Knicks do it again, hand Celtics another deflating loss after late Game 2 comeback

The New York Knicks did it again. Just as they had in Game 1, the Knicks stormed back from a 20-point deficit to beat the Boston Celtics at TD Garden in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series.

The Knicks went on a 21-2 run in the fourth quarter and grabbed their first lead of the night with 1:59 left on an 18-foot jumper from star Jalen Brunson. The Celtics had 13 consecutive misses from the floor before Jayson Tatum drove straight to the hoop for a dunk that put Boston up 90-89 with 18.5 seconds remaining.

But that left too much time for the clutch play of Brunson, who drew a foul on his shot attempt and went to the line. He drained both free throws to give the Knicks a 91-90 lead with 12.7 seconds on the clock.

The Celtics had one more chance to win, but when Tatum tried to create his own shot, New York’s defense stepped up.

Mikal Bridges stole the ball from Tatum, sealing the Knicks’ second straight comeback win and giving them a 2-0 series lead. It was also Bridges’ second straight game-clinching steal. In Game 1, he took the ball away from Jaylen Brown with a second left in overtime.

Josh Hart led the Knicks with 23 points in Game 2, while Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 21 points and a game-high 17 rebounds. Brunson added 17 points, and Bridges scored all of his 14 points in the fourth quarter.

Derrick White and Brown each scored 20 points for the Celtics. Tatum had a cold night on 5-of-19 shooting for 13 points, but he chipped in 14 rebounds, five assists and three steals.

Kristaps Porzingis didn’t start after sitting out the second half of Game 1 with an illness. He came off the bench for just the fifth time in his NBA career and finished with eight points and four rebounds in 14 minutes.

In Game 1, the Celtics went 15-of-60 from behind the arc to set an NBA playoff record for most missed 3-pointers in a game. Their long-range woes continued Wednesday night, when they went just 10-of-40 from 3. As a result, they set a new NBA record for most missed 3-pointers (75) in a two-game span.

Despite their shooting struggles, the Celtics found some traction late in the third quarter, using a 16-6 run — keyed by their effort on the defensive end — to turn a 10-point lead into a 73-53 advantage late in the period.

It was 84-68 after Payton Pritchard’s 3-pointer with 8:40 to play, but the Celtics wouldn’t make another basket until Tatum’s driving dunk.

For the first time in NBA playoff history, road teams in the conference semifinals combined to go 4-0 in Game 1s. After the Knicks’ latest win, visitors improved to 5-0 in this round.

The series now heads to New York, which will host Games 3 and 4 at Madison Square Garden.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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