New York Knicks take a 3-1 series lead after winning Game 4 against the reigning NBA champions Boston Celtics, who lost Jayson Tatum to injury.
Jalen Brunson scored 26 of his 39 points in the second half, and the New York Knicks became the first home team to win in the series by defeating the Boston Celtics 121-113 to take a 3-1 series lead in their Eastern Conference second-round matchup.
Karl-Anthony Towns added 23 points and 11 rebounds, and Mikal Bridges also scored 23 for the Knicks, who recovered from a 14-point third-quarter deficit on Monday night. OG Anunoby made some key plays late while contributing 20 points.
“They hit us early, and obviously we got into a hole,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “I love the way we fought back, and we showed a lot of toughness and more discipline in the second half and timely plays. Everybody worked together on both ends of the floor.”
Boston star Jayson Tatum sustained a possible serious right ankle injury late in the contest. Tatum had 42 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals. He knocked down seven 3-pointers for the second-seeded Celtics, who squandered 20-point leads while dropping the first two games in the series.
Tatum was helped off the floor with his right foot kept in the air and was later seen being pushed to the locker room while sitting in a rolling chair.
“I got back there, talked to the medical staff, and they told me it’s a lower-body injury for Jayson Tatum and we’ll get an MRI in the morning,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said.
Derrick White made six 3-pointers and scored 23 points, and Jaylen Brown added 20 points and seven rebounds for Boston. Payton Pritchard added 12 points off the bench.
The Knicks can clinch the best-of-seven series with a win in Game 5 at Boston on Wednesday night.
“It’s not like we planned to be in this situation,” White said. “But we are where we are. We have to find a way to win Game 5.”
Third-quarter explosion lifts Wolves over Warriors
In the other playoff game on Monday, Anthony Edwards poured 11 of his 30 points into a 17-0 third-quarter flurry as the Minnesota Timberwolves moved within one win of a second consecutive berth in the Western Conference finals with a 117-110 road win over the Golden State Warriors in Game 4 in San Francisco.
Julius Randle led the way with 31 points and Jaden McDaniels contributed 10 points and 13 rebounds for the sixth-seeded Timberwolves, who have rallied from a series-opening loss to win three straight from the Stephen Curry-less Warriors.
Minnesota could clinch the best-of-seven series in Game 5 on Wednesday in Minneapolis.
Jonathan Kuminga had a team-high 23 points for seventh-seeded Golden State, which lost Curry to a hamstring injury during its Game 1 win.
The Warriors previously announced that their standout point guard would be re-evaluated before Game 5, with the possibility of Curry returning at that point.
Golden State held a 60-58 halftime lead, and the game was tied 68-all in the fourth minute of the third period before Edwards turned a floater into a three-point play to ignite the decisive run.
Edwards also buried a pair of 3-pointers and a short jumper among his 11 points, while Mike Conley and Donte DiVincenzo drilled shots from deep as part of a burst that lasted more than four minutes.
Edwards finished 6-for-11 on 3-point attempts and Randle 4-for-8, helping the Timberwolves outscore the Warriors 48-24 from beyond the arc. Minnesota shot 16-for-34 (47.1 percent) from beyond the arc, while the Warriors were 8-for-27 (29.6 percent).
“The big third quarter was huge,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “I thought we came out at halftime with the type of focus and intensity and purpose on offence and attention to detail on defence is what we needed from the start. But for the most part, I thought we were lucky to be just down a bucket at halftime.
“[Edwards] was one of the guys that was most vocal at half time and realised what was going on out there and we needed to be better. It started with him, really, and setting the tone.”
Jimmy Butler III took just nine shots and totalled 14 points with a team-high-tying three assists for the Warriors. Draymond Green also had 14 points to go with seven rebounds, while Buddy Hield scored 13 and Brandin Podziemski had 11 to complement four steals.
“[The Timberwolves] played a great game and obviously took it to us, and we’ve got to bounce back,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “We’ve got a flight to Minneapolis tomorrow and a chance to extend the series, and that’s the plan.”
