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Celtics Confidence High

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NEW YORK – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Boston Celtics insisted they weren’t concerned by dropping the first two games of their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the New York Knicks.

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They stuck to the story despite those two setbacks coming at home. Even the fact they swept the four regular-season meetings and nearly all observers projected New York to be the team down 0-2 didn’t cause a lot of distress.

Blowing 20-point leads in both Games 1 and 2? Painful, of course, but not devastating enough to wave the white flag.

But their performance improved mightily in the third game of the matchup, and now Boston has a chance to even the series at 2-2 when it plays Monday night at New York.

“You’ve got to beat us four times. That’s what it comes down to,” said Celtics star Jaylen Brown. “Not twice, not once, not three. You’ve got to win four games, so there’s a lot of basketball to be played.”

The one Boston win came in superlative fashion.

The Celtics led by as many as 31 points and regained their 3-point shooting touch. After being a combined 25 of 100 from behind the arc in the defeats, Boston connected on 20 of 40 in the 115-93 rout.

Jayson Tatum and NBA Sixth Man of the Year Payton Pritchard each made five. Pritchard scored 23 points after averaging just 11 over the first two games.

“Who cares what the outside world is saying,” Pritchard said in reference to some of the chatter about Boston’s propensity for firing away from outside. “‘We shoot too many 3s.’ Everybody’s all saying that, but if you believe in your shot and you’re able to hit it, then take it confidently.”

Tatum added 22 points in a contest in which five Boston players tallied 15 or more.

The Knicks are facing their first adversity of the series after being walloped at home. New York never led and was down 71-46 at halftime.

Knicks star Jalen Brunson scored 27 points, but he wasn’t overly thrilled with his team’s frame of mind.

“I don’t think we came with the mindset of being satisfied, but I think it was just subconsciously satisfied being up 2-0,” Brunson said. “Just not the way we need to approach the game.”

New York knows a Game 4 loss removes the advantage it gained by winning twice in Boston. So, it basically is now must-win territory for the Knicks.

“You have to earn your wins. You have to put the work into winning,” New York coach Tom Thibodeau said Sunday. “We knew coming in that they were going to be coming in with force and we’ve got to make sure that we’re ready for that. And you know — we’ve got to play a strong 48 minutes of basketball.”

Knicks forward Josh Hart said remaining even-keel is important for his club.

“We knew it was gonna be a tough series,” Hart said. “When we win, we’re not too high and when we lose, we’re not too low. We always try to stay even. Make adjustments, but the mentality, the character of the team doesn’t change.”

New York big man Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 points and 15 rebounds in Game 3, but he also injured his left hand. Yet all appears to be well as Towns isn’t listed on the team’s injury report.

Boston listed reserve Sam Hauser (sprained right ankle) as questionable but is otherwise healthy.

Meanwhile, Boston coach Joe Mazzulla isn’t concerned that his team trails in the series.

“There’s no expectations,” Mazzulla said. “We’re on a path of trying to go after greatness. There’s nothing to dictate the test that’s in front of you.”

–Field Level Media

Not So Fast, New York

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NEW YORK – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston’s All-NBA star Jayson Tatum finished with 22 points, nine rebounds and seven assists and the Celtics went up by 20 (again) but pulled away for a 115-93 win over the host New York Knicks on Saturday afternoon in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference semifinals series.

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Celtics’ Sixth Man of the Year Payton Pritchard scored a team-high 23 points off the bench for Boston, which cut the Knicks’ lead to 2-1 in the best-of-seven series. Jaylen Brown scored 19 points and Derrick White had 17.

New York’s Jalen Brunson scored 27 points on 9-for-21 shooting to lead the Knicks. Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 21 points and 15 rebounds.

After struggling to score in the first two games of the series, the Celtics found their rhythm on offense. Boston shot 48.2 percent (40 of 83) overall and 50 percent (20 of 40) from 3-point range, and New York shot 40 percent (32 of 80) from the field and 20 percent (5 of 25) from beyond the arc.

Tatum made a basket to put Boston on top 112-89 with 2:40 remaining. He assisted on a 3-pointer by Al Horford on the next possession, and Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla rested his starters for the remainder of the game with the score out of reach.

The Celtics led 96-70 at the end of the third quarter. Boston led by as many as 31 points after Pritchard made a basket with 1:42 to go in the quarter, and the Knicks trimmed slightly into the deficit by scoring the final five points of the quarter on an alley-oop dunk by Mitchell Robinson, a floating jump shot by Brunson and a free throw by Robinson.

Boston sprinted to a 36-20 lead at the end of the first quarter. Pritchard drove the ball across half court and hit a baseline jumper as time expired to put the Celtics on top by 16.

By halftime, the Celtics increased their lead to 71-46. Brown buried a 3-pointer to put Boston at the 70-point mark with 30.5 seconds left in the half, and he made one of two free throws in the closing seconds to give the Celtics a 25-point advantage.

–Field Level Media

Celtics: Season on the Brink

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NEW YORK – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – New York Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau had a simple message for his players heading into their matchup against the Boston Celtics in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference semifinals series.

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The Knicks grabbed a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series after storming back from 20-point deficits in back-to-back games. Thibodeau told his players to forget all about that.

“It’s really irrelevant,” Thibodeau said. “I think the big thing is to understand what it’s going to take to win Game 3, to not get lost in if you’re up (in the series). That doesn’t guarantee anything. What we have to understand is what we have to do to win Game 3.”

Meanwhile, the Celtics expect to play with a hint of desperation when Game 3 tips off on Saturday afternoon in New York.

Boston finished 61-21 in the regular season and earned the second seed in the conference playoffs. But the Celtics fumbled big leads in the first two games of the series, which resulted in a 108-105 overtime win by the third-seeded Knicks in Game 1 and a 91-90 win for the Knicks in Game 2.

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla knows the series will not get any easier at Madison Square Garden.

“You’re down 2-0 heading on the road,” Mazzulla said. “You have an understanding of your environment and what you’re up against. There’s also obviously a lot of things that we’re doing well, but then there’s things that we need to be extremely better at in those situations.

“We’re down 0-2. We’ve got to get on the road and we’ve got to find a way to win.”

For Boston, that likely means Jayson Tatum will need to play better. He is averaging 18 points in the first two games but he is shooting a lowly 28.6 percent (12 of 42) overall and 25 percent (5 of 20) from beyond the arc.

Jaylen Brown (21.5 points per game) and Derrick White (19.5) lead the Celtics in scoring in the series, but the team has struggled to find its rhythm on offense. Boston is shooting 35.6 percent overall and 25 percent from 3-point range in the first two games.

ROAD RAGE

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – New York’s all-star guard Jalen Brunson made two free throws with 12.7 seconds to play, lifting the Knickerbockers to a 91-90 win over the host Boston Celtics on Wednesday, resulting in an astonishing 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series.

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Boston had a chance to recover in the final seconds, but Mikal Bridges knocked the ball away from Jayson Tatum and New York took possession.

NY’s Josh Hart had a game-high 23 points for the Knicks who trailed by 20 points in the third quarter and by 16 in the fourth. The Knicks received 21 points and 17 rebounds from center Karl-Anthony Towns.

Bridges put up 14 points — all in the fourth quarter. Brunson finished with 17 points and a game-high seven assists.

Derrick White and Jaylen Brown each scored 20 points for the Celtics.

Game 3 of the best-of-seven series will be played Saturday afternoon in New York.

New York took its first lead on a Brunson layup that made it 87-86 with 1:59 to play. Another Brunson layup capped a 21-2 run that stretched New York’s lead to three points before two Tatum free throws pulled the Celtics within one point with 44.9 seconds left.

Boston took a 90-89 lead on a Tatum dunk with 18.5 seconds to go, but Brunson knocked down two free throws on the ensuing possession.

Tatum, who averaged 26.8 points per game during the regular season, was held to 13 points, but he grabbed 14 rebounds.

Boston also received eight points off the bench from Kristaps Porzingis, who didn’t play in the second half of Game 1 because of an illness. Porzingis played only 14 minutes in Game 2.

The Celtics played without Sam Hauser, who sustained an ankle injury in the third quarter of Game 1.

Boston led 24-13 after one quarter on Wednesday and 50-41 at halftime. The Celtics were up by 16 before the Knicks finished the second quarter on an 11-4 run. Tatum was held to two points in the first half.

The Celtics extended their lead to 70-50 on a Porzingis dunk with 4:05 remaining in the third, but New York scored the final eight points in the quarter to cut Boston’s lead to 73-61 entering the final frame.

In NBA history, no team has won a best-of-seven series after losing the first two games at home.

–Field Level Media

The Squanderers

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – New York’s Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby each scored 29 points as the visiting Knicks pulled-off a 108-105 overtime victory against the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals Monday night.

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The Knicks overcame a 20-point deficit in the third quarter and sealed the win when Mikal Bridges stole the ball from Jaylen Brown after Boston inbounded the ball with three seconds to play.

During the fourth quarter, Brunson tied the game at 89 with a 3-pointer and 91 on two free throws before giving the Knicks their first lead since the second. His 3-pointer put them up 94-91 with 4:07 to play, and his third triple of the period extended New York’s advantage to six points, but Boston responded with a 7-0 run to take a 98-97 lead.

It was 100-100 when Brunson missed a layup with two seconds left. After a timeout, Jayson Tatum missed a 3-point shot at the buzzer. The game went to overtime, where Anunoby’s dunk and foul shot and Bridges’ 3-pointer gave the Knicks the cushion they needed to finish the comeback.

Karl-Anthony Towns was in foul trouble for much of the game, but had 14 points and 13 rebounds in 31 minutes. Josh Hart had 14 points and 11 boards, and Bridges recorded eight points, seven assists, six rebounds and three steals while playing 51 of the possible 53 minutes.

Brown and Tatum each tossed in a team-high 23 points for Boston. Tatum also had 16 rebounds, and Derrick White put up 19 points and 11 rebounds.

Kristaps Porzingis was scoreless in 13 minutes during the first half and didn’t play in the final two quarters with what the Celtics called an “illness.” Boston’s Sam Hauser also went to the locker room with an ankle injury with 28.5 seconds remaining in the third quarter and didn’t return to the game.

Boston led 26-25 after one quarter and outscored New York by 15 in the second quarter to take a 61-45 halftime lead. The Celtics scored the final eight points in the first half. The Knicks were 8-of-19 from the free throw line in the half.

Towns was called for his fourth foul and went to the bench with 7:07 left in the third quarter, but the Knicks made a strong run without him. New York was within six points before Al Horford made a 3-pointer with 6.2 seconds remaining in the quarter that gave the Celtics an 84-75 lead entering the fourth.

Game 2 in the best-of-seven series will be played Wednesday in Boston.

–Field Level Media

Can Knicks Reverse the Curse?

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Boston Celtics will be looking to remain unbeaten against the visiting New York Knicks this season when the teams meet in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals Monday night.

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The Knicks lost each of their four regular-season games against the Celtics — and the first three losses came by at least 13 points. Boston also beat New York 119-117 in overtime April 8.

“Obviously, (we have to) play better than we did (against them) throughout the regular season,” said Knicks guard Jalen Brunson. “Be better, ready to do it from the jump, knowing it’s going to be a game of runs, knowing that they’re capable of doing a lot of great things.

“I feel like we played better in that (fourth) game. We adjusted from the first three times we played them, obviously still not getting it done, but definitely played better and competed better than the first three games. So that’s something we can look at and build off of.”

Six-time All-Star Jayson Tatum averaged 33.5 points on 53.5 percent shooting — 47.8 percent from 3-point territory — in the four regular-season games as Boston averaged 125 points per game against third-seeded New York, which advanced by beating Detroit in six games during the first round.

Jaylen Brown Delivers for Celtics

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report by Field Level Media ) – Boston’s Jaylen Brown scored a game-high 36 points and the Boston Celtics overcame the absence of leading scorer Jayson Tatum to beat the visiting Orlando Magic, 109-100, Wednesday in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference first-round series.

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Brown was 12 of 19 from the field — including 5-of-7 from 3-point territory — grabbed 10 rebounds and had five assists. Kristaps Porzingis added 20 points and 10 rebounds for the second-seeded Celtics, who have a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Orlando used an 8-0 run to pull within five points early in the fourth quarter, but the Magic never got any closer.

Tatum, who averaged 26.8 points per game during the regular season, didn’t play in Game 2 because of a bone bruise. He was knocked to the floor while driving to the basket in the fourth quarter of Boston’s 103-86 Game 1 win on Sunday. Tatum returned to the game, but was listed as “doubtful” for Game 2 before the team’s final injury report officially ruled him out.

In his pregame press conference, Boston coach Joe Mazzulla called Tatum “day-to-day.” The Celtics went 8-2 during the regular season when Tatum didn’t play. Both losses came against Orlando.

The seventh-seeded Magic received 32 points, nine rebounds and seven assists from Paulo Banchero. Franz Wagner finished with 25 points and Wendell Carter had 16.

