The NBA playoffs are heating up, and the New York Knicks and Minnesota Timberwolves are turning up the pressure as they both moved within one win of a coveted spot in the Conference Finals.
Brunson’s Brilliance Pushes Celtics to the Edge
At Madison Square Garden, Jalen Brunson delivered a commanding performance, dropping 39 points to lead the New York Knicks to a 121-113 comeback win over the reigning NBA champions, the Boston Celtics. With the victory, the Knicks now lead the Eastern Conference semi-final series 3-1 and can punch their ticket to the finals for the first time since 2000 with a win in Boston on Thursday.
The Celtics came out firing, building a 14-point lead midway through the third quarter. Jayson Tatum, who scored a game-high 42 points, was instrumental in their early dominance. But the momentum shifted quickly as Brunson sparked a Knicks rally that saw them claw back and enter the fourth quarter with an 88-85 lead.
From there, it was all New York.
The turning point came in dramatic fashion. With the Celtics chasing, OG Anunoby stripped Tatum of the ball and raced downcourt for a thunderous dunk — a play that not only electrified the home crowd but left Tatum writhing in pain. He was later seen being wheeled into the locker room with what coach Joe Mazzulla called a “lower body injury.”
“He’ll get an MRI and we’ll see what it is,” Mazzulla said postgame. “Right now, we’re worried about his health first — and then we’ve got to figure out how to regroup for Game 5.”
Brunson, meanwhile, remained calm and composed in the clutch, orchestrating the offense and delivering key baskets down the stretch.
“I was just in a flow,” Brunson said after the game. “We didn’t quit — kept fighting. That’s what’s most important. Whenever you get in a hole, you can’t quit.”
Edwards, Timberwolves Tame Warriors in the West
Out West, the Minnesota Timberwolves continued their dream run with a 117-110 win over the Golden State Warriors, taking a commanding 3-1 lead in their semi-final series. Anthony Edwards starred once again, scoring 30 points and leading a third-quarter surge that proved decisive.
The Timberwolves rattled off 17 unanswered points in the third to build an 85-68 lead, a gap the Warriors — still without injured star Stephen Curry — never managed to close.
Edwards revealed that a halftime challenge from head coach Chris Finch fired up the squad for the second-half blitz.
“Coach told us we were playing like losers,” Edwards admitted. “He said I wasn’t defending at a high level and needed to be better on offense. I just locked in and tried to do that in the second half.”
Game 5 will be played in Minnesota on Thursday (02:30 BST), where the Timberwolves have a chance to close out the series on home court.
With both series hanging in the balance, Thursday night promises high drama. The Knicks and Timberwolves are knocking on the door of the Conference Finals — and if their stars continue to shine, the NBA may be on the verge of witnessing a major power shift.
