Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby each scored 29 points before Mikal Bridges stole the ball from Jaylen Brown with a second left in overtime as the New York Knicks stunned the Boston Celtics 108-105 in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semi-finals series on Monday night.
Karl Anthony-Towns added 14 points and 13 rebounds for New York, who lost all four games against their longtime rival during the regular season and trailed by 20 points in the second half of Monday’s game.
“We told each other just keep believing. Just keep fighting and sticking together, and keep chipping away. There wasn’t going to be a 20-point shot,” Brunson said.
Jayson Tatum and Brown both had 23 points for the defending champions, who had an NBA playoff-record 45 missed three-pointers to blow a game they appeared to have in control. Derrick White added 19 points and 11 rebounds.
“In those spots where they have momentum, we can’t just fire up threes,” Brown said. “I felt like we just settled in the second half a lot.”
Jrue Holiday returned to the starting lineup after a hamstring strain caused him to miss the final three games of Boston’s first-round series with Orlando. He finished with 16 points in 39 minutes, but Kristaps Porzingis played only 13 minutes and didn’t return after half-time because of an illness.
“Obviously it impacts the game with [Porzingis’s] ability at both ends of the floor … Hopefully he’s ready for Game 2,” Celtics coach Joe Mazulla said after the game.
The Knicks struck first in OT, taking a 106-100 edge via a three-point play by Anunoby, followed by three-pointer by Bridges. Brown connected on a three-pointer from the wing with just over a minute left – his only make in 10 attempts behind the arc – to cut the deficit to 108-105.
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After a foul on Towns, Boston called timeout with three seconds showing on the clock, but Bridges ripped the inbounds pass away from Brown to preserve the win. The Celtics finished 15 for 60 on three-pointers.
