Celtics hold off late Knicks charge to win 123-117 in rematch of East semifinal

BOSTON (AP) — Jaylen Brown scored a season-high 42 points, sealing the game with a breakaway dunk in the final seconds Tuesday night as the Boston Celtics beat the New York Knicks 123-117 in a rematch of last season’s Eastern Conference semifinal.

Derrick White scored seven of his 22 points in the last four minutes, after the Celtics turned back a New York charge that cut a 15-point deficit to 102-99. Jordan Walsh had six points and five rebounds in the fourth quarter for Boston.

Mikal Bridges scored 17 of his 35 points in the fourth and went 8 for 12 from 3-point range overall. Karl-Anthony Towns added 29 for the Knicks, who had won four in a row.

Boston has won four of its last five games, beating four of the top six teams in the Eastern Conference.

The Knicks took off to a 17-4 lead and led 39-25 before Boston scored the next 12 points and later scored seven in a row, taking a 47-46 lead on Brown’s dunk that woke up the crowd. Brown scored 18 points in the second quarter and 15 in the third.

Boston led by 18 after three and had a 102-87 advantage with eight minutes left before Bridges hit a 3-pointer and followed it with three free throws, then made another 3 to make it 102-99 and finish off a 12-0 run.

But Boston came out of a timeout with Josh Minott’s 3-pointer, then Walsh scored on back-to-back putbacks to give the Celtics an eight-point lead. Bridges hit a 3 to make it a four-point game with 46 seconds left, but he missed one on New York’s next possession with a chance to cut the deficit to one.

Up next

The Knicks host the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday night.

The Celtics visit Washington on Thursday night.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA