BOSTON — The New York Knicks knew going into Wednesday’s Game 2 that the Celtics would punch back aggressively after Monday’s improbable finish, which saw the defending champions melt down and blow a 20-point lead before losing in overtime to a physical Knicks club that had seized all the momentum during a topsy turvy second half.
Indeed, Boston did punch back in front of its home crowd, playing a more focused, balanced game than in the opener to take yet another 20-point lead, 73-53, with just over 14 minutes left to play in Game 2.
But much like in Monday’s Game 1, the underdog Knicks tightened the vise defensively, holding the Celtics without a basket for more than eight minutes in the fourth en route to storming all the back to win, 91-90, and take a stunning 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven conference finals series.
“Just finding ways to win,” the Knicks’ Mikal Bridges said.
On the game’s final play, Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum sought to weave through New York’s Mitchell Robinson and OG Anunoby before getting caught in the air against the baseline with nowhere to go. Bridges, who ended the first contest of the series with a steal, knocked the ball from Tatum before flinging it into the frontcourt to teammate Jalen Brunson, who’d hit the game-sealing free throws a moment earlier and now appeared to be holding his finger to his mouth to further silence the largely flabbergasted TD Garden crowd.
The Knicks finished the game on a 23-6 run.
Many of the Celtics fans remained in their seats well after the game ended, seemingly in disbelief at the outcome. As they did, the New York fans who’d made the trip up I-95 were of a different mindset, loudly chanting “Knicks in Four!”
It was easy enough to potentially write off the first game of the series as something of a fluke, given that the Knicks were not just swept 4-0, but often dominated, during its regular-season series with Boston. After all, the three-point heavy Celtics missed an NBA-record 45 triples and shot just 25% from distance, with even their coach, Joe Mazzulla, saying their shot selection could have been better than it was during the epic Game 1 collapse.
But it was hard to see it as a fluke following a Game 2 result that played out almost precisely the same way: With Boston again blowing a 20-point second-half lead, and again shooting 25% from three; this time, 10-for-40. Tatum struggled again, too, at just 5-for-19 from the floor overall, scoring just 13 points.
The Celtics have had playoff duds at times the past couple years. But they’d always bounced back. In fact, dating back to last year’s postseason, they’d gone 4-0 following a playoff loss.
So this situation, with the Knicks finding a way for a second straight game, feels different.
“Going home, we realize the opportunity we have. We just have to stay locked in,” Brunson said following the victory.
Brunson, the league’s Clutch Player of the Year who’s repeatedly come up huge in these playoffs, was again incredible down the stretch, scoring nine points in the fourth, including the Knicks’ final six.
But it was Bridges — who was scoreless and had shot 0-for-8 through the first three quarters — who kept New York afloat for much of the final period, while Brunson was on the bench taking a breather.
The forward acknowledged being in his own head because of the flat offensive performance, but his teammates encouraged him — and in some cases, perhaps, profanely shouted at him — to keep plugging away, as it’d be the only way the Knicks had a chance to come back.
“Yeah, a lot of the time, I was,” reserve Cameron Payne said when asked if he was yelling at Bridges.
Whatever was said, it certainly didn’t hurt matters. Bridges shot 6-for-10 in that fourth quarter, scoring 14 points. (Josh Hart led the Knicks with 23, while Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 21 points and 17 boards. Brunson had 17.)
As that was happening, the Knicks were playing superb defense on the Celtics; particularly on Tatum and reigning Finals MVP Jaylen Brown, whom they held to 1-for-9 shooting and just four points in that fourth period.
Tatum’s lone make in the fourth briefly looked like it might go on to be the game-winner. He scored easily after getting a high screen from Al Horford near halfcourt that confused the Knicks’ defense and freed him up for an enormous jam that ignited the TD Garden crowd with 18 seconds remaining.
After a New York timeout, Brunson drew a foul with 12.7 seconds left that put him at the line for the decisive free throws. And then, after Mazzulla opted against calling for time, Tatum sought to run the same action from the play before, but OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson played it better, leaving far less daylight for Tatum to try and dribble through. As such, the All-NBA forward had to pull the ball back out in seach of another lane.
The play exemplified the challenge the Celtics have had all series with the rangy, rim-protecting Mitchell on the floor.
He was a plus-19 in just 22 minutes in Game 2, not far off from the plus-13 he posted in 21 minutes in the series opener. Robinson’s been such a force that, for the second game in a row, Mazzulla has ordered his players to foul the poor-shooting big man intentionally to force him to the line in hopes of Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau subbing him out.
“That just made me feel like I’m a threat,” Robinson said of the Celtics’ hack strategy after the game.
Suddenly, with a surprising 2-0 lead on the defending champs and the series headed to Madison Square Garden, the Knicks as a team are feeling that way, too.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.