BOSTON — Trailing 108-105 with three seconds left in overtime, the Celtics had a chance to tie Monday’s Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Only, as Derrick White’s cross-court inbound pass to Jaylen Brown sailed over the defense, New York Knicks wing Mikal Bridges channeled his inner NFL cornerback.
“I was just watching his eyes,” said Bridges. “I’m a football guy.”
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So as soon as the ball found Brown, Bridges ripped it from his arms and took a victory with it.
“Those are big-time toughness plays,” said Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau. “It’s a 50-50 ball and just go get it. That’s what he did. When you’re trying to win a playoff game, they’re hard to win. You have to make plays like that. Your defense, your toughness, your teamwork, that’s paramount in a playoff game.”
Desire. That is how the Knicks stole the first game of their second-round series.
“Just toughness,” said Knicks wing Josh Hart. “Just grittiness.”
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New York trailed 75-55 with 5:47 remaining in the third quarter. All hope was lost. Jayson Tatum had put Karl-Anthony Towns in a pick-and-roll blender from the jump, forcing him into foul trouble. The Celtics hacked Mitchell Robinson, sending him to the free-throw line, where he made just three of 10 attempts, riding him out of the game, too. The Knicks were searching for answers and finding none on the court.
But they found one in the huddle.
Knicks wing Mikal Bridges rips the ball from Celtics counterpart Jaylen Brown to steal Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
(Maddie Meyer via Getty Images)
“We told each other, ‘Just keep believing, keep fighting, keep sticking together and keep chipping away,'” said Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson, who scrapped his way to 29 points on 23 shots. “There wasn’t going to be a 20-point shot to come back. We just had to keep chipping away possession by possession.”
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That they did. Mostly on the backs of Brunson and OG Anunoby, who also scored 29 points, the Knicks closed the third quarter on a 23-12 run, cutting the deficit to a manageable 84-75 entering the fourth. But really it was everyone who contributed. Josh Hart embodied that effort in 45 minutes of relentlessness.
“He’s going to find a way to run around and do things,” said Brunson, who played 44 minutes. “The way he brings energy is contagious. We feed off his energy, and it propelled us to come back from down 20.”
True to form, Anunoby stripped Tatum midway through the fourth, slamming home a game-tying dunk. He left the rest of regulation to Brunson, who put on his cape, arriving as the Clutch Player of the Year.
“It’s not about putting the team on my back,” said Brunson. “I have confidence in them, and they have confidence in me. We’re going to go out there, compete and find the best way to attack each possession.
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“It may look like I get the credit, but it’s a credit to them. It’s not just me.”
Except when it is. Sometimes the best way to attack each possession is to let Brunson cook, and he fixed up 11 straight Knicks points to give them a 97-91 lead with 3:28 to play. Boston finally responded, even taking a 98-97 lead a minute later, but the two teams settled at 100-100 in the final seconds. Both Tatum and Brunson missed game-tying shots. Brunson’s was an errant runner that should have found the net.
“He should’ve won it in regulation,” joked Hart. “Clutch Player of the Year for a reason.”
He was not that in overtime. Instead Anunoby, Bridges and Towns combined for New York’s eight points in the extra frame, just enough to hold off the defending champions — all thanks to Bridges’ interception.
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“We’re going to keep fighting,” said Bridges. “It’s who we are. We’re going to go until the clock hits zero.”
When it did, the Knicks handed the Celtics their first series deficit since the 2023 Eastern Conference finals, when they lost a Game 7 to the Miami Heat. To match that feat the Knicks know they have to bury this win quickly, moving to Game 2, because they know what kind of response they will get from Boston.
“We know that this series isn’t going to be easy,” said Hart. “That’s a heck of a team.”
“Tonight we all go back and eat dinner together, wake up tomorrow and it’s a brand new day,” added Brunson, whose well-worn Knicks have one day of rest before tip-off on Wednesday. “Game 2, 0-0. We’ve got to go out there and do the same thing. That’s our mindset. We’ve got to flush it as soon as possible.”
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“Of course winning a game makes you feel good, but just as quick as you win a game you can lose the next one,” said Towns (14 points, 13 rebounds). “If anything, we showed that in the Pistons series. We’ve got to enjoy this one tonight, but tomorrow we’ve got to get right back to business. This team is special, obviously a defending champion, and they’re going to come back hungrier, executing at a higher level.”
The Knicks are far from satisfied with this victory. Thibodeau was not happy with the 19 offensive rebounds his team allowed. “We can get even better (on defense),” said Anunoby. And the Celtics missed 45 of their 60 3-point attempts. New York knows as well as anyone that is unlikely to happen again.
“Some [missed] shots were lucky,” said Towns. “They missed some 3s I think we all know they make.”
This was not a blueprint victory. The process for the Celtics — attacking the paint early, opening up the offense late — was the right one, even if they settled for a handful of 3-pointers when drives would do.
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But the Knicks have their own blueprint: toughness and togetherness. And talent, too.
“This is a close-knit group, and we know we’re all we got,” said Towns. “Regardless of how the game’s playing out, we’re playing for each other. We’re playing for the brother to the left and to the right, so we’re going to leave everything we have on the court. Some days it won’t be enough, but we know if we come back in this locker room we can look at each other and know we gave everything we had.”
“I don’t think there is a blueprint,” said Brunson, “but as long as we stick together anything is possible.”