Mikal Bridges scored all of his 14 factors within the fourth quarter earlier than making his second straight game-clinching steal, and the New York Knicks overcame a 20-point deficit once more to beat the Boston Celtics 91-90 on Wednesday night time for a 2-0 lead within the Japanese Convention semifinals.
Jalen Brunson scored 17 factors for New York and made two free throws with 12.7 seconds left for a 91-90 lead. Jayson Tatum then could not get to the rim and Bridges moved in to bat the ball away and get better it.
Josh Hart had 23 factors and Karl-Anthony Cities completed with 21 factors and 17 rebounds for the Knicks, who will host Recreation 3 on Saturday.
Jaylen Brown and Derrick White scored 20 factors apiece for the Celtics, who had been 10 for 40 from 3-point vary after going 15 for 60 in Recreation 1.
Tatum was restricted to 13 factors on 5-for-19 taking pictures for the Celtics, who went greater than eight minutes with no discipline aim within the fourth quarter.
Groups that win the primary two video games of a best-of-seven collection on the highway win the collection 85.7% of the time. The Knicks took the opener when Bridges stole the ball away from Brown with a second left in extra time.
Kristaps Porzingis didn’t begin after sitting out the second half of Recreation 1 with an sickness. He got here off the bench for simply the fifth time in his NBA profession and completed with eight factors and 4 rebounds in 14 minutes.
All eyes had been on the Celtics’ offense after they missed an NBA-record 45 3-pointers of their Recreation 1 loss. They went 24 for 54 from 2-point vary Wednesday.
Regardless of their taking pictures struggles, the Celtics discovered some traction late within the third quarter, utilizing a 16-6 run – keyed by their effort on the defensive finish – to show a 10-point lead right into a 73-53 benefit late within the interval.
It was 84-68 after Payton Pritchard’s 3-pointer with 8:40 to play however the Celtics would not make one other basket till Tatum’s driving dunk with 18.5 seconds remaining.
New York lower it to 86-82 on a floater by Hart earlier than Cities’ three-point play lower it to 86-85. Tatum missed a jumper, and Brunson made an 18-footer to place New York in entrance.
A jumper by Brown rolled off the rim on Boston’s subsequent journey up the ground. Brunson then discovered a lane to the basket and dropped in a layup to make it 89-86.
Tatum linked on a pair of free throws after which received it again following a New York miss that rolled out of bounds with 24.2 seconds left.
Trailing 89-88, Tatum pushed the ball in to the entrance court docket and drove simply previous Mitchell Robinson for a dunk to place the Celtics again in entrance.
Brunson was fouled and linked on each free throws.
