BOSTON (AP) 鈥� Jalen Brunson scored 39 points in three quarters and the New York Knicks kept up their quest to finish with the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference by beating the Boston Celtics 118-109 on Thursday night.
鈥淲e made shots and made the right plays,鈥� Brunson said. 鈥淥bviously, we know they鈥檙e the top dog in the East. Whenever you play against them, it鈥檚 always a good measuring stick to see where you鈥檙e at. We played pretty well, but we know what they鈥檙e capable of doing. We just had their number tonight.鈥�
One day after clinching a playoff spot, the Knicks pulled within a game of the Milwaukee Bucks for second, with each team having two games remaining. New York would have to win both and have the Bucks lose their games at Oklahoma City and Orlando, because Milwaukee has the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Brunson shot 15 of 23 from the field and 6 of 11 from 3-point range. Backcourt mate Donte DiVincenzo had 17 points and Josh Hart finished with 16 points and 16 rebounds. New York also received a lift off the bench from its primary acquisition at the trade deadline, as Bojan Bogdanovic had 14 points.
Playing in his first game against Boston since getting traded to the Knicks in late December, OG Anuoby had 12 points.
鈥淲e got stops, got out and scored and JB was getting in the paint and doing his thing,鈥� Anuoby said. 鈥淲e all do it together.鈥�
Jayson Tatum scored 18 points for Boston. Payton Pritchard had 16 points off the bench and Jaylen Brown and Sam Hauser each had 15. The Celtics were badly beaten on the glass as the Knicks decisively won the rebounding battle (52-36) and had 22 second-chance points compared to Boston鈥檚 12.
鈥淚t stings to have this loss, but maybe we need this before heading into the postseason with a killer mentality,鈥� center Kristaps Porzingis said after Boston dropped its second straight. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not who we are. This is not the team our fans love. That wasn鈥檛 on display. You best believe we鈥檒l show up when we have to. We know what the goal is and make no mistake about it.鈥�
Despite having already clinched home-court advantage throughout the playoffs, the Celtics took the court with their top eight players. With the Knicks up 29, Boston coach Joe Mazzulla opened the fourth quarter with a unit entirely of reserves. Brunson鈥檚 night was also done with one quarter to spare as New York denied Boston鈥檚 bid of a season sweep of its Atlantic Division rival.
鈥淲e got out-toughed the last two games and haven鈥檛 played to our standard,鈥� Brown said. 鈥淭he game has shifted and it鈥檚 going to shift even more in the playoffs.鈥�
The Celtics shot 11 of 19 overall and 5 of 10 from beyond the arc, yet trailed 32-29 after one quarter. Hart set the tone for a productive opening quarter for the Knicks, who at one point were shooting 69% from the field.
New York was ahead 47-45 in the second quarter before ripping off 17 straight points as part of a half-closing 22-3 run over the final 6 1/2 minutes that made it 69-48 at the break.
Brunson helped the Knicks extend their lead to as high as 31 points as the All-Star guard turned it up several notches in the third quarter, piling up 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting.
鈥淭he ball went in a lot tonight,鈥� Brunson said.
UP NEXT
Knicks: Host the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night.
Celtics: Host the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night.
Brendan Mcgair, The Associated Press
