


BOSTON >> Mikal Bridges sealed another 20-point comeback with his second straight game-ending steal and the New York Knicks stunned the Boston Celtics again Wednesday night, winning 91-90 for an improbable 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.
Bridges also scored all of his 14 points in the fourth quarter.
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.
Tatum was limited to 13 points on 5-for-19 shooting for the Celtics, who went more than eight minutes without a field goal in the fourth quarter.
Teams that win the first two games of a best-of-seven series on the road win the series 85.7% of the time. The Knicks took the opener when Bridges stole the ball away from Brown with a second left in overtime.
Kristaps Porzingis didn’t start after sitting out the second half of Game 1 with an illness. He came off the bench for just the fifth time in his NBA career and finished with eight points and four rebounds in 14 minutes.
All eyes were on the Celtics’ offense after they missed an NBA-record 45 3-pointers in their Game 1 loss. They went 24 for 54 from 2-point range Wednesday.