The Boston Celtics and New York Knicks series were wide open by the opening game.
After winning all four regular series games between the two teams, the Boston Celtics were strongly supportive of defeating the New York Knicks.
And while Paul Pierce’s “Five Five Celtics Prediction” is still technically correct, there’s little room for error for Boston after the Knicks enters TD Garden and wins Game 1 in overtime.
The Knicks won Game 108-105, opening the series wide and returning from 20 points.
Jason Tatum’s three consecutive 30-point or more games running in the playoffs ended against the New York Knicks’ sturdy defense.
Tatum was limited to 23 points, but had grabbed an impressive 16 rebounds, which was necessary because Kristaps Porzingis was missing.
Kristaps Porzingis started the Celtics game but only completed 13 minutes.
The Big Man had no effect at all during the game time, earning 0 points and managing four rebounds. He was sick and while the game progressed, his presence was overlooked by Boston.
The player ratings highlight how the Celtics got consistent plays from five players who reached double digits.
The New York Knicks, as expected, relied on their starting core, with Mikal Bridges playing an astounding 51 minutes.
The outstanding player was OG Anunoby, who matched Jalen Brunson with 29 points. Anunoby’s powerful defense was supplemented by a 6-11 fire from 3-point range.
The towns of Josh Hart and Karl Anthony both recorded double doubles to help the board’s Knicks with team-powerful building performances.
The Knicks also managed to score 11 points from Miles McBride, showing a bit more depth from the highly misused bench unit.
The Knicks’ victory puts Boston under pressure in Game 2 before the series returns to New York.
