The New York Knicks have shown resilience all season, and after getting hit hard by the Boston Celtics in a Game 3 blowout on their home court, it was clear they weren’t just going to roll over. They’ve fought too hard all year to go down without a fight.
But Game 4 started pretty similarly to Game 3. Boston couldn’t miss, and the Knicks got off to another sluggish start offensively. Jayson Tatum and Derrick White were on fire, and the Celtics quickly built a double-digit lead less than five minutes into the game.
“Early on, there was a lot of miscommunication in transition,” Mikal Bridges said. “White was getting a lot of open looks — having the early struggles offensively, we can’t let that happen on the other end.”
The Knicks tried to respond, but they just couldn’t string together stops or find any rhythm. They fell behind by as much as 13 points in the second half, and things were looking grim. But then, something clicked late in the third quarter.
The energy in Madison Square Garden started to shift. The Knicks fed off the crowd’s energy and managed to grab the momentum, flipping the script to take their first lead since the opening quarter as the game entered the final frame.
As they’ve done all season, Jalen Brunson stepped up in the clutch, going shot-for-shot with Tatum. But then, the Celtics star forward suffered a non-contact injury and was forced to leave the game, a tough blow for Boston’s chances.
Bridges and OG Anunoby stepped up big-time on both ends of the court, playing excellent defense and hitting crucial baskets down the stretch. The Knicks managed to hold on for a huge 121-113 victory.
“They hit us early, but I love the way we fought back,” Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said. “We showed a lot of toughness and more discipline in the second half and then timely play with everyone working together on both ends of the floor. It starts with the defense — you have a lot of toughness and you have to do it together.”
Now, the Knicks are heading back to TD Garden with a 3-1 series lead, just one win away from eliminating the defending champions and making their first trip to the Eastern Conference Finals since 2000. Only 13 teams in NBA history have come back from a 3-1 deficit, and no one has done it since the Denver Nuggets did it twice in 2020. The Celtics will now have to find a way to stay alive without Tatum, whose status will depend on the results of his MRI.
But even with the Celtics facing a tough road ahead, the Knicks are keeping their eyes on the prize, knowing the job is far from done.
“The toughest game is the one to close out someone’s season,” Karl-Anthony Towns said, recognizing the challenge ahead.
“We’ve got to go into this next game with a sense of desperation,” Josh Hart added. “We need a sense of urgency from the jump. We have to stop giving up leads in the first quarter and doing those kinds of things — we just have to keep getting better.”
As they head back to Boston, the Knicks are focused on finishing what they’ve started, with a chance to seal the deal and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in decades.
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