Knicks complete 20-point comeback in Game 1 OT win over Celtics

The Knicks trailed by 20 points in the third quarter, but mounted a huge comeback to force OT and steal Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Boston Celtics, 108-105, on Monday night.

It’s their first win against the Celtics all season.

Here are the takeaways…

— Josh Hart got the Knicks going early, taking advantage of the matchup against Kristaps Porzingis and driving to the basket for two quick buckets. Foul trouble quickly became an issue for Tom Thibodeau‘s group, with Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns being forced to the bench just five minutes into the game. Jayson Tatum scored 13 straight points to swing the momentum back to Boston, while OG Anunoby hit back-to-back threes to keep things close.

Towns re-entered the game with about two minutes left in the first and scored right away. Just like the Detroit Pistons did in the first round, Boston targeted Mitchell Robinson and forced him to shoot free throws as he missed both and Payton Pritchard capitalized with a three-pointer. The Celtics held onto a 26-25 lead after the first quarter, despite shooting 29.2 percent (7-for-24) from the field vs. the Knicks’ 47.4 percent (9-for-19). They held an 11-8 FTA advantage and outrebounded the Knicks 17-14. Miles McBride made two threes off of the bench to help New York stay in it.

— Towns stayed hot and made two straight jumpers to open the second quarter, giving him 10 points already. Towns picked up his third foul and Boston began to take control of the game, going on a 15-5 run to build an eight-point lead. The “hack-a-Shaq” approach against Robinson continued, slowing down the Knicks’ fastbreak offense.

Precious Achiuwa then replaced Robinson, playing for the first time all playoffs, and helped Hart grab an offensive rebound that lead to a much-needed Jalen Brunson three-pointer. That would be the last good possession of the half for New York, as Boston closed on a 13-3 run and took a commanding 61-45 lead at the half. The Celtics upped their shooting to 41.7 percent with Tatum (13 points), Jaylen Brown (14 points), and Pritchard (13 points) leading the way. Towns still had the 10 points at the break for the Knicks, while Brunson had just nine points on 3-for-9 shooting.

— Things continued to go Boston’s way in the third quarter as two Derrick White three-pointers and an Al Horford dunk gave them their biggest lead of the night, 72-52. Towns also picked up his fourth foul on an offensive charge, sending him back to the bench.

But the Knicks didn’t give up, going on a 9-0 thanks to two Anunoby threes. A Brunson three with about a minute left in the third quarter cut the Celtics’ lead to eight, but a Horford three before the buzzer made it a 84-75 game heading into the fourth. The Knicks won the third quarter 30-23 with Towns on the bench for half of it as Anunoby had 12 points and Brunson had nine.

— McBride opened the fourth quarter with his third three-pointer and KAT grabbed an offensive board and scored to make it a four-point game. Anunoby stole it from Tatum and went the length of the court for a game-tying dunk. Jrue Holiday made his second three-pointer of the night to go up 89-86 and force a Thibodeau timeout with 6:24 remaining. Brunson tied the game for the ninth and tenth times of the game before giving them a 94-91 lead — their first since early in the second quarter (33-31). He then hit another three while guarded by Horford, taking advantage of the mismatch on the perimeter.

White and Anunoby traded threes and Holiday tied the game at 100-100 with a layup. Anunoby and Tatum missed go-ahead buckets, giving the Knicks a chance with 5.1 seconds remaining. Brunson inbounded to Towns, who found the star guard on the backdoor cut, but he missed the game-winning floater. NY won the fourth 25-16 to force OT.

— Mikal Bridges came up with a huge steal in OT, leading to an Anunoby and-one dunk and then hit a three of his own to go up 106-100. It was just his second three-pointer on a tough shooting night. Towns fouled Brown on the floor with three seconds left and Bridges wrestled for the ball with Brown as time expired to complete the comeback and steal Game 1 on the road.

— The Celtics missed an NBA playoff record 45 three-pointers.

Who was the game MVP?

Anunoby, who took over in the second half and helped lead the comeback. He finished with 29 points on 10-for-20 shooting, including 6-for-11 from three, four rebounds, three assists, and one steal.

Highlights

What’s next

The Knicks and Celtics will play Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals on Wednesday, May 7 at 7:00 p.m.

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