New York Knicks erase another 20-point deficit to beat Boston Celtics for 2-0 lead in NBA Playoffs
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New York Knicks forward Mikal Bridges (left) blocks a pass of Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum during the fourth quarter on May 7.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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BOSTON – The New York Knicks rallied again from 20 points down to snatch a 91-90 victory over the Boston Celtics on May 7 and take a 2-0 lead over the defending National Basketball Association (NBA) champions in their Eastern Conference semi-final play-off series.
After rallying from 20 down in a gritty overtime triumph in Game 1, the Knicks authored another epic comeback.
Mikal Bridges scored all 14 of his points in the fourth quarter for the Knicks and came up with a steal as Boston’s Jayson Tatum drove for a potential game-winning basket in the waning seconds at TD Garden. It was Bridges’ second victory-sealing steal in as many games, and he credited his teammates with keeping him going when he was struggling.
“It’s really truly them, just holding me together and keeping me mentally right and just telling me to keep going,” he said.
Josh Hart led the Knicks with 23 points and Karl-Anthony Towns added 21 points and 17 rebounds.
Jalen Brunson scored 17 points and delivered again when it mattered. His fade-away jumper with 1min 59sec to play gave New York their first lead of the game at 87-86. And after Tatum, who had 13 points, raced the length of the court for a dunk that put the Celtics up 90-89 with 18.5 seconds left, Brunson drilled a pair of free throws to put the Knicks back on top.
“I’m just happy we found a way to win. That’s some wild stuff right there,” he told broadcaster TNT.
With both teams struggling for offensive consistency, Boston had managed to build a 73-53 lead with 3:12 left in the third quarter.
Jaylen Brown and Derrick White scored 20 points apiece for the Celtics – but Brown had just three after half-time and a run of 14 straight missed baskets by Boston in the fourth quarter gave the Knicks the only opening they needed.
“That third, fourth quarter I thought we generated some good looks and then I thought we had some live ball turnovers and they took advantage of it. They made the necessary plays to win. We put ourselves in position to do that, and we just didn’t make the plays,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said.
The Knicks will host Game 3 on May 10. Only five teams have rallied to win an NBA play-off series after dropping the first two games at home, but Brown insisted the Celtics can do it.
“We can get back into this thing, no question. If I had to select any guys that can get it done, it’s the group that we have in our locker room,” he said.
Over at the Paycom Centre, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 34 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 149-106 home blowout of the Denver Nuggets in Game 2 of their Western Conference semi-final series on May 7. Jalen Williams added 17 points and Chet Holmgren had 15 points, 11 rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots.
The Thunder, who set a franchise single-game play-off scoring record, tied the best-of-seven series 1-1 ahead of Game 3 in Denver on May 9.
“We knew what was at stake tonight. We came out desperate. That wasn’t really an option for us. We did the necessary things to get a W,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.
Russell Westbrook led Denver’s scoring with 19 points, while Nikola Jokic scored 17 points with six turnovers before fouling out late in the third quarter.
Oklahoma City poured it on early, scoring 45 first-quarter points and stretching the lead to 24 just more than 10 minutes into the game. The Thunder tied the NBA play-off record for most points in a half with 87, leading by as many as 35 before the intermission.
The only other team to score 87 points in a half during the post-season were the Milwaukee Bucks in the second half of a second-round game in 1978 against the Nuggets. AFP, REUTERS
