The China Mail - Knicks rally again to take 2-0 lead over Celtics, Thunder roar back

After erasing a 20-point deficit in a gritty overtime triumph in game one, the Knicks authored another epic comeback to take a 2-0 lead over the defending NBA champion Celtics in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference semi-final series.

Western Conference top seeds Oklahoma City, stung by the Denver Nuggets' comeback in game one, romped to a record-setting 87 points in the first half to set up a 149-106 victory that leveled their series at one game apiece.

In Boston, Mikal Bridges scored all 14 of his points in the fourth quarter for the Knicks and came up with a steal as Boston's Jayson Tatum drove for a potential game-winning basket in the waning seconds.

Josh Hart led the Knicks with 23 points and Karl-Anthony Towns added 21 points and 17 rebounds.

Jalen Brunson scored 17 points and delivered again when it mattered. His fadeaway jumper with 1:59 to play gave New York their first lead of the game, 87-86.

And after Tatum raced the length of the court for a dunk that put the Celtics up 90-89 with 18.5 seconds left, Brunson drilled a pair of free throws to put the Knicks back on top.

"I'm just happy we found a way to win," Brunson told broadcaster TNT. "That's some wild stuff right there."

Boston, with 20 points apiece from Jaylen Brown and Derrick White, led 73-53 late in the third quarter.

But Brown scored just three points in the second half and 14 straight missed baskets by Boston in the fourth quarter gave the Knicks the only opening they needed.

Bridges produced a victory-sealing steal for the second straight game, and credited his teammates with keeping him going when he was struggling.

"It's really truly them, just holding me together and keeping me mentally right and just telling me to keep going," he said.

The Knicks will host game three on Saturday. Only five teams have rallied to win an NBA playoff series after dropping the first two games at home, but Brown insisted the Celtics can do it.

"We can get back into this thing, no question," he said. "If I had to select any guys that can get it done, it's the group that we have in our locker room."

- Thunder roll -

New York's win marked the third time in three days that a team came back from 20 down to win, with Indiana's fightback to beat Cleveland on Tuesday sandwiched between the Knicks' two comebacks.

The Thunder, who surrendered a 14-point lead in falling to the Nuggets in their series opener, were clearly on a mission to buck the trend and become the first home team to win a game in the second round of these playoffs.

Their 87 points were the most in a first half of a playoff game, surpassing Cleveland's 86 against Golden State in game four of the 2017 NBA Finals.

They tied the record for most points in any half of a playoff game, matching Milwaukee's 87 in the second half of a second-round encounter with Denver in 1978.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander made 11 of his 13 attempts and all 11 of his free throws on the way to 34 points, leading eight Thunder players to score in double figures.

"We came out here desperate," Gilgeous-Alexander said, adding the Thunder didn't want to head to Denver for game three on Friday down 2-0.

"That wasn't really an option for us," he said. "We did the necessary things to get a W."

Jalen Williams added 17 points and Chet Holmgren had 15 points, 11 rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots.

Denver star Nikola Jokic, coming off a 42-point game one, scored 17 points with six turnovers before fouling out late in the third quarter.

Russell Westbrook led Denver's scoring with 19 points, but Oklahoma City led by as many as 49.

N.Wan--ThChM