NBA playoffs: Knicks put champs Celtics on the edge of elimination, while Tatum collapses | NBA

Jalen Brunson had 39 points and 12 assists, and the New York Knicks have picked up a victory from their first appearance in the Eastern Conference for 25 years and brought the defending champion Boston Celtics to the brink of excretion with a win from 121-113 on Monday evening.

The Celtics only have to achieve the 14th comeback from a 3: 1 deficit in NBA history in order to extend their title rule, and may have to do it without all-star Jayson Tatum, which was borne by the court in the last few minutes.

After the Celtics had played in the first three games in the first three games-but had blown the first two of them in Boston, the Celtics had another two-digit lead of less than five minutes in this game.

They led 62-51 at half-time, but the Knicks played their starters in a desperate third quarter, in which they enforced the Celtics with 37: 23 to open an exciting end time. “I don't know,” said Brunson when he was asked what had changed in the second half. “Just find a way to make games and get us going … I was only in the river.”

Tatum's three-point game tied it for the last time at 102 a.m. before Anunoby hit a three pointer and the Knicks later put it away with an 11-0 burst who did 116-104.

Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns added 23 points each, and OG Anunoby fell back from two bad performances by achieving 20 for the Knicks who can win the series on Wednesday evening in Boston. If not, they would return to Madison Square Garden to do it on Friday evening.

“They played phenomenally, did not stop, they continued to fight, that is the most important thing when we come into a hole – you can't stop and we showed it,” said Brunson about his teammates.

Tatum scored 42 points, his high in these playoffs before he was injured when the Celtics turned the ball and tried to storm his leg towards the loose ball. He immediately grabbed his leg and seemed to be in remarkable pain when he was treated by the medical staff in court. Tatum was later pushed into the changing room in a wheelchair with his hands over his face.

Shortly before Tatum's injury, the Knicks had taken control of an insane amount of fans, which they had not played in the conference final since their loss against Indiana in 2000.

Nobody has come from 3-1 since Denver in 2020. It didn't happen when a team had to win a real street game since Cleveland was over Golden State in the NBA final in 2016.

When asked what the Knicks need to close the series in Boston, Brunson was in a nutshell. “We have to concentrate, that's a great team there.”