6 hours ago
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BOSTON — It is an unforgiving game, and there was no better evidence of this than Monday night, late, with the Celtics desperately trying to halt the Knicks runaway train. There were 3 minutes and 6 seconds left in Game 4. Boston was frantic, Madison Square Garden was frenetic, and became more so when Mikal Bridges knocked the ball free from Jaylen Brown.
It bounced toward OG Anunoby. He started dashing to the other end of the floor for a dunk that would give the Knicks a 113-104 lead with a shade over three minutes to go. That’s where most of the 19,812 eyes followed, too, and the joy their rising chorus of voices produced was as giddy a soundtrack as the old gym has heard in years.
It took a while for most of them to notice the crumpled figure back at the other end of the floor, and a few more seconds to realize who it was: Jayson Tatum, grabbing for his lower right leg, his face a visor of agony.
As a fellow athlete, and one who’s experienced more than his share of injuries, it still never occurred to Anunoby to do anything other than finish the play. Play now, pray later. It can be a cold business sometimes.
English (US)