Mikal Bridges Makes Another Game-Clinching Steal As Knicks Take 2-0 Lead Over Celtics

The New York Knicks last July showed how seriously they took their current situation. They sent away four unprotected first round picks and three players to the Brooklyn Nets in a trade for Mikal Bridges, a versatile 6-foot-6 wing player. The Knicks weren’t worried about the future. They wanted to win now and had confidence that Bridges could be a cornerstone.

On Wednesday night, Bridges showed how important he is to the Knicks, stealing the ball from Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum with about three seconds remaining and clinching New York’s 91-90 victory at the TD Garden in Boston. And after missing his first eight shots, Bridges scored all 14 of his points in the fourth quarter as the Knicks overcame a 20-point second half deficit for the second consecutive game to take a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals series.

Bridges also made a steal with a second left in overtime Monday night to secure the Knicks’ 108-105 Game 1 victory.

“I think one of the things I really respect about (Bridges) is his demeanor,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “He just keeps marching forward. He doesn’t get too high, he doesn’t get too low, but he’s a great competitor. He just finds ways to help us win. If your shot’s not dropping, play great defense, move without the ball, push the ball up the floor.”

Bridges wasn’t the only player to help the No. 3 seed Knicks take the lead over the No. 2 seed Celtics, the reigning NBA champions. Karl-Anthony Towns, another player the Knicks traded for in the offseason, had 21 points and a game-high 17 rebounds, while Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson, Bridges’ former teammates at Villanova, scored 23 points and 17 points, respectively. Center Mitchell Robinson was +19 off the bench, giving the Knicks some valuable contributions on both ends of the floor in 22 minutes.

Brunson’s jumper with 1:59 left put the Knicks up 87-86, their first lead of the night. He also made a layup with 56.5 seconds remaining for a three-point lead and connected on two free throws to put the Knicks up 91-90 with 12.7 seconds left.

The Celtics had a timeout remaining, but coach Joe Mazzulla didn’t use it and instead allowed his players to decide the game on their own. Tatum dribbled the ball upcourt and was met near the 3-point line by Robinson before driving to the middle. OG Anunoby and Bridges then double-teamed Tatum near the baseline as he left the floor. Tatum attempted to pass the ball to Jaylen Brown, who was alone on the left wing, but Bridges blocked and stole the ball and dribbled once before throwing it in the air as time expired.

It was another disappointing finish for the Celtics. They led, 84-68, with 8:40 remaining after Payton Pritchard’s 3-pointer. But Boston missed its next 14 shots, finally breaking the streak when Tatum drove the length of the floor for a dunk and 90-89 lead with 18.5 seconds remaining.

Two days after shooting 15-of-60 (25%) on 3’s in Game 1, setting a playoff record with 45 missed 3’s, the Celtics made just 10 of 40 3’s (25%) on Wednesday night, including 2 of 11 in the fourth quarter. Tatum and Brown, the Celtics’ best players, continued their shooting struggles, with Tatum scoring 13 points on 5 of 19 from the floor (1 of 5 on 3’s) and Brown scoring 20 on 8 of 23 from the field (2 of 7 on 3’s). In the fourth quarter, Brown was held scoreless and missed all four of his field goal attempts, while Tatum scored four points and went 1 of 5 from the field.

“I thought we executed and got some really good looks that we missed and then I thought we had some live ball turnovers, just making the wrong read,” Mazzulla said. “I would say it’s about 60-40 where we got some open looks, we’ve got to make them and then we’ve got to do a better job executing, especially not having live ball turnovers.”

As the series heads to Madison Square Garden for Game 3 on Saturday afternoon, the Knicks are in an enviable spot. Of the 35 road teams have won the first two games of a seven-game NBA playoffs series, only five have ended up losing the series. The Celtics are 2-16 when trailing two games to none in a series, with the only exceptions occurring in the 1969 NBA Finals when the Celtics defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in seven game and in the first round in 2017 when the Celtics defeated the Chicago Bills in six games.

Meanwhile, the Knicks are 11-3 all-time after winning the first two games of a playoff series. But one of those times happened last year when the Knicks went up 2-0 against the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference semifinals before losing the series in seven games. The Knicks also haven’t made it to the Conference finals since 2000, so the franchise knows better than most not to take anything for granted. Still, with the way this series has gone with consecutive comeback road victories, the Knicks should be confident as they return home in front of a raucous crowd.