Knicks Take 3-1 Series Lead As Celtics Await Word On Jayson Tatum’s Injury

As Jalen Brunson sat down at the dais Monday night at Madison Square Garden for a postgame press conference, the New Knicks point guard made it a point to think about an opposing player before taking questions. Yes, the Knicks had defeated the Boston Celtics 121-113 in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, taking a 3-1 series lead and putting the franchise in a good position to advance to the conference finals for the first time in 25 years. And yes, Brunson had a team-high 39 points and 12 assists, including 18 points in the third quarter when the Knicks erased an 11-point halftime lead.

Still, Brunson was concerned about Celtics star Jayson Tatum, who left the court late in the game due to an injury after he scored 42 points, the fifth time in his career he had at least 40 points in the postseason.

“Prayers out to JT, man,” Brunson said. “I just want to say that first and foremost. Thoughts and prayers with him.”

With about three minutes left, Tatum dove for a loose ball, which Knicks guard OG Anunoby recovered. Anunoby dribbled down the court for an open dunk as Tatum laid on the floor on the other end in agony, shaking his head and grabbing his right ankle.

Two Celtics officials helped Tatum off the court. ESPN’s cameras showed Tatum in the back area of the arena in a wheelchair, covering his eyes.

After the game, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said Tatum sustained a “lower body” injury and would undergo an MRI on Tuesday.

“He’s the type of guy that gets right up,” Mazzulla said. “He didn’t, and we’ll know exactly what it is. It’s tough watching a guy like him get carried off like that.”

Said Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau: “I never want to see a player get hurt. He’s been a great player and a great guy, too. I hope it’s not a serious injury.”

Said Celtics forward Jaylen Brown: “It’s tough. There’s not really a lot to say.”

While Tatum’s status will be the main story line heading into Wednesday’s Game 5 in Boston’s TD Garden, the Knicks showed their resilience once again on Monday night. In all three victories in the series, the Knicks have been behind by double digits in the second half, including by 20 points in Games 1 and 2 in Boston.

Trailing 62-51 at halftime Monday, Thibodeau relied on his starters to get the Knicks back in the game, as is his custom. During the regular season, the Knicks’ starters each averaged at least 35 minutes per game and ranked among the top 20 in the league in that statistical category. No other team had more than two players in the top 20. At times, Thibodeau has caught flack for his short bench, but the strategy paid off Monday.

During the third quarter, Thibodeau had no substitutions, as the starters each played all 12 minutes and outscored the Celtics 37-23. It was the most points the Knicks scored in a quarter all series.

The Celtics regained the lead at 99-98 on a Tatum 3-pointer with 7:17 remaining and tied it at 102-all on a Tatum 3-point play a minute later. But the Knicks then went on a 14-2 run over the next two and a half minutes to put the Celtics away.

Four of New York’s starters combined for 105 of the team’s 121 points and 46 of its 50 field goals. Besides Brunson’s 39 points on 14 of 25 from the field, Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns had 23 apiece and Anunoby contributed 20 points. Josh Hart, the other starter who led the league with more than 37 minutes per game in the regular season, was in foul trouble much of the night and scored 6 points on 2 of 7 shooting in 29 minutes and 35 seconds.

In the second half, the Knicks made 66.7% of their shots, with Brunson (26 points), Bridges (14), Towns (13) and Anunoby (12) combining for 65 of New York’s 70 points. In the fourth quarter, when the Knicks made 15 of 22 field goals (68.2%), Bridges had 10 points on 5 of 6 shooting while Anunoby had 9 points on 4 of 4 shooting.

All in all, it was a much better performance than Saturday’s Game 3 when the Knicks fell behind by 16 points after the first quarter and trailed by at least 20 points the entire second half. On Monday, the Knicks were down by 11 after the first quarter and 11 again at halftime, but they kept at it and held the Celtics to 42.9% shooting (18 of 42) in the second half, including 25% (6 of 24) on 3’s.

The Knicks are now on the verge of advancing to the conference semifinals, as only 13 teams have ever come back from a 3-1 deficit in NBA history, most recently in 2020 when the Denver Nuggets did so twice. Still, Brunson isn’t taking anything for granted.

“It was a sense of urgency, desperation, just knowing that we have a great opportunity,” Brunson said of Monday night’s performance. “We’re playing a really good team, and I don’t even think we’re playing our best basketball yet. We have a team that’s fairly new this year and we still have a long way to go to be the best that we can be. There’s always time to learn for us. We’re never satisfied.”