When these two old rivals meet in the one-game, play-in event, it’s going to be classic.
In a defensive slugfest that ended in a Knicks heartthrob, the Celtics rallied seven-point deficit in the fourth quarter to take a 101-99 victory at TD Garden on Wednesday. Marcus Smart hit the game-clinching 3-pointer with 35 seconds to go to break the score.
Alec Burks missed a 3-pointer with 22 seconds to go and was then blocked on a run in the track with 10 seconds to go to take the loss.
The Knicks are 2-8 in games decided by three points or less this season.
If the season ended now, the Celtics and Knicks would meet in No. 7-vs.-8 play-in tournament game in the new NBA format to qualify for the actual play-offs. The Celtics are now in seventh place at 26-26. The Knicks dropped to eighth place at 25-27 after losing five of their last six games.
This was a doozy, but the Knicks lost a seven-point lead in the final 8:12 when Smart punched in the comeback, caught an air ball underneath and sent it home with two minutes left for a big bucket.
The loss ruined a gem of a game for RJ Barrett, who scored 6 of 6 3-pointers to finish with 29 points. However, Barrett also made a costly turnover and lost his dribble in the left corner, which led to a quick lay-up by Jaylen Brown to put the Celtics in the lead at 93-90 with 1:01 over.
Barrett came alongside with his fifth 3-pointer, but it wasn’t enough. Julius Randle scored 22 points with nine rebounds, six assists and three steals.
Randle was furious in the third quarter, rushing into the buckets transition and sending the Knicks to a 73-70 lead going into the last period.
Jayson Tatum scored 25 runs and Brown added 32. Tatum didn’t play when the Knicks won 30 points in Boston in January.