Eastern Conference upsets: Pacers and Knicks’ chances
The Pacers and Knicks are gearing up for possible upsets in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
NEW YORK — Jalen Brunson earned his Clutch Player of the Year award, scoring 23 of his 39 points in the second half, and the New York Knicks again came back from a double-digit deficit to beat the Boston Celtics, 121-113, on May 12, putting the defending champions one game away from a stunning elimination.
Game 5 is Wednesday night at TD Garden in Boston in the best-of-seven series.
Mikal Bridges scored 12 points in the fourth quarter as part of a 23-point effort for New York, which finally got its offense rolling after a stagnant Game 3 performance on both ends of the floor.
But it was Brunson, who also had 12 assists and five rebounds, who stole the show in the third, scoring 18 points as he single-handedly brought the Knicks back from a halftime deficit to give the Knicks only their fourth lead in the last two games at 86-85 on a 3-pointer by OG Anunoby with 32 seconds remaining to cap a 12-0 run.
Jayson Tatum, who left late in the fourth quarter with a non-contact lower leg injury, hit seven 3-pointers, scoring 42 points with eight rebounds, four assists, and four steals, and White had 23 as the Celtics went 17-44 from behind the arc. Jaylen Brown had 20 points and seven rebounds.
New York, which ranked fifth in offensive efficiency during the regular season, again had trouble containing Boston around the perimeter and creating opportunities for itself to get out in transition, but used the Madison Square Garden energy in the second half to take control of the series. The Knicks used a blistering second half to shoot 54.3% for the game.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 25 points and 11 rebounds, and Anunoby added 23 for the Knicks, after scoring only seven points in the previous two games.
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