By Field Level Media
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Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby each scored 29 points as the visiting New York Knicks earned a 108-105 overtime victory against the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals Monday night.

The Knicks overcame a 20-point deficit in the third quarter and sealed the win when Mikal Bridges stole the ball from Jaylen Brown after Boston inbounded the ball with three seconds to play.

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“This team has fought all year, and been a pretty good road team,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “It’s one game. There’s a lot of emotional highs and lows in the playoffs, but no matter what happens you have to keep moving forward.”

During the fourth quarter, Brunson tied the game at 89 with a 3-pointer and 91 on two free throws before giving the Knicks their first lead since the second. His 3-pointer put them up 94-91 with 4:07 to play, and his third triple of the period extended New York’s advantage to six points, but Boston responded with a 7-0 run to take a 98-97 lead.

It was 100-100 when Brunson missed a layup with two seconds left. After a timeout, Jayson Tatum missed a 21-footer at the buzzer. The game went to overtime, where Anunoby’s dunk and foul shot and Bridges’ 3-pointer gave the Knicks the cushion they needed to finish the comeback.

“Your defense, your toughness, your teamwork — I think that’s paramount in a playoff game,” Thibodeau said.

Karl-Anthony Towns was in foul trouble for much of the game, but had 14 points and 13 rebounds in 31 minutes. Josh Hart had 14 points and 11 boards, and Bridges recorded eight points, seven assists, six rebounds and three steals while playing 51 of the possible 53 minutes.

Brown and Tatum each tossed in a team-high 23 points for Boston. Tatum also had 16 rebounds, and Derrick White put up 19 points and 11 rebounds.

Kristaps Porzingis was scoreless in 13 minutes during the first half and didn’t play in the final two quarters with what the Celtics called an “illness.” Boston’s Sam Hauser also went to the locker room with an ankle injury with 28.5 seconds remaining in the third quarter and didn’t return to the game.

“Obviously it impacts the game with (Porzingis’) ability at both ends of the floor. … Hopefully he’s ready for Game 2,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said.

Boston led 26-25 after one quarter and outscored New York by 15 in the second quarter to take a 61-45 halftime lead. The Celtics scored the final eight points in the first half. The Knicks were 8-of-19 from the free throw line in the half.

Towns was called for his fourth foul and went to the bench with 7:07 left in the third quarter, but the Knicks made a strong run without him. New York was within six points before Al Horford made a 3-pointer with 6.2 seconds remaining in the quarter that gave the Celtics an 84-75 lead entering the fourth.

“We left some of their good shooters open, so some personnel stuff, and they were able to get out in transition after some of our misses,” Mazzulla said of the Knicks’ comeback. “Detail stuff that we need to be better at.”

Game 2 in the best-of-seven series will be played Wednesday in Boston.

“The biggest challenge in the playoffs (is) dealing with the emotions of the playoffs,” Thibodeau cautioned. “If you feel too good about yourself, you won’t be ready for Game 2.”

Aaron Gordon’s late 3-pointer gives Nuggets Game 1 win vs. Thunder

Aaron Gordon hit a 3-pointer in the closing seconds to score 22 points and lift the Denver Nuggets to a 121-119 road victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of their second-round Western Conference playoff series.

“I never felt like anybody wavered,” Nuggets interim coach David Adelman said. “That doesn’t mean you’re going to win the game. … In the NBA, playoffs, these games are so long. You’ve got to give yourself a chance.”

With 9.5 seconds remaining and the Thunder up by one, the Nuggets’ Russell Westbrook fouled Chet Holmgren.

Holmgren missed both free throws, giving Denver an opening to finish off the comeback.

Christian Braun grabbed the rebound, fed it to Westbrook, who barreled down the floor before finding Gordon for the game-winning three.

“(Gordon) is a Denver Nugget, man,” Adelman said. “He is the soul of our team.”

The Nuggets hadn’t led since the first quarter, trailing by as many as 13 in the fourth quarter.

But the Nuggets ended the game with a 19-6 run to knock off the top seed in the Western Conference.

“I didn’t think our execution was as clean as it can be,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “But we’ll learn from it. It’s a series.”

Nikola Jokic scored 18 of his 42 points in the fourth quarter, hitting a pair of 3-pointers and eight free throws.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33 points to lead the Thunder, who had not played in nine days.

Oklahoma City didn’t make it easy on Jokic, using several different players to defend him.

Jokic showed frustration multiple times with the way he was being guarded.

With less than seven minutes to play, Jokic elbowed Luguentz Dort in the jaw while Dort was guarding Jokic in the lane.

Dort remained down for several moments, and after a lengthy review, Jokic was called for a Flagrant 1 foul. It was Jokic’s fifth foul of the game.

But Jokic never picked up his sixth, and scored 16 points from that point on to help the Nuggets stay in it for Westbrook and Gordon to team up for the final play.

Jokic also added 22 rebounds, tying his career playoff high.

“He had some unbelievable finishes around the basket,” Adelman said.

Westbrook, who was a longtime star with the Thunder, helped keep Denver in it.

With less than five minutes left in the third quarter, Oklahoma City led by 14 points.

But the Nuggets ended the quarter on a 17-8 run to cut the deficit to five before the end of the quarter.

Westbrook scored eight of his 10 third-quarter points during the stretch.

Oklahoma City missed its first 10 3-pointers before Alex Caruso’s 3-pointer early in the second quarter.

Caruso added 20 points for the Thunder, who will host the Nuggets in Game 2 Wednesday, eager to get back in the win column.

“No one just walks their way through a series at this point in the season,” Daigneault said.