BOSTON.— The New York Knicks once again showed their mettle at the decisive moment by overcoming a 20-point deficit to defeat the Boston Celtics 91-90 in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, thus taking a surprising 2-0 lead in the series.
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Karl-Anthony Towns shone with a double-double of 21 points and 17 rebounds, while Josh Hart led the New York offense with 23 units. Mikal Bridges was key in the outcome by scoring his 14 points in the last quarter, including a decisive steal that secured the victory for New York. Jalen Brunson was also a protagonist with 17 points and the free throws for the lead with 12.7 seconds remaining.
Boston dominated a large part of the game and at one point had a 20-point lead, but their offense collapsed in the final quarter, where they went more than eight minutes without scoring a single field goal. Jayson Tatum, who finished with just 13 points on 5 of 19 attempts, was once again limited by the Knicks' defense.
Jaylen Brown and Derrick White each scored 20 points for a Celtics team that missed 30 of their 40 three-point attempts. Kristaps Porzingis returned as a substitute after an illness, contributing 8 points in 14 minutes.
With this victory, the Knicks are in a dominant position: teams that win the first two games of a best-of-seven series as visitors advance 85.7% of the time. Game 3 will be played this Saturday at Madison Square Garden, where New York will seek to extend its lead against a Celtics team against the ropes.