Brown and Jayson Tatum scored 23 points apiece to lead Boston but combined to go just 14 for 43 from the field. The Celtics hit 15 of 60 3-pointers.
Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis left the game because of an illness early in the second quarter and did not return. Sam Hauser sprained his ankle late in the third quarter and missed the rest of the game.
Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby scored 29 points apiece to lead the Knicks.
The Knicks trailed, 72-52, midway through the third quarter, but New York sliced the deficit to 9 by the start of the fourth and did not stop there.
Brunson hit consecutive 3-pointers to give the Knicks a 97-91 lead with 3:27 left. The Celtics regained the lead with a quick 7-0 burst that was capped by a Derrick White 3-pointer.
But after Tatum missed two consecutive 3-pointers, Anunoby hit one from the right corner that gave the Knicks a 100-98 lead with 1:08 left. Jrue Holiday tied the score with a layup, and Anunoby’s jumper was off, with White scrambling for the rebound as Boston called timeout.
Tatum missed another 3-pointer, however, and the Knicks called timeout with 5.5 seconds to play. Brunson slid free on a give-and-go and had a perfect look at a running layup, but it caromed in and out. After a timeout with 0.6 seconds left, Tatum’s heave was off, forcing overtime.
In the extra session, an Anunoby 3-point play was followed by a Bridges 3-pointer that gave the Knicks a 106-100 lead. Brown pulled Boston within 108-105 on a 3-pointer with 1:16 to play, but missed a tough layup on the next possession. The Celtics had a final chance to tie with three seconds to play, but a crosscourt inbounds to Brown was ripped away by Bridges.
Observations from the game:
▪ Holiday returned after missing the last three games of the Magic series because of a hamstring strain. He missed both of his first-quarter shots and did not register a point or an assist, but the rest of his night was loud. He scored 8 points during Boston’s second-quarter surges and provided another physical defensive presence. With seven minutes left in the third, he held his ground against Karl-Anthony Towns in the post and drew the Knicks’ star’s fourth foul.
▪ Porzingis went to the locker room early in the second quarter and remained there the rest of the half. He briefly came back to the court for warmups warm-ups but Al Horford started the third quarter and it was later announced that Porzingis was out with an illness. He didn’t return to the bench in the second half.
Prior to his departure, the struggles from the first round continued as Porzingis struggled with the physicality. In the first quarter, a post pass sailed over his head as he claimed he was fouled, and soon after that there was no whistle as Porzingis flailed his arms after Brunson knocked the ball away. Porzingis was 0-for-4 shooting and scoreless during his first 13 minutes.
Ironically, just about everything on both ends was called a foul after that sequence, with 39 first-half free throws between the teams.
▪ Towns started the second quarter with two fouls, and the Celtics were keenly aware of this. Brown went right at him and nearly drew Towns‘s third on a drive. Then he tried again the next time down the court and succeeded. It was kind of puzzling for the Knicks to have Towns switch onto Brown in this situation.
The Knicks led, 31-30, when Towns committed this foul with 9:46 left. He sat for the rest of the half and the Celtics closed with a dominant 31-14 run.
▪ The Pistons had some success in the opening round intentionally sending Knicks big man Mitchell Robinson to the free throw line, and that approach has been part of Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla’s arsenal in the past, so it was no surprise to see him dust it off in the first half Monday. It was probably in play more than Boston thought it would be, however.
The Celtics intentionally fouled Robinson in the final minute of the opening quarter, and he missed both attempts. But in the second quarter, the Knicks entered the penalty quickly, and Robinson was on the floor because Towns was sitting.
So the Celtics fouled Robinson twice during a one-minute stretch midway through the quarter. He was 2 for 8 from the line in the half. It got even worse for New York, because he was forced to commit a foul just to stop play and get out of the game. The Knicks played the rest of the half without Robinson and Towns.
▪ Tatum had a strong 13-point first quarter, but his offensive impact was muted for a long stretch after that. He was held scoreless from the 4:39 mark of the opening quarter until hitting back-to-back 3-pointers with about three minutes left in the third. He consistently made the extra pass, but the Celtics probably would have benefited from him looking to get to the rim a bit more like he had earlier in the game.
▪ The Celtics’ edge in 3-point shooting is one of the reasons they are massive favorites in this series. So it had to be discouraging for New York to trail by 16 at the break despite the Celtics connecting on just 5 of 23 3-pointers. The Knicks’ 8-for-19 free throw shooting did not help. But Boston’s struggles eventually became more detrimental as they lingered well into the second half.
▪ Opposing fans are rarely a noticeable presence at TD Garden, but there are three exceptions: The Lakers, Warriors, and Knicks.
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @adamhimmelsbach.
