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4 hours ago
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A Mikal Bridges steal in overtime capped off an electrifying 20-point comeback victory during game one of the Eastern Conference Semifinals as the Knicks stunned the Celtics.
Both Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby led all scorers with 29 points each. Brunson’s 11 in the fourth quarter showed why once again why he won the NBA Clutch Player of the Year.
On top of preventing a potential game tying three pointer with one second left, Bridges logged 51 minutes, the most of the game. His defensive prowess was felt and he drilled a crucial three to give New York a 106-100 lead with 2:30 left in overtime.
After a tight first quarter with Boston leading 26-25, the Celtics went on to lead for a significant portion of the game. However, a 31-11 run forced overtime.
While speaking to the media, Jayson Tatum felt like his team should’ve been more aggressive.
"There were probably some times that we settled."
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Statistically speaking, that viewpoint checks out. Boston set an NBA playoff record for the most missed 3-pointers in a single game, going 15-for-60. Out of 49 total shot attempts throughout the second half and overtime, 37 were 3-point attempts, with only 10 made.
It’s been their style all year, the defending champs broke the NBA single-season team record for most threes made, but sometimes it can be detrimental. They averaged 48.2 three point attempts during the regular season and hit them at a 36.8% rate, so trends would call last night's game an outlier.
The rest of this series will be fascinating to watch, as both sides search for an advantage. As a team the Knicks were 17-37 (45.9%) from three, it’s going to be difficult to replicate that performance four times, but if they can get anywhere close, it will be competitive.
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