Jaylen Brown scored a season-high 42 points, capping the night with a breakaway dunk in the final seconds as the Boston Celtics held off the New York Knicks 123–117 on Tuesday in a rematch of last season’s Eastern Conference semifinal.
Derrick White added 22 points, scoring seven in the final four minutes to help Boston steady itself after the Knicks trimmed a 15-point deficit to 102–99. Rookie Jordan Walsh came up big in the fourth as well, contributing six points and five rebounds.
Mikal Bridges kept New York alive with 35 points, including 17 in the fourth quarter, and knocked down 8 of 12 from deep. Karl-Anthony Towns delivered 29 points for the Knicks, who came in riding a four-game winning streak.
Boston, winners of four of its last five, overcame a sluggish start. The Knicks jumped out to a 17–4 lead and later held a 39–25 advantage before the Celtics answered with a 12–0 run. Another Boston burst put them ahead 47–46 on a Brown dunk that electrified the crowd. Brown poured in 18 points in the second quarter and added 15 more in the third as Boston built an 18-point cushion heading into the fourth.
The Celtics led 102–87 with eight minutes remaining before Bridges mounted a personal takeover, drilling a 3, sinking three free throws, and burying another triple to complete a 12–0 Knicks run that cut the gap to three.
Out of a timeout, Josh Minott stopped the surge with a 3-pointer, and Walsh followed with back-to-back putbacks to push the lead to eight. Bridges hit one more 3 to make it a four-point game with 46 seconds left, but he missed a potential momentum-shifting attempt on New York’s next possession.
Up next:
*Knicks: Host the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday night.
Celtics: Visit the Washington Wizards on Thursday night.*
