The Boston Celtics lost Game 4 and saw Jayson Tatum suffer a potentially serious injury on Monday night against the New York Knicks. The Knicks won 121-113 thanks to a strong second half and erased another large deficit, and they now lead the best-of-seven series, 3-1. The reigning champs are on the brink of elimination, and they very well could be without their star player as they face elimination on Wednesday in Game 5 back in Boston.
Tatum suffered an lower right leg injury with three minutes left in Game 4. He was helped off the floor and needed a wheelchair to get back to the locker room. Tatum had a game-high 42 points before exiting, and Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said he'll undergo an MRI on Tuesday.
Jalen Brunson led the Knicks again, scoring 39 points on 14-of-25 shooting. Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns all scored at least 20 points as the Knicks moved to within one win of their first Eastern Conference finals appearance since 2000.
The Knicks trailed by as many as 14 points in the third quarter before making another impressive late-game run. New York overcame 20-point deficits in both Games 1 and 2, winning both to take a 2-0 series lead. The Knicks now hold a 3-1 edge in the series despite leading for just 24 minutes and 55 seconds over the four games. That is the least amount of time leading by a team with a 3-1 (or better) series lead since the stat was first tracked in 1998.
The Knicks shot 54.3% from the floor in Game 4, including going 38 for 58 (65.5%) on 2-point attempts.
The Celtics, meanwhile, got 43 combined points from Jaylen Brown and Derrick White, and they outshot the Knicks from 3 in this game (18 made 3s to New York's 12), but the rest of the rotation struggled. Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford and Jrue Holiday combined for just 16 points.
The Celtics will need to win three games in a row to advance. If they lose the series to the Knicks, they'll become the sixth straight defending NBA champion that failed to get out of the second round.
The Celtics are on the verge of falling behind 3-1 in the series. (The Knicks lead 113-104 with three minutes remaining), but the Celtics also could be losing their star player. Jayson Tatum went down with a lower right leg injury. He was helped off the court and is Boston's locker room.
It's been a tremendous fourth quarter so far, and the Knicks are maintaining their lead as they trade baskets with the Celtics. Jayson Tatum is up to a game-high 39 points with eight coming in the fourth quarter.
We have a ballgame at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks outscored the Celtics by 14 points in the third quarter to take a three-point lead heading into the final 12 minutes. New York trailed by as many as 14 points in the third quarter but rallied to pull ahead.
Jalen Brunson is up to 31 points, the same mark Jayson Tatum has for Boston.
With 5:58 left in the third, New York is on a 13-5 run in the last three minutes. The Celtics are up 77-71.
That run included a flagrant foul on Jaylen Brown -- it was a reckless closeout on a Jalen Brunson 3-pointer. It also included this middy from Mikal Bridges:
Bridges has 13 points (6-14 FG, 1-5 3PT), two rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block in 26 minutes.
Boston has been in control pretty much all night, but we remember how the first two games went, don't we?
A positive for the Knicks: Boston didn't go on a crazy run at the end of the second quarter. At the half, their deficit is 11 points, just like it was at the end of the first.
Jayson Tatum has 20 points on 8-for-13 shooting, including 4-for-7 from deep, plus six rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks in 20 minutes. This is by far his best half of the series.
Derrick White has 17 points on 4-for-5 shooting, all from deep, and he has made five of his seven free-throw attempts.
The Celtics are collectively shooting 20 for 37 from the field, 12 for 24 from 3-point range and 10 for 15 from the line.
The Knicks are collectively shooting 20 for 47 from the field, 7 for 22 from 3-point range and 4 for 4 from the line.
New York has rebounded 40.7% of its missed shots. This is a big number, and it's a credit to Mitchell Robinson. The Knicks have an 11-5 edge in second chance points.
According to Cleaning The Glass, Boston has scored 119.5 points per 100 possessions in the halfcourt, and New York has managed only 87.5 per 100 in the halfcourt.
Jalen Brunson has 13 points (4-8 FG, 1-3 3PT, 4-4 FT) and five assists in 20 minutes.
Here's a Kristaps Porzingis putback dunk:
By the way, back in 2015 (!) I wrote a story about Porzingis putback-dunking his way into New York's heart. I am typing this from Madison Square Garden, where I can report that fans weren't particularly happy about this one.
Shortly after that last update, OG Anunoby checked back in for Mitchell Robinson. Shortly after that, Towns picked up his third foul trying to guard a Derrick White drive, so Robinson checked back in for him.
The current lineups:
NYK: Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Mitchell Robinson
BOS: Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Kristaps Porzingis
Anunoby quickly made a catch-and-shoot 3 over Tatum, but Brown answered with a catch-and-shoot 3 of his own. Brown is at the line with 3:22 left in the second quarter and the Celtics up 55-47.
With 6:21 left in the first half, the Celtics are up 48-42 and the Knicks are on a 7-0 run.
Directly preceding the timeout that Boston just called, Miles McBride hit a 3 in transition after Karl-Anthony Towns blocked Jaylen Brown at the rim. Often, missed layups/blocked shots at the rim are basically live-ball turnovers. This is especially the case when the guy who missed the shot falls down, as Brown did on this possession.
OG Anunoby, by the way, has not played in the second quarter. This happened in the first:
Joe Mazzulla has been preaching the importance of closing quarters in the past few days, so he must be thrilled with how the first ended on Monday.
In the last 1:15 of the first quarter, Boston went on a 12-0 run. There were four 3s on consecutive possessions: three by Jayson Tatum, one by Payton Pritchard.
In 12 minutes, Tatum has 15 points on 6-for-8 shooting. He has made three of his five 3-point attempts.
Derrick White also played the entire quarter and scored 14 points on 4-for-4 shooting, all from deep.
The Knicks' Jalen Brunson has nine points on 4-for-6 shooting.
New York as a team is shooting 4 for 10 from deep, which is fine ... except Boston is shooting 9 for 14 from deep.
The Knicks fell down early, but they've now gone on a 10-3 run. It's 16-14 for Boston with 5:52 left in the first quarter after a tough stepback 2 by OG Anunoby, a midrange jumper by Mikal Bridges, a spot-up 3 from Bridges and a pull-up 3 by Jalen Brunson.
Here's Brunson drawing a charge on Jaylen Brown:
Boston has to cut out the turnovers.
Entering Game 4, the Knicks' starting lineup -- Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns -- had been outscored by 48.6 points per 100 possessions in first quarters during this series. This led many people to speculate that Tom Thibodeau might change the starters, but this did not happen.
And a few minutes in, it's the same story so far: Boston leads 13-4 with 8:38 left in the first quarter. The Celtics are shooting 5 for 7 and New York is shooting 2 for 6.
Derrick White has already attempted three 3s and made all of them:
