Celtics 127, Knicks 102: “Dikornet Mutombo.”

No Tatum, no problem. The Knicks get whalloped in the second half of a close out game . . . that picture says it all.

Knicks fans brought the noise at TD Garden tonight, and the team gave them plenty to cheer in the first quarter. New York overcame an early deficit with hustle plays, three-pointers, and clutch free throws—especially from Mitchell Robinson and a battered Josh Hart. Despite Derrick White’s balling and a late first-half surge by Boston, the Knicks controlled the paint, forced turnovers, and matched the Celtics’ shot-making to enter halftime tied at 59. The Celtics, playing without their leader and desperate to prolong the series, rode White’s hot shooting and four blocks by Luke Kornet to win the third frame 32-17. Boston blew the game open with a 23-point lead midway through the fourth, as Brunson fouled out and Kornet lost his ever-lovin’ mind. Final score, 127-102.

Quoth Hojo3030: “Dikornet Mutombo.” Kinda crazy, but true. Off the bench, Kornet dominated with a stat line of 10 points, nine rebounds, seven blocks, and a steal in 26 minutes. Hats off to him, Derrick White (34 points, 9-of-16 FG, 7-of-13 3PT), Jaylen Brown (26 points, 12 assists, 9-of-17 FG), and Jrue Holiday (14 points, seven rebounds). They ran all over New York in the second half, which they won 68-43.

Brunson’s foul trouble cost New York, but that’s not the whole story. He finished with 22 points on 7-of-17 shooting. Boston’s defense kept him from finding that clutch gear we’ve grown accustomed to, and he logged nine points post-intermission. Josh Hart played pretty well, too, making five of his nine three-point attempts and finishing with 24 points and seven rebounds. Off the bench Mitchell Robinson was a highlight, grabbing 13 boards, eight points, two steals, and a block—and making all six free throws.

Karl-Anthony Towns posted some fair numbers (22 points, eight boards) but was a target of Boston’s offense, especially after early foul trouble. And check this out: Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby, combined to shoot 5-of-26 and scored 15 points. Their defense was strong, as memory serves, and OG grabbed eight boards, but that kind of offensive production is insufficient. Especially when the bench provides so little.

Now up 3-2, New York travels home for another chance to close it out on Friday. Here’s your recap.

First Half

Knicks fans were as vociferous as Boston backers at TD Garden tonight. Our heroes gave them plenty to cheer. Although the green team jumped out to an 8-4 lead, New York answered with a 7-0 run of buckets from Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, and Josh Hart. New York’s finest scrambled for loose balls and forced Boston into five first-quarter turnovers, playing like a team within sniffing distance of the ECF.

Luke Kornet checked in and sparked a 10-2 run by Boston. His elbow caught Hart’s eyebrow on a drive, and the blood that followed came straight out of a Tom Savini splatter bag. No sweat: Josh donned a clean jersey and, after a delay, coolly drilled two freebies.

Mitchell Robinson checked in around the three-minute mark. Without delay, Boston fouled him—and Mitch, also, hit two no-sweat free-throws, exciting a noisy percentage of the enemy’s arena. At the tail end of the quarter, our guy was fouled chasing an offensive board and swished those free throws, too. Foh-foh-Foh from the line! Eat that, Maz.

Derrick White was smoking through the quarter—collecting 14 points on 5-of-6 from the field—as was the whole team, shooting 7-of-14 from the perimeter. That couldn’t stop our heroes, though. Despite shooting 37% from the floor, the Knicks won their first first-quarter of the series, 32-30.

In the second period, Bridges and Robinson continued to hustle on defense, deflecting anything that came within ten feet. Karl-Anthony Towns collected his third foul early in the period, but New York was rolling. When Deuce McBride drilled his second trey of the game, an eight-point lead compelled Celtics skipper Joe Mazzulla to beg for a timeout.

A 10-3 run gave our ‘Bockers a nine-point lead, but seven unanswered from Boston shrank it. Cam Payne spelled Brunson for five minutes during that rocky stretch and posted zeroes across the board, save for three fouls. (It’s cool—his Game One performance against Detroit earned him an extended pass.) From there, Jaylen Brown sank back-to-back buckets that gave Boston a slim lead; that goofy goober Payton Pritchard traded triples with Josh Hart; and then White traded threes with Hart. The Celtics couldn’t miss and ended the half with a 26-17 run to knot the score at 59 by intermission.

Through the half, Boston hit 50% from the field and 48% (12-of-25) from downtown. New York kept the pace by making eight of 17 three-point attempts and 13 of 15 free throws. The teams were even on the glass, but the Knicks forced more turnovers and controlled the paint. Derrick White led all scorers with 19, having shot 5-of-9 from deep, and Jaylen Brown added 17; for New York, Brunson had 13 and Hart had 12. (Psst: OG Anunoby had missed eight of nine shots.)

Second Half

Josh Hart began the second half with a deep three, but Boston responded quickly—Holiday scored inside, Kornet tipped in a miss, and Brown stripped Brunson to get to the line.

After Hart tied it again with another three, White drilled one to ignite a Boston surge. He punished the Knicks with more points at the stripe and a corner three, Kornet blocked KAT at the rim, and by the time White hit his third triple of the quarter, Boston had built a 75–68 lead, forcing a Knicks timeout. Derrick would score 13 points in the quarter.

Brown was all over on this sequence:

A 16-3 run put New York behind 84-70, aided by three Kornet blocks and misses by Hart, Bridges, and Towns. The Knicks needed a hero. Maybe one of the seven-foot variety . . . Robinson checked in with three-ish minutes to go, was fouled, and hit two more frickin free throws!

That couldn’t stop Boston’s momentum. Jalen Brunson picked up his fifth foul, Kornet kept swatting (four in the period), and New York turned over the ball at inopportune times. With the captain in foul trouble and watching from the bench, the Knicks could find no offensive rhythm and the game got out of hand. Outscored 32-17 in the quarter, they entered the final frame down 91-76.

With five points by Al Horford, Boston went ahead by 20 to start the quarter. When Holiday hit a triple, it was 22. By 7:36, their lead was 23. At 7:19, Brunson fouled out. Thibs challenged the call but just to show support for his best player. The Knicks were doomed, and mostly by Kornet who had the game of his life. At just under five minutes left, the visitors were down by 24 with Brunson out, Hart’s eye closing up, Anunoby and Bridges and Deuce unable to hit the rim, and Karl-Anthony Towns looking lost. To the trashcan it goes.

Up Next

Let’s try it again on Friday at MSG. Safe travels, Knickerbockers.

Box Score