Josh Hart’s late heroics lead Knicks over Celtics in important victory

Yup, the Knicks found something. 

It wasn’t just the victory three nights earlier in Atlanta.

This time, on Thursday in MSG, it was against the mighty Celtics. And just like against the Hawks, it worked over and over. 

For much of the final five minutes of a 112-106 victory over Boston, Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns spammed their two-man game. Pick and rolls, Pick and pops. Preferable switches. 

It turned into an unstoppable strategy as the Knicks’ offense took off down the stretch for an important win, moving them one step closer to clinching third in the East while keeping alive their hopes of supplanting Boston at No. 2. 

Brunson picked up five of his 10 assists in the fourth quarter, finishing with 25 points. Their spacing freed up Josh Hart, who dropped 15 of his 26 in the final period. His 3-point barrage — which followed a miserable first half for Hart — had the Garden crowd at a fever pitch. So Hart became the hero. Towns and Brunson were the catalysts. 

The Celtics were playing without their top star, Jaylen Brown, who sat with Achilles tendinitis. His DNP felt hypocritical after Brown spent months needling the Knicks and their fans, including a comment just this week about seeking revenge for last year’s elimination. 

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Of course, revenge for the Celtics can only be accomplished in the playoffs, and Brown’s absence theoretically provided an easier avenue to face the Knicks in the second round. (stuff about the seeding). 

But there were other reasons for Brown to rest. First, the Achilles soreness has been an ongoing issue for him this season. Also, Thursday’s game was the first in a back-to-back set and the Celtics have previously alternated rest days for Brown and Tatum. So don’t be surprised if Tatum sits Friday’s game against the Pelicans. 

And lastly, Tatum characterized Thursday’s game as an emotional hurdle to clear after tearing his Achilles on the Garden court almost a year ago. It was his first time returning to the spot of the injury. He apparently needed MSG redemption more than Brown. 

“Obviously, at some point I knew I would have to get over that hurdle and play there again,” Tatum said. “So, it’s going to have to be this Thursday.” 

Tatum was off and particularly struggled down the stretch, finishing with 24 points on 7-for-22 shooting. The Celtics were outscored by 16 points in his 40 minutes.

But the Knicks were killed by Payton Pritchard, who went off for 23 points with six assists on 10-of-20 shooting. When the Knicks threatened to pull away in the third quarter with a 13-point lead, Pritchard dragged the Celtics back. 

It led to a nip-and-tuck fourth quarter, with the deficit never hitting double digits for the final 18 minutes. In the end, the Towns-Brunson tandem — along with efficient shooting from Hart — carried the result. 

It meant coach Mike Brown collected his 52nd victory, eclipsing the highest total by Tom Thibodeau with the Knicks.

“It didn’t register that they had 51 wins (last season) or whatever and I wasn’t trying to pass what they had last year. I was trying to  get the best possible seed we could get going into the playoffs.  I was trying to hopefully help the team improve going into the playoffs and then hopefully make a run at this thing,” the coach said. “I’ve said this before: Thibs is a great coach. I’m not trying to be him or replace him. I’m just trying to do the best that I can do with this team. So I don’t really think of that. It’d be great to get 60 (wins) and not because we had 60 last year but 60 sounds better than 52 or 54 but that’s kind of how I look at it.”