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Mikal Bridges scored all 14 of his points in the fourth quarter for the Knicks and came up with a game-winning steal to pick the ball off Celtics’ Jayson Tatum.
Mikla Bridges came up iwth yet another game-winning block to seal the win for the Knicks, who now take a 2-0 lead (AP)
Mikal Bridges sealed another 20-point comeback with his second straight game-ending steal and the New York Knicks stunned the Boston Celtics again Wednesday night, winning 91-90 for an improbable 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Jalen Brunson scored 17 points and delivered again when it mattered. His fadeaway jumper with 1:59 to play gave New York its first lead of the game, 87-86.
And after Tatum 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.
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.
Jaylen Brown and Derrick White scored 20 points apiece for the Celtics, who were 10 for 40 from 3-point range after going 15 for 60 in Game 1.
Tatum was limited to 13 points on 5-for-19 shooting for the Celtics, who went more than eight minutes without a field goal in the fourth quarter.
Teams that win the first two games of a best-of-seven series on the road win the series 85.7% of the time. The Knicks took the opener when Bridges stole the ball away from Brown with a second left in overtime.
“I’m just happy we found a way to win,” Brunson told broadcaster TNT. “That’s some wild stuff right there.”
With both teams struggling for offensive consistency, Boston had managed to build a 73-53 lead with 3:12 left in the third quarter.
But 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,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “They made the necessary plays to win. We put ourselves in a position to do that, and we just didn’t make the plays.”
The Knicks will host game three on Saturday. Only five teams have rallied to win an NBA playoff series after dropping the first two games at home.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – Associated Press)
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