NEW YORK — The Celtics blew a 14-point second half lead but may have lost much in Game 4 on Monday night in a 121-113 loss to the Knicks. Jayson Tatum had to be helped off the floor late in the fourth quarter with what appeared to be a serious right leg injury.
Jalen Brunson led the comeback for the Knicks with 38 points while three other Knicks (Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges) all scored 20 points or more, enabling New York to take a 3-1 series lead.
Tatum had a game-high 42 points for the Celtics before leaving with his injury.
The Celtics came out of the gate red-hot, early building an 11-point first quarter lead behind making nine 3-point attempts in the opening 12 minutes. Boston maintained the advantage throughout the first half with both teams trading runs as the visitors could not create much separation.
The Knicks offense finally broke through the third quarter as Jalen Brunson erupted for 18 points in the frame to lead a 30-13 lead and erase Boston’s biggest lead of the night at 14 points. They continued that momentum in the fourth quarter, leading the rest of the way behind red-hot shooting from Brunson and company.
Tatum did his best to keep the Celtics in the game with Jaylen Brown dealing with foul trouble, scoring eight points in first half of the fourth quarter before suffering the right leg injury while diving for a loose ball.
The series now shifts back to Boston for Game 5 on Wednesday night. Here are four takeaways from the loss for Boston:
Celtics come out red-hot from 3-point range: Boston built a double-digit lead once again in this series in the first quarter and it came on the strength of their outside shooting. Boston knocked down 9-of-14 attempts from 3-point range in the first quarter (64.3 percent) largely behind the hot shooting of Jayson Tatum and Derrick White. Tatum knocked down three in the opening 12 minutes while White hit all four of his attempts and was also fouled on a 3-point attempt by Jalen Brunson. The hot shooting enabled Boston to close out the opening frame with a 12-0 run and an 11-point lead despite the Knicks shooting 52 percent from the field.
Knicks stay in the game early with their offensive rebounding: The Knicks shooting dropped off after a hot start but they used their size advantage down low to manufacture offense. New York piled up 11 second chance points in the first half alone off of eight offensive rebounds as Mitchell Robinson and Karl-Anthony Towns feasted on the glass early. The Knicks grabbed offensive rebounds on 40 percent of their misses in the first half, which put them in the 95 percentile in that category.
Jayson Tatum plays his best game of the series before leaving serious injury: The Celtics All-Star had a solid bounce back in Game 3 after a couple of duds at TD Garden. However, he raised his game to a needed level in a tough atmosphere at Madison square Garden. With Jaylen Brown struggling with his offense early, Tatum was a calming force on the offense, leading all scorers with 20 points in the first half while also chipping in with big plays defensively (two steals and two blocks). Tatum got up to 42 points in the second half before leaving the game with just over three minutes with what appeared to be a serious right leg injury.
Jalen Brunson leads huge Knicks rally in the third quarter: The Celtics’ defense was superb for virtually the entire series but they finally started showing some cracks in the third quarter. New York erupted for 37 points in the frame on 65 percent shooting with Jalen Brunson leading the way with 18 points (7-of-11 from the field). The offensive outburst erased a 14-point Celtics lead and gave the Knicks a three-point lead thanks to a 30-13 run to close out the frame. The momentum killed in the final quarter as the Knicks shot above 60 percent in the second half, which prevented Boston’s offense from keeping pace with the offense drying up beyond Tatum.
