BOSTON — Maybe the Knicks need to spot the Celtics 20 points at opening tip. Because for some reason, this team plays its best basketball when the opponent is on the verge of shutting the lights off.
After the Knicks clawed back from a 20-point deficit to steal Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Celtics in Game 1, they found themselves, once again, in a 20-point hole in Game 2 at the TD Garden on Wednesday.
And then, in what’s become typical fashion in orange and blue, the Knicks woke up. They played their best basketball with their backs against the wall.
Or maybe — just maybe — the Celtics are choking the series away. A team that ranked atop the NBA in both three-point takes and makes through the regular season has gone ice-cold from downtown in the playoffs.
The Knicks don’t care about the rhyme or reason. They don’t care about the path, either, only the results, and Wednesday’s 91-90 victory over the reigning NBA champions moved New York to a 2-0 series lead against a team that swept them in the regular-season series.
The Knicks’ season has been defined by resilience, how a team that met obstacle after obstacle responded to adversity. They continue to respond with resounding wins, even if it comes at the expense of a 20-point hole midway through the game.
And for the second game in a row, Mikal Bridges struggled on the offensive end, only to make game-sealing plays on defense. In Game 1, Bridges ripped the ball from Jaylen Brown’s on Boston’s final offensive possession and heaved the ball into the air as the clock expired. On Wednesday, once again on Boston’s final offensive possession, this time with a one-point lead, Bridges swatted Jayson Tatum’s last-second attempt at a game-winner. And once again, he heaved the ball the full length of the court as time expired.
Bridges shot just 6-of-18 from the field for 14 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists, but his three steals and hounding defense turned the game, and he scored all 14 of his points in the fourth quarter on 6-of-10 shooting from the field.
Jalen Brunson finished with 17 points on 6-of-19 shooting from the field, Karl-Anthony Towns added 21 points and 17 rebounds, and Josh Hart scored a team-high 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field and 3-of-6 shooting from downtown.
OG Anunoby scored just five points but held Tatum to 13 points on 5-of-19 shooting from the field. Brown finished with 20 points on 8-of-23 shooting, and the pair of Celtics All-Stars have combined to shoot 27-of-84 through two games in the series.
The rest of the Celtics followed suit. After shooting 15-of-60 from deep in Game 1, the Celtics continued to hoist treys but shot just 10-of-40 from downtown. Many of the misses were clean looks. A potential choke job in real time.
“They’re the defending champions, so they know what they need to do, and obviously I expect them to shoot 3s again,” Towns said after morning shootaround at TD Garden on Wednesday. “They were the best 3-point shooting team the league has ever seen statistically, so it’s our job to continue to try to make it difficult on them to make those 3s.”
And yet the Knicks still have massive room for improvement. They didn’t show up to the party, after all, until they trailed 20 in the third quarter.
That won’t cut it. Or maybe it will. Because for the Knicks just defeated the reigning champs twice in a row, and they haven’t yet played a complete basketball game.
Maybe the Knicks don’t need to. Maybe they just need to spot their opponent a 20-point advantage. Because when their backs are against the wall, the real Knicks stand up.
And the real Knicks have proven they are worthy of an NBA title.
