlando Magic could not steal a win from the Celtics at their home court of TD Garden. But with the series now shifting to Florida when Boston makes the trip to the Magic's home arena of Kia Center, things might get a little easier for Orlando. Or at least that is what star Magic forward Paolo Banchero thought after dropping Game 2 to Boston this past Wednesday (April 23) night. "We usually play better in front of our home home crowd, (and are) able to feed off their energy," said Banchero to the media. "So (we're) looking forward to holding down home court." The folks behind the "CLNS Media Boston Sports Network" YouTube channel put together a clip of the interview for you to watch. Check it out below! If you enjoy this pod, check out the "How Bout Them Celtics," "First to the Floor," "Celtics Lab," and the many other New England sports podcasts available on the CLNS Media network.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Do the Cleveland Cavaliers have a chance to beat the Boston Celtics in the East finals?
Do the Cleveland Cavaliers have any chance of beating the Boston Celtics in the 2025 Eastern Conference NBA Playoffs? The two East behemoths would of course have to meet in the conference finals, but as the No. 1 and 2 seeds respectively, it seems like it is not too much of a stretch to suggest that these ball clubs are indeed on a collision course to such an end. What would it take for the Cavs to beat the Celtics and make it to the 2025 NBA Finals, ending Boston's hopes of repeating as champs and hanging Banner 19? NBA Writer, radio host, and broadcaster Frank Isola recently sat down to talk it over on a recent episode of the "Jim Jackson Show" to talk it over. Advertisement Take a look at the clip embedded below to hear what they had to say about how a nightmare scenario for Boston fans might unfold. If you enjoy this pod, check out the "How Bout Them Celtics," "First to the Floor," "Celtics Lab," and the many other New England sports podcasts available on the CLNS Media network. Listen to the "Celtics Lab" podcast on: Apple Podcasts: Spotify: This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Do the Cavaliers have a chance to beat the Celtics in the East finals?
USA Today
25-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Do the Cleveland Cavaliers have a chance to beat the Boston Celtics in the East finals?
Do the Cleveland Cavaliers have a chance to beat the Boston Celtics in the East finals? Do the Cleveland Cavaliers have any chance of beating the Boston Celtics in the 2025 Eastern Conference NBA Playoffs? The two East behemoths would of course have to meet in the conference finals, but as the No. 1 and 2 seeds respectively, it seems like it is not too much of a stretch to suggest that these ball clubs are indeed on a collision course to such an end. What would it take for the Cavs to beat the Celtics and make it to the 2025 NBA Finals, ending Boston's hopes of repeating as champs and hanging Banner 19? NBA Writer, radio host, and broadcaster Frank Isola recently sat down to talk it over on a recent episode of the "Jim Jackson Show" to talk it over. Take a look at the clip embedded below to hear what they had to say about how a nightmare scenario for Boston fans might unfold. If you enjoy this pod, check out the "How Bout Them Celtics," "First to the Floor," "Celtics Lab," and the many other New England sports podcasts available on the CLNS Media network. Listen to the "Celtics Lab" podcast on: Apple Podcasts: Spotify:
USA Today
24-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
The Pretty, the Ugly, and the TBD of the Boston Celtics' Game 2 win over the Orlando Magic
The Pretty, the Ugly, and the TBD of the Boston Celtics' Game 2 win over the Orlando Magic The Boston Celtics improved to 2-0 in their 2025 Eastern Conference NBA Playoffs first round series against the Orlando Magic at TD Garden this past (April 23) night with a mature, 109-100 win. It was all the more impressive that the Celtics managed to do so in a game that never felt like it was in danger of being lost despite the absence of star Boston forward Jayson Tatum. The St. Louis native, of course, was on the bench resting a wrist he picked up a bone bruise on in Game 1 of the series, missing the first playoff game of his seven-season career. But in his absence, the Celtics managed quite well with five players scoring in double figures, fellow star wing Jaylen Brown (36 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists on 12-of-19 shooting including 5-of-7 from 3) standing out in particular. Let's take a look at the pretty, the ugly, and what is still to be determined by Boston in this series. The Pretty First and foremost, this was a win powered by veteran savvy, the Celtics playing like a team that's been to the mountain top, unphased by Tatum sitting out the game. Players knew their roles, and with some minor exceptions, executed well and with focus for nearly the entire game. Boston winning the rebounding battle 46-34 highlighted the energy and intensity they brought in this tilt, and getting to the line 33 times (converting 25) highlighted how aggressive the Celtics elected to play. And while Brown led the way in that regard, flashes of his teammates sharing that load throughout the night -- especially Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, and Kristaps Porzingis -- kept Orlando from ever finding their sea legs in this game. And Porzingis has found an odd way to amp up the crowd with inadvertent shots to the head reminiscent of the tenure of Daniel Theis. Clearly not the sort of play one hopes for, but between that and some clutch 3s from Brown, White, and Sixth Man of the Year Payton Pritchard, the Boston faithful chose those moments to make their presence heard. The Ugly As we noted last game, Boston continues to struggle from deep against the Magic, with just 37 attempts compared to their usual 48.2. This is by design from the Magic's highly-rated defense, as is the Celtics lack of ball movement (just 17 assists vs. their typical 26.1) in the win. While this is clearly a business decision on Boston's part to an extent, the Celtics should be able to move the ball a bit more, get up a few more shots from deep, and most importantly, hit them at a better clip than 32.4%. The officiating also seemed to change in terms of how the game was being called as time went on (more on this later), and Orlando -- and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope especially -- leaned into junking up the game to a concerning degree. What's To Be Determined The elephant in the room is of course when Tatum will return, and whether him sitting another game to rest his wrist could risk losing a game on the road against Orlando. With Boston now up 2-0 in the series, there is a case to be made to be conservative with the Celtics' biggest star to have him ready for a run back to the finals. But knowing the Duke alum, he'll likely push hard to get back on the court for Game 3 to try for the de facto knockout win. Also, how long (and how much) are officials going to allow the aggressive play they have been so far in the series? It is normal for the level of physicality to go up in the postseason (and officiating to relax over it), but the desperation level from Orlando will be very high in a two-game hole in front of their fans in their home arena. No need to make this a gentle jump-shooting contest that would favor Boston, but a little tighter whistle might prevent a fight -- or worse.
