NEW YORK Knicks pushed defending champions Boston Celtics on the brink of elimination with a 121-113 victory in Game 4 of the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals on Monday night (Tuesday in the Philippines) at the Madison Square Garden in New York.
Jalen Brunson scored a team-high of 39 points, with 26 coming in the second half, to go with 12 assists and five rebounds as the Knicks surged to a commanding 3-1 advantage in the best-of-seven series.
Karl-Anthony Towns added a double-double of 23 points and 11 rebounds, Mikal Bridges also had 23 markers, while OG Anunoby made some key plays late while contributing 20 points for the Knicks.
With the score tied at 102-all with over five minutes left, the Knicks went on a 14-2 scoring run behind Anunoby, and conversions from Bridges and Brunson as they stretch the lead to 116-104.
“They hit us early and obviously we got into a hole,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “I love the way we fought back and we showed a lot of toughness and more discipline in the second half and timely plays. Everybody worked together on both ends of the floor.”
Jayson Tatum finished with 42 points, but sustained a possible serious right ankle injury late in the contest.
Derrick White made six 3-pointers and scored 23 points and Jaylen Brown and Payton Pritchard added 20 and 12, respectively.
Meanwhile, Minnesota Timberwolves also cruised to a commanding 3-1 lead in the Western Conference semifinals series after a 117-110 Game 4 victory over Golden State Warriors.
Julius Randle spearheaded the offense with 31 points, including four three-point conversions, while Anthony Edwards converted six three-pointers to end up with 30 for the Timberwolves.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Mike Conley contributed 13 and 11 markers, respectively, while Jaden McDaniels posted a double-double of 10 points and 13 rebounds for Minnesota.
Jonathan Kuminga top-scored for the Warriors with 23 points, Jimmy Butler III and Draymond Green added 14 markers apiece, while Buddy Hield and Brandin Podziemski had 13 and 11, respectively./PN
BOX SCORE:
NEW YORK 121 — Brunson 39, Towns 23, Bridges 23, Anunoby 20, Hart 6, McBride 6, Robinson 4, Payne 0, Achiuwa 0.
BOSTON 113 — Tatum 42, White 23, Brown 20, Pritchard 12, Porzingis 7, Horford 5, Holiday 4, Kornet 0.
Quarterscores: 28-39, 51-62, 88-85, 121-113.
