Brunson scores 39 points, Knicks beat Celtics 118-109

BOSTON (AP) — Jalen Brunson scored 39 points in three quarters and the New York Knicks continued their quest to finish second in the Eastern Conference by beating the Boston Celtics 118-109 on Thursday night.

A day after clinching a playoff berth, the Knicks were ranked second, a game behind the Milwaukee Bucks, with each team still having two games remaining. New York should win both and have the Bucks lose their games in Oklahoma City and Orlando, as Milwaukee has the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Brunson shot 15 of 23 from the field and 6 of 11 from 3-point range. Teammate Donte DiVincenzo had 17 points and Josh Hart finished with 16. New York also received a boost from its top acquisition at the trade deadline, as Bojan Bogdanovic had 14 points.

Jayson Tatum scored 18 points for Boston. Payton Pritchard had 16 points coming off the bench and Jaylen Brown and Sam Hauser each had 15.

Despite already having a home-court advantage throughout the playoffs, the Celtics took the court with their eight best players. With the Knicks up 29, Boston coach Joe Mazzulla opened the fourth quarter with an all-reserve unit. Brunson’s night also ended a quarter late as New York denied Boston’s bid for a season sweep of its Atlantic Division rival.

The Celtics shot 11 of 19 overall and 5 of 10 from beyond the arc, but trailed 32-29 after one quarter. Hart set the tone for a productive first quarter for the Knicks, who at one point were shooting 69 percent from the field.

New York led 47-45 in the second quarter before rattling off 17 straight points as part of a 22-3 run over the final 6 1/2 minutes that made it 69-48 at the break.

Brunson helped the Knicks extend their lead to 31 points as the All-Star guard took it up several notches in the third quarter, racking up 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting.

FOLLOWING

Knicks: Host the Brooklyn Nets Friday night.

Celtics: Host the Charlotte Hornets Friday night.