BOSTON (AP) — Mikal Bridges scored all of his 14 points in the fourth quarter before making his second straight game-clinching steal, and the New York Knicks overcame a 20-point deficit again to beat the Boston Celtics 91-90 on Wednesday night for a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Jalen Brunson scored 17 points for New York and made two free throws with 12.7 seconds left for a 91-90 lead. Jayson Tatum then couldn’t get to the rim and Bridges moved in to bat the ball away and recover it.
Josh Hart had 23 points and Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 21 points and 17 rebounds for the Knicks, who will host Game 3 on Saturday.
Jaylen Brown and Derrick White scored 20 points apiece for the Celtics, who were 10 for 40 from 3-point range after going 15 for 60 in Game 1.
THUNDER 149, NUGGETS 106
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma City set an NBA playoff record for first-half points with 87 against Denver in Game 2 of their Western Conference semifinal series on Wednesday.
Oklahoma City surpassed the previous record of 86 set by the Cleveland Cavaliers against the Golden State Warriors in Game 4 of the NBA Finals on June 9, 2017. Chet Holmgren, who missed two critical free throws late in Game 1, made a pair with a second remaining to set the record.
The Thunder tied the record for points in any half of a playoff game. Milwaukee had 87 in the second half against Denver on April 23, 1978.
The Thunder shot 58.8% from the field and made 17 of 18 free throws to take an 87-56 lead at the break. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with 18 points. All five Thunder starters scored in double figures in the first half.
Denver won Game 1 121-119 on Monday night.
