New York Knicks Go Up 2-0 On The Boston Celtics

After rallying from 20 points down for the second consecutive game, the New York Knicks stunned the Boston Celtics in a 91-90 thriller on Thursday, (May 7) night.

 As the series shifts to Madison Square Garden on Saturday, the Knicks now hold a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. Also, the squad holds the distinction of being the first team in NBA playoff history to come back from 20 points down in consecutive games.

Trailing for most of the contest, the Knicks closed the game on a 38-17 run, while Boston shot just 2-15 from long range in the fourth quarter, almost mirroring what happened in the first game. 

Jalen Brunson, who had his struggles throughout the game, came up big as usual during clutch time, scoring nine of his 17 points in the final period. His backcourt partner Mikal Bridges was held scoreless first three quarters, dropped 14 points in the fourth, and  added another game-saving defensive stop by blocking Tatum’s last-second shot attempt

Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau spoke about the resilience of his team following the game 

“People always talk about offensive runs, but teams go on defensive runs as well. Rebounding runs,” Thibodeau said.

Josh Hart led the Knicks with 23 points, and Karl-Anthony Towns had a monster game with 21 points and 17 rebounds. Bridges, who scored all 14 of his points in the fourth quarter, pulled down eight rebounds with five assists.

For the Celtics, Derrick White poured in 20 points and snatched nine rebounds for the Celtics in the loss. Jaylen Brown added 20 points, too, and Tatum finished with 13 points and 14 rebounds. 

As a team, the Celtics made just 10-of-40 from the 3-point line. Last game, they set an NBA playoff record with 45 missed 3-pointers in Game 1.