‘Inexcusable’: Boston Celtics squander another 20-point lead as New York Knicks take commanding 2-0 series lead

By Matias Grez, CNN

(CNN) — The New York Knicks fought back from a 20-point third-quarter deficit for the second straight game against the Boston Celtics to open up a 2-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Jalen Brunson made two clutch free throws with 12.7 seconds remaining to give the Knicks a one-point lead, before Mikal Bridges made another game-winning steal, this time on Jayson Tatum, to secure a huge 91-90 win at TD Garden.

Teams that win the first two games of a playoff series on the road advance to the next round 85.7% of the time, per the Associated Press. The defending champions are now in real danger of being eliminated with the next two games at a raucous Madison Square Garden.

“Two games we’re up 20 points (and) somehow end up not with wins is inexcusable,” Boston star Jaylen Brown, who was the victim of Bridges’ game-winning steal in the series opener, told reporters. “Obviously, being down two, it sucks.

“It’s an opportunity to show what we’re made of,” Brown added. “Obviously, we wouldn’t like to be in this position, but we’re here now, so we got to respond.”

No team in the history of the NBA has shot more three-pointers than this version of the Celtics, but it has been their undoing so far in this series, going a combined 25-of-100 from deep across Games 1 and 2 – including missing a league playoff-record 45 triples in the opener.

The Celtics offense crumbled in the fourth quarter, missing 14 of its final 15 shots that included an incredible run of more than eight minutes without a bucket.

It has been a remarkable start to the series for a Knicks team that finished 10 games back from the No. 1 seed Celtics and got swept 4-0 in the teams’ regular season matchups.

Josh Hart finished with a game-high 23 points for the Knicks, while Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 points and 17 rebounds.

Brunson, the 2024-25 Clutch Player of the Year, had 17 points – including the Knicks’ last six of the game – and seven assists. After shooting 0-for-8 through the first three quarters, Bridges scored all 14 of his points in the fourth before his crucial steal at the end.

Bridges said after the game that the team is “just finding ways to win.”

For the Celtics, Derrick White and Brown had 20 points, but it was a tough night for Tatum who finished with 13 points on 5-of-19 shooting.

Game 3 is at Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday.

Thunder set playoff record in demolition of Nuggets

The Oklahoma City Thunder demolished the Denver Nuggets 149-106 on Wednesday to level the series at 1-1.

Oklahoma set a new NBA playoff record for points scored in a half, dropping a staggering 87 in the first half against the Nuggets.

Denver, who fired longtime head coach Michael Malone just before the playoffs, snatched a win in Game 1 with a late Aaron Gordon three-pointer, but Game 2 was never even a contest as the Thunder raced out to a 24-point, first-quarter lead.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a game-high 34 points for the Thunder to go with eight assists and four rebounds, while Chet Holmgren posted a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds.

All five Thunder starters, plus three players off the bench, hit double figures in the rout.

Nikola Jokić, Gilgeous-Alexander’s rival for the MVP award, scored just 17 points and fouled out in the third quarter. The three-time MVP had a historic 42-point, 22-rebound performance in Game 1.

Game 3 is in Denver on Saturday.

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