If the games will be anything like tonight’s affair, a Knicks-Celtics playoff series would be a gift from the basketball gods, no?
Tonight, the Boston Celtics (54-26) came into Madison Square Garden to face the New York Knicks (52*-28). While Boston has essentially locked up the No. 2 seed, the Knicks are fighting to hold off the Cavaliers for the third spot. However, this marked Jayson Tatum’s big return to Madison Square Garden after rupturing an Achilles tendon here last postseason, and even without
the injured Jaylen Brown, the Celtics were determined to win this one for the Tater. The Knicks had other ideas.
Behind a nuclear performance from Josh Hart down the stretch—he went 5-of-7 from three, with three of those bombs coming in the fourth quarter—New York sent Boston back to Beantown with a bruised bottom. Final score: Knicks 112, Celtics 106.
The Knicks funneled their offense through Mikal Bridges (10 PTS, 6 ASTS, +17) to start the game, and he hit three straight buckets to give them a 7-0 lead. From there, Tatum (24 PTS, 14 RBS, 8 ASTS) quickly steadied things for the visitors, scoring, rebounding, and evened the scoreboard. Boston’s edge came from second chances and depth. Neemias Queta (10 PTS, 10 RBS) crashed the glass, and Payton Pritchard (23 PTS) chipped in off the bench to help swing momentum in the wrong direction.
Even with similar shooting splits (48% vs. 44%), the Celts doubled the Knicks in paint points (14–6) and earned extra possessions with a 4–1 edge in offensive boards. The Knicks actually shot better from beyond the arc (40% vs. 25%), but they failed to create enough interior pressure or ball movement. Jalen Brunson (25 PTS, 10 AST, 1 TOV) kept the Knicks close with a three-pointer and free throws, scoring 10 points in the quarter to narrow the score at the break, 29-26.
The second quarter began with a scrappy, uneven stretch, marked by misses, blocks, and squandered possessions on both sides, before our heroes found their rhythm. OG Anunoby (13 PTS) knocked down a three, while Mitchell Robinson (7 PTS, 7 RBS, 3 STL, 1 BLK) brought much-needed interior intensity and finished an alley-oop to push the hosts ahead. Off the bench, Miles McBride provided some lift with a timely three, a steal, and two dimes.
Pritchard continued to be a pest on both ends, while Queta built on his rebound total. When Brunson returned mid-quarter, he worked with Karl-Anthony Towns (16 PTS, 12 RBS) in the pick-and-roll to spark a rally and pull the game even. At halftime, New York held the thinnest of leads, 54-53.
Through the first 24, the Knicks were the cleaner, more efficient team. They shot 48% overall and 33% from three (versus 39% and 24%). Boston stayed close through volume, using eight offensive rebounds, a +8 edge on the glass, and near-perfect free-throw shooting. New York moved the ball better (14–9 in assists) and turned around their paint scoring in the second quarter. At the break, Captain Brunson led all scorers with 16, while Payton Pritchard had 15 on 7-of-12 shooting.
Josh Hart (26 PTS, 10-15 FG) nailed two triples, Bridges and Anunoby canned some of their own, and the Knicks extended their lead to 11 early in the third period. Towns was more active on the glass and added second-chance points, helping New York build what looked like a stable cushion. But Boston is too good to be counted out so early. Tatum kept the Beantown Bums on New York’s heels with a mix of midrange scoring, a triple, and steady rebounding. Then, gradually, Pritchard took over the quarter. The Human Milk Dud swished multiple threes, finished inside, and set up others, while Baylor Scheierman (20 PTS) and Nikola Vučević (10 PTS, 5 RBS) added timely threes to erase the deficit and regain the lead. By the end of the quarter, Boston had snuck ahead by two, 83-81.
The guests came out swinging in the fourth, with buckets from Scheierman and Tatum. The hosts stayed close behind Jordan Clarkson’s (8 PTS) brief scoring burst, but missed looks from Miles McBride and Landry Shamet stalled their offense. The energy finally shifted when the starters returned, Josh Hart immediately hit a three-pointer, and the Knicks took off on a run that flipped the lead.
The game saw-sawed from there. Pritchard and Scheierman kept knocking down buckets, but Brunson was cool and collected in the driver’s seat, scoring on a step-back three, getting to the line, and setting up Hart for a key layup. A reinvigorated Towns added a three, a dunk, and a steal, while Tatum faltered late with turnovers and a missed layup. The All-Star would finish with six turnovers and a team-worst -16 plus-minus.
Amazon flashed a graphic showing the Boston Celtics at 15–16 in clutch games and the New York Knicks at 20–13. The way these teams ripped at each other, it felt like the decision could go either way. Down the stretch, though, it was a different roommate, Mr. Josh Hart, stepping into the Captain Clutch role. He scored 15 points in the fourth, including eight in the final two minutes and a pair of dagger threes that sealed a 3–1 season series win for the good guys.
Up Next
Professor Miranda is on deck with a recap. The Knicks host the Raptors tomorrow night.
* Should be one more, but the NBA Cup was accidentally used to collect a urine sample.
