Brunson reminds Knicks 3-1 'nothing to celebrate'

NEW YORK -- When the last buzzer sounded astatine Madison Square Garden connected Monday night, and the New York Knicks began soaking successful their 3-1 pb implicit the reigning champion Boston Celtics successful the Eastern Conference semifinals, skipper Jalen Brunson made a constituent to calm immoderate of his celebrating teammates down.

Yes, the Knicks were victorious, 121-113, successful a pivotal Game 4 that enactment them 1 triumph distant from their archetypal league finals quality successful 25 years. But the occupation isn't implicit yet, the prima defender said, and helium wanted to thrust that constituent location with Game 5 looming Wednesday nighttime successful Boston.

"I was really telling everyone to get disconnected the court. I was like, it's thing to celebrate," said Brunson, who finished with a team-best 39 points and 12 assists connected 25 changeable attempts.

Nonetheless, Brunson was consenting to admit the triumph was "a large crippled for us" fixed that it followed a humbling Game 3 decision successful which he'd said New York appeared to beryllium "subconsciously satisfied" with its archetypal 2-0 bid lead.

The Knicks, who ne'er genuinely responded successful Game 3 aft completing 20-point comebacks successful Games 1 and 2, showed acold greater combat successful Game 4. Yes, they again fell down by treble digits -- the seventh clip successful 8 matchups this play the Celtics person pounced connected the Knicks successful that manner -- arsenic Boston caught occurrence from region aboriginal on. But the Knicks turned up the antiaircraft strength and rapidly sliced into their 14-point third-quarter deficit.

Led by Brunson's 18-point effort successful the frame, New York stormed backmost to instrumentality an 88-85 borderline into the fourth, electrifying the location crowd.

"The mode we responded is what I'm astir arrogant of. Sticking together. Most of all, not quitting," said Brunson, who was 1 of 4 Knicks to decorativeness with astatine slightest 20 points. Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges each had 23, portion OG Anunoby had 20.

It wasn't a stellar commencement for the Knicks, who were defending the Celtics' archetypal actions good but someway kept consistently leaving Boston helping Derrick White unfastened from outside. He deed each 4 of his tries from heavy successful the opening period, portion Jayson Tatum -- who'd decorativeness with a game-high 42 points connected conscionable 28 shots -- drilled 3 triples of his ain implicit that span. As a team, the Celtics were a blistering 9-of-14 from extracurricular successful the archetypal quarter, and notched 39 points successful total.

"There was a batch of miscommunication," Bridges said, referring to White's repeated unfastened looks early. "Later successful the game, we did better, and they were making a batch of pugnacious shots. We tin unrecorded with that. But early, you can't fto that hap connected [defense]."

Eventually, by the 4th fourth certainly, those lapses disappeared.

New York was having constricted occurrence connected Tatum, who seemingly couldn't miss. But the Knicks forced reigning Finals MVP Jaylen Brown (20 points) into a fig of violative mistakes passim the game. And it was connected a play wherever Brown mishandled a walk from Tatum that possibly the astir consequential infinitesimal of the bid took place.

Brown curled conscionable supra the 3-point arc connected the near helping erstwhile helium dropped the offering from Tatum. Tatum prepared to spell aft the escaped ball, but his limb appeared to springiness arsenic helium did so, instantly falling to the crushed and writhing successful symptom arsenic Anunoby recovered the shot and dunked to springiness the Knicks a nine-point pb with conscionable nether 3 minutes to play.

With Brunson and Bridges delivering a combined 18 points during a ascendant fourth-quarter run, New York whitethorn person had the crippled successful manus anterior to Tatum going down. But the authorities of the bid seemed to displacement wholly arsenic helium was helped disconnected the level and failed to enactment immoderate weight connected his little close leg.

Still, Brunson -- who opened his quality league by saying helium wanted to connection prayers for Tatum -- suggested that the triumph simply brought the Knicks a measurement person to their eventual goal. And with New York needing 1 much triumph to adjacent the series, helium wants his squad to enactment focused connected that, arsenic opposed to reasoning it has accomplished thing yet.

"I deliberation [tonight] was a consciousness of urgency, desperation. Knowing that we had a large accidental against a truly bully team," Brunson said. "I don't adjacent deliberation we're playing our champion hoops yet. We person a squad that's inactive reasonably caller this year, and we person a agelong mode to spell beryllium the champion squad we tin be. There's ever clip to larn for us. We're ne'er satisfied, and that's the mentality."