Double whammy: Knicks earn 3-1 series edge as Celtics lose Tatum to serious-looking injury

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Jalen Brunson scores 26 of his 39 points in the second half as the New York Knicks move to the cusp of eliminating the Boston Celtics, who in turn lose top star Jayson Tatum to a lower leg 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 dispatching the Boston Celtics 121-113 on Monday night (Tuesday, May 13, Manila time) to take a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal matchup.

Karl-Anthony Towns added 23 points and 11 rebounds and Mikal Bridges also had 23 for the Knicks, who recovered from a 14-point third-quarter deficit. 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.”

Brunson also had 12 assists for third-seeded New York.

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 series’ first two games.

“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 Mazzula 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.”

Anunoby drilled a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 5:52 left in the fourth quarter to start a decisive 14-2 spurt.

A jumper in the lane by Bridges made it 111-104, and Anunoby added a steal and dunk to increase the gap to 113-104 with 3:03 left. Tatum was injured on the latter play and grabbed for his ankle and signaled for a timeout with 2:58 to go.

“It’s very concerning from the care we have for him, what he means to us and what he means for Boston,” Celtics center Al Horford said. “It’s very tough for us. More importantly, this is very tough for him right now. It’s very tough for our group altogether.”

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.

Brunson nailed a trey to cap the run and all but seal it at 116-104 with 2:25 remaining.

“I just found a way to make plays and get us going,” Brunson said. “We’ve got one more.”

New York connected on 54.3 percent of its shots and was 12 of 34 (35.3 percent) from behind the arc.

Boston made 18 of 48 3-point attempts (37.5 percent) and is 38 of 88 (43.2 percent) over the past two contests after being a dreadful 25 of 100 in its opening two setbacks. Overall, the Celtics made 48.1 percent of their shots in Game 4.

Boston led 72-58 after White’s 3-pointer with 9:06 remaining in the third quarter before the Knicks went on a 30-13 burst over the rest of the period.

A 3-pointer by Anunoby with 32.1 seconds left gave New York an 86-85 edge, the hosts’ first lead since the opening quarter. Josh Hart added a layup with 3.5 seconds left before Bridges opened the fourth quarter with a short jumper to give the Knicks a 90-85 lead.

Tatum drilled a 3-pointer to knot the score at 96 with 8:22 remaining. Tatum knocked down another trey 65 seconds later to give Boston a one-point advantage, and he later converted a three-point play to tie it at 102 with 6:12 to go.

Tatum (20 first-half points) and White (17) each made four 3-pointers as Boston led 62-51 at the break. Brunson led the Knicks with 13 points in the half. – Rappler.com