For the second straight game, the New York Knicks found themselves in a hole the Boston Celtics have rarely let teams out of this season.
The Knicks again found a way — almost the same way, in fact — to pull off the improbable. And now they are two wins away from knocking the defending champions out of the playoffs.
Mikal Bridges sealed another 20-point comeback with his second straight game-ending steal and the Knicks stunned the Celtics again Wednesday night, winning 91-90 for a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
“Just finding ways to win,” Bridges said.
Jalen Brunson scored 17 points for New York and made two free throws with 12.7 seconds left for a 91-90 lead. Jayson Tatum then couldn’t get to the rim and Bridges moved in to bat the ball away and recover it.
Bridges also scored all of his 14 points in the fourth quarter. Josh Hart had 23 points and Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 21 points and 17 rebounds for the Knicks, who will host Game 3 on Saturday.
“Going home we realize the opportunity we have. We just have to stay locked in,” Brunson said.
Jaylen Brown and Derrick White scored 20 points apiece for the Celtics, who were 10 for 40 from 3-point range after going 15 for 60 in Game 1.
Tatum was limited to 13 points on 5-for-19 shooting for the Celtics, who went more than eight minutes without a field goal in the fourth quarter. They missed 13 consecutive shots during the stretch.
Teams that win the first two games of a best-of-seven series on the road win the series 85.7% of the time. The Knicks took the opener when Bridges stole the ball away from Brown with a second left in overtime.
“Opportunity to show what we’re made of,” Brown said of a Boston team that swept New York 4-0 in the regular season. “We’ve got to respond.”
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.
All eyes were on the Celtics’ offense after they missed an NBA playoff-record 45 3-pointers in their Game 1 loss. They went 24 for 54 from 2-point range Wednesday.
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 with 18.5 seconds remaining.
New York cut it to 86-82 on a floater by Hart before Towns’ three-point play cut it to 86-85. Tatum missed a jumper, and Brunson made an 18-footer to put New York in front.
A jumper by Brown rolled off the rim on Boston’s next trip up the floor. Brunson then found a lane to the basket and dropped in a layup to make it 89-86.
Tatum connected on a pair of free throws and then got it back following a New York miss that rolled out of bounds with 24.2 seconds left.
Trailing 89-88, Tatum pushed the ball in to the front court and drove easily past Mitchell Robinson for a dunk to put the Celtics back in front.
Brunson was fouled and connected on both free throws.
Hart said they are going home knowing they can still play better.
“I don’t even think we know what we’re capable of,” he said.
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