Boston – No one has given Knicks in this series of semi -final of the Eastern Conference.
Certainly, no one thought they would steal match 1 when they were hanging around 20 points in the third quarter.
The chances were long, but so far in this playoff series, the Knicks are at their best in these circumstances, gathering three times against the pistons in the fourth quarter of their victory in the first round series.
Monday evening was their last magic act, and their best to date. A 108-105 disorder difficult to collect the Celtics title champion in overtime.
When Mikal Bridges snatched Jaylen Brown’s ball in the last seconds of the additional session, TD Garden became silent and thus remained until a few songs “Let’s Go Knicks broke up.
“I said to Cam Payne there, that I looked at his eyes,” said Bridges, who turned a fantastic ground match with eight points, seven assists, six rebounds, three interceptions and two blocks. “I am a footballer. I just look at his eyes and I am following where the ball is, and I try to put my hands as soon as I see the ball. Because we are in place of three, so we try to be wrong. ”
Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
It was normal for Bridges to play the rattling. The Knicks had in mind the Celtics when they exchanged five first round choices for bridges and associated it with Og Anunoby. They needed wings to match Brown and Jayson Tatum. The duo managed the two all-stars of the series opener, limiting them to the shooting of 14 out of 43.
The flight and safeguarding of the bridges led to a Dunk Anunoby which started the scoring in overtime. Then Anunoby found bridges for a 3 -point pointer that pushed the advance to six. Karl-Anthony Towns added a key touch and the Knicks wanted to take the advantage of the field. So much for the importance of scanning the Knicks of the Celtics.
“This team is special,” said Towns. “Obviously (they are) the reigning champions and they will come back hungry and we have to play the next match at a higher level.”
Jalen Brunson brought back the knicks of the big deficit, marking 20 of his 29 points after half-time. His 11 consecutive points gave them a six -point lead with 3:28 to do in regulations. They were fortunate to avoid overtime, but Brunson’s float in the track entered and out of the glass. He stood under the basket for a few additional seconds after the Celtics called Timeout, frustrated by the rare Miss in Crunch Time.
“So not enough clutch,” he said.
His teammates had their backs. Anunoby scored 29 points and cities and Josh Hart added double double. Miles McBride left his funk in playoffs with 11 points on the bench. The Celtics, on the other hand, have established a record of NBA qualifiers with 45 points missed at 3 points by making 15 out of 60 in the city center and 3 out of 18 in the fourth quarter and extension. Brown and Tatum each collected 23 points of defeat for the Celtics, which have made a sequence of nine home games in the playoffs.
It was a remarkable turnaround. The Celtics seemed to be in total control, playing with the Knicks. The advance was 20 with 5:47 to do in the third quarter and TD Garden was like a party. Boston had entered the series which should pass the Knicks, a favorite in match 1 of 9.5 points.
Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Then the game turned.
Hart hit a 3. Anunoby overturned a pair. When Brunson struck his first 3 points of the night, it was only a deficit of eight points, and the advance of the Celtics was new in the last period. The Knicks continued to come, continued to believe, continued to say that the game was not finished.
“We are just going to keep fighting, who we are,” said Bridges. “We are not going (abandon) until the clock does not reach zero, and we have shown it.”
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At the end of the night, they would talk about refocusing for match 2, trying to leave Boston 2-0. Despite all the negativity of the outside of their chances, the Knicks thought they could win this series. They showed it on Monday evening.
“The important thing for us is to understand what it is,” said Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau. “It is a victory and then (we must) understand that we must reset and prepare for match 2.”
