NBA playoffs takeaways: Knicks down Celtics in ultimate display of resiliency for Game 1 OT win

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The New York Knicks defied the odds Monday at TD Garden, coming back from a 20-point deficit and outlasting the Boston Celtics 108-105 in overtime of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

The Knicks went on a 25-9 second-half run to cut the Celtics’ lead to four points with roughly 9 minutes left to play. A 3-pointer by OG Anunoby cut it to one. A few sequences later, an Anunoby dunk was the equalizer, the first since the second quarter.

The game started, or rather re-started, after the Knicks obliterated the Celtics’ 20-point lead, with roughly seven minutes to play, tied at 86. Win the last seven minutes, win the game. Jalen Brunson took the challenge personally.

The Knicks’ star guard finished with 29 points after ending the first half with as many fouls (three) as he had field goals (3-for-9). Anunoby also had 29. Josh Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns each scored 14.

ANOTHER 🤯

Knicks go up 6 with 3 minutes to play! https://t.co/Ma3K7iUKpu pic.twitter.com/rr6HNNndFQ

— NBA (@NBA) May 6, 2025

After keeping the first frame tight, 26-25, the Knicks unraveled in the second quarter. They allowed a two-point deficit to turn into 16 points in the last 7 1/2 minutes of the frame. At half, Towns was the only player in double digits (10 points) to pair with his three fouls.

At half for the Celtics, Jayson Tatum had 13 points (all in the first quarter), Payton Pritchard also had 13 points (and would finish the game with as many) and Jaylen Brown had 14. The team also forced seven turnovers and nabbed 10 offensive rebounds, which was good enough to gain a substantial halftime lead despite its poor 3-point shooting.

Tatum and Brown each finished with 23 points. Derrick White added 19 and Jrue Holiday had 16.

New York won the game with resiliency

The Knicks went into Boston as major underdogs after getting pummeled all during the regular season, and beat the Celtics.

New York showed all season long that it was a resilient group, and that popped up again in the postseason, first in a dogfight series against Detroit and again in Game 1 against Boston, coming back from 20 points to win.

It looked like Boston would once again run New York out of the building. However, Boston couldn’t make a 3-point shot, yet continued to take them. New York turned up its defensive intensity and got some shots to fall late in the game, primarily from Brunson. The Captain finished with 29 points, the bulk of which came in the fourth quarter.

The Knicks also shot well from 3 as a team, converting on 46 percent of their 3s. New York beat Boston at the math game.

The Celtics certainly won’t shoot this badly again, but the Knicks got the confidence they needed and have been mentally tough all season. If anything, New York has sent a wake-up call to the defending champions. — James Edwards III, Knicks beat writer

Mismatch hunting worked for the Celtics, for a time

The Celtics took over Game 1 early with some creative approaches to mismatch hunting. Tatum wanted Towns out in space so he could get the Knicks star in foul trouble. It worked, getting Towns out of the game early and letting Boston take control using the Hack-a-Robinson gambit. But when Anunoby brought New York back into the game, that gave Brunson his chance to return the favor. Towns couldn’t score on Al Horford all night, with one particular Horford stop at the rim triggering Brunson to start forcing Horford to switch onto him. The Knicks guard got to work, burying 3 after 3 in crunch time to claw back the Knicks’ lead.

This is the cycle of life in a high-level playoff game. Early in the series, teams come in with a clear understanding of how to hit their opponent’s weak points and make it sting. The first step with New York is keeping Towns out of the game, ruining their spacing since the Celtics were sagging deep off Hart all night. But advantages don’t last long at this stage. It’s not the first round anymore, and the competition level has, well, leveled out.

Late in the fourth quarter, the Celtics redrew their help scheme when Horford got switched onto Brunson, and then floated a doubler at the free-throw line. Horford was able to guard up on Brunson and force the pass out. Boston managed to defend well as the Knicks zipped the ball around, coming back from down five in the final minutes to get Tatum an isolation on Mitchell Robinson on the final Celtics possession. Robinson guarded his yard and forced the miss, making up for all his struggles early in the game.

Those little victories handling the cross matches will define this series. These teams are well built for each other and have someone on each side who can just hunt out those advantages throughout crunch time. The Celtics couldn’t hit anything, and the Knicks’ iso defense was a big part of that, but Boston will find their shot eventually. — Jared Weiss, Celtics beat writer

Mikal Bridges comes through when New York needs it most

The final defensive play was not a surprise for those who have paid attention to Mikal Bridges during the postseason, when he’s ratcheted up his physicality to levels he never reached during the regular season.

With three seconds to go and the Celtics running an inbounds play, hoping to tie a 108-105 game, Brown received a pass that sailed over the head of Bridges. But the Knicks wing didn’t even need to foul while up three, just as Towns had pulled off on the previous possession. Instead, he went for the basketball. He hugged it, leaning into Brown, and ripped the rock away from the All-Star, tossing it down the court at the buzzer to seal a Game 1 win.

MIKAL BRIDGES STEAL TO SEAL GAME 1 FOR THE KNICKS!!

20-POINT COMEBACK COMPLETE ✅ pic.twitter.com/us3Nq0Dykx

— NBA (@NBA) May 6, 2025

It was hardly Bridges’ only defensive highlight of the night. Earlier in the overtime, he deflected an errant pass out of bounds and dove into his own bench, saving it, hauling a cross-court pass that eventually led to a fast-break for an Anunoby and-1 dunk. It was reminiscent of a play Bridges and Anunoby, the two defensive stalwarts Hart nicknamed ‘Wing Stop’ at the beginning of the year, made during a Game 6 to close out the Pistons in the previous round. Then, Anunoby blocked Tobias Harris at the rim, spurring a fast-break dunk for Bridges. This one was with the characters in reverse.

Brunson will get the credit for his crunch-time heroics. And Anunoby scored plentifully while also taking over offensively. Bridges shot just 3 of 13 from the field against Boston. But he hit a big 3-pointer in overtime, and his defense, once again, came through when the Knicks needed it most. — Fred Katz, national NBA writer

Did the Celtics shoot too many 3-pointers?

It sure sounds cliche: Every series is different.

But for Boston, that adage rings true after one game of the second round. After needing to adjust to life without constant 3-pointers against Orlando, the Celtics generated the type of looks they’re used to in the series opener against New York while setting a playoff record with 60 3-point attempts.

The problem for Joe Mazzulla’s team: very few of those looks went down.

The Celtics shot just 15 for 60 (25 percent), with a number of wide-open misses in the third quarter when they could have turned the game into a laugher. During that quarter, 19 of Boston’s 20 field-goal attempts came from behind the 3-point arc. The Celtics made eight of those tries, but missed just enough for New York to stay in the game and eventually charge back. The Knicks took a six-point lead late in the fourth quarter before Boston responded to force overtime.

Did the Celtics shoot too many 3-pointers? They probably settled for too many off-the-bounce looks, especially during the second half. Twice in the final moments of regulation, Tatum dribbled into 3-point attempts when he had a good matchup to attack — Brunson on the first try and Robinson on the second. Tatum missed both of the tries when he probably should have gone to the basket instead.

Over the long term, though, the Celtics would likely love the shots they got for the majority of Game 1. They won’t miss that many very often, though it cost them in the series opener. — Jay King, Celtics beat writer

(Photo: Nathaniel S. Butler / NBAE via Getty Images)

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