BOSTON — The Knicks still hold onto the No. 2 spot.
For a team that stomped the sleepwalking Celtics 118-109 in Beantown and stormed to a 39-point lead, beating the NBA’s best team was easy — who else? — Jalen Brunson.
“He should win MVP,” OG Anunoby said.
The win, which led by 31 points in the third quarter, was the Knicks’ (48-32) third straight victory and fifth in six games.
They have built a cushion for third place in the East, and a win against the Nets, who lost badly on Friday, will seal that spot, but they are just one spot behind the second-place Bucks with two games remaining.
The Knicks need to win (against the Nets and Bulls) and Milwaukee needs to drop their final two games (against the Thunder and Magic) because the Bucks have the tiebreaker.
With Brunson in Jordan mode and Giannis Antetokounmpo out for the remainder of the regular season with a calf strain, anything seems possible now.
Coach Tom Thibodeau’s team is peaking at the right time.
Still, Thursday’s outburst was a bit misleading.
The Celtics (62-18) played at a decidedly reduced speed and intensity as they locked down their home court throughout the playoffs.
After an even first quarter, the Knicks took control in the second with a 19-0 run, building a 21-point lead at halftime.
game over.
The second half was a 24-minute course that added flair to another of Brunson’s masterpieces.
The point guard played just 30 minutes due to the outburst, one point shy of tying Carmelo Anthony and Bernard King as the only Knicks players to score 40 or more points in three straight games.
He made 15-of-23 shots (including 6-of-11 from 3-point range), had four assists, and had two turnovers.
The Knicks outscored Boston by 28 points with Brunson on the court.
“The numbers are staggering,” Thibodeau said.
Brunson beat the Celtics to submission. Trailing by 29 points, Boston emptied its bench at the end of the third quarter, with Jayson Tatum (15 points), Jaylen Brown (15 points) and Kristaps Porzingis (14 points) playing in cushioned seats for the remainder of the game. I watched.
“We clearly know they are the best dogs in the East,” Branson said. “Anytime you play against them, it’s always a good gauge to know where you are. Obviously, we played pretty well tonight. But we know their abilities. We just got their phone numbers tonight. But we know we’ll have our hands full when it comes time to play them again.”
Even Thibodeau, who kept most of his starters out in the fourth quarter, looked worried as Celsius tried to rally late and cut the lead to single digits. Later, in the post-match press conference, he got a little irritated and accused the group of giving up a huge lead to putting them in a slightly dangerous situation.
“You have to play 48 minutes, and we didn’t do that,” the coach said. “I don’t want to see the same mistakes repeated over and over again. And I want them to understand that there’s a difference in the fourth quarter and what it’s like to make good decisions in the fourth quarter. And those are the things that you evaluate, and you make rotation decisions based on those. So how do you evaluate a player? Is that actually a player? It’s a way to evaluate.”
Late-game concerns aside, the Knicks had the upper hand. Josh Hart had 16 rebounds and 16 points. Bojan Bogdanovic added 12 points, finally finding his rhythm after a tough start with the Knicks.
It was the Knicks’ first win over the Celtics in five tries this season, but Thursday was OG Anunoby’s first.
The defensive stalwarts thwarted Boston’s forwards, scoring 12 points in 26 minutes.
This was the fourth time the Celtics lost at home this season. And the Knicks finally returned home after an eight-night road trip with three wins and one loss.