Derrick White (17), Payton Pritchard (14) and Jrue Holiday (11) also scored in double figures for the Celtics, who won despite shooting 45.0 percent from the field.

The Celtics led 23-21 after one quarter and 50-47 at halftime. Boston had its largest lead of the game when Payton Pritchard connected on a 3-pointer that put the Celtics up 81-66 with 38.1 seconds remaining in the third quarter, but Orlando closed the quarter on a 5-0 spurt and trailed 71-61 entering the fourth.

The series shifts to Orlando for Game 3, which will be played Friday.

Pritchard is NBA’s Best 6th Man

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Celtics guard Payton Pritchard continued a long time Celtics tradition on Tuesday when Boston’s sharpshooting guard was named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year. The Celtics weere the NBA team that coined the phrase back in the 1950s.

Pritchard received 454 total points in balloting, including 82 out of 100 first-place votes from a global media panel.

The Detroit Pistons’ Malik Beasley was second at 279 points and 13 first-place votes. The third finalist, Ty Jerome of the Cleveland Cavaliers, had 91 points and two first-place nods.

Pritchard, in his fifth NBA season all spent with the Celtics, averaged career highs of 14.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 80 games, coming off the bench in all but three. He was the defending NBA champions’ fifth-leading scorer in the regular season.

His 1,079 total points off the bench were the most of any reserve in the NBA this season.

Pritchard shot 40.7 percent on 3-pointers, making a career-high 255 of them (3.2 per game). He made 246 of those as a reserve, the most in NBA history.

–Field Level Media

Celtics Prep for Game 2; Tatum Doubtful

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – As the Boston Celtics prepare for Game 2 of their Eastern Conference first-round series against the Orlando Magic, they will have to do so with the likelihood that star Jayson Tatum will not suit up on Wednesday.

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The All-Star small forward landed awkwardly on his right wrist early in the fourth quarter following a flagrant foul by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. After remaining on the floor momentarily, Tatum remained in the game and finished with 17 points in 40 minutes of action.

Despite Boston coach Joe Mazzulla initially indicating that Tatum would be day-to-day, the Celtics on Wednesday listed Tatum as doubtful for Wednesday’s Game 2 with a right distal radius bone bruise.

Tatum told reporters that his X-ray came back negative and assured fans that he was feeling better.

“I just landed on it,” Tatum said. “It was throbbing for a second, then kind of went away.”

The leading scoring for the Celtics in the 2024 NBA Finals, Tatum was looking to lead Boston to a repeat title to become the first team to go back-to-back since Golden State in 2017-18.

–Field Level Media

Celtics, Down a Point, Turn It On

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Celtics guard Derrick White made seven 3-point attempts and scored a team-high 30 points Sunday to lead the Boston to a 103-86 victory over the visiting Orlando Magic in Game 1 of their NBA Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.

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Jayson Tatum added 17 points and 14 rebounds for second-seeded Boston, which received 19 points off the bench from Payton Pritchard. Jaylen Brown, who missed the final three regular-season games with posterior impingement in his right knee, finished with 16 points in 30 minutes.

Boston trailed by one at halftime, but took control by outscoring seventh-seeded Orlando 30-18 in the third.

Orlando’s Paulo Banchero led all scorers with 36 points. He also had 11 rebounds.

Franz Wagner contributed 23 points and five assists, but no other Magic player scored more than Jonathan Isaac’s seven points. Orlando’s Wendell Carter Jr. grabbed 13 rebounds.

Boston led 26-18 after one quarter and extended its lead to 12 points — its largest lead of the first half — when Pritchard connected on a 3-pointer with 10:50 left in the second quarter.

A 9-0 Orlando run sliced Boston’s lead to two points, then Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s 3-pointer with 1:57 remaining gave the Magic a 45-44 edge. The Magic led 49-48 at halftime as Banchero scored 19 points.

The Celtics scored 28 of the first 38 points in the third quarter and held a 76-59 advantage following Brown’s dunk with 1:56 left in the quarter. Boston had a 78-67 lead entering the final 12 minutes.

The Celtics led 89-71 early in the fourth and extended the lead to 19 points as the Magic never threatened.

Boston was 16-of-37 from 3-point range. Orlando was 10-of-27 from behind the 3-point arc, but was held to three 3-pointers in the second half.

Game 2 of the best-of-seven series will be played Wednesday in Boston.

–Field Level Media