The New York Knicks drew a breathtaking comeback this 2025 NBA playoffs by defeating the Boston Celtics for a series opener.
It was the New York Knicks who won the victory to win Game 1 of Marquee’s second round matchup in the overtime thriller 108-105 in the battle between the two great powers of the Eastern Conference.
Despite facing foul trouble from the town’s leading stars of Jalen Branson and Karl Anthony, the Knicks have kept their grind and moved all the fans of the resilient NBA fans to score the opener for the series.
Branson led the Knicks with 29 markers and five assists as he once again spent a big time with the clutch, just like he ended his season with the Detroit Pistons. OG Anunoby poured 29 points with six huge triples.
Jason Tatum and Jalen Brown both scored 23 points each as the Boston Celtics registered a brutal NBA postseason record in which they missed 45 3-pointers, leading to their final downfall.
While Branson’s 11 consecutive points may have pushed them into a dramatic slow rally in the final frame, the ultimate highlight of the Knicks’ Game 1 Statement victory was Mikal Bridge’s defensive masterclass.
The Celtics, which rose in 3 seconds with overtime, were positioned for the final play in hopes of tying the game together. When Brown received an inbound pass from Derrick White, he was instantly neutralized by the bridge.
The Bridges completed New York’s unprecedented game one comeback by grabbing the ball aggressively from Brown’s hands and securing a game-winning steel.
The Bridges struggled all night with just eight points on three-thirds of fire, but the Knicks couldn’t ask for a much better play from him in the 51-minute action.
“I just told Cam Payne there, I was just looking at (Brown’s) eyes,” Bridges said of his defensive sequence. “I’m a soccer guy.
“So, I’m just looking into his eyes, chasing where the ball is and trying to reach out as soon as I see it. We were three years old so we weren’t really trying to foul.
“So I’m trying to track the ball and see where his eyes are leading me, and try to get the ball.”
The Knicks went everything for the bridge last summer and gave up the distance to land him out of the Brooklyn net.
He claimed that the Knicks had made a big overpayment of sending five first round picks to the net for the bridge, but Josh Hart also claimed that the franchise was also the first to say they had made the right move from such a crucial moment.
“I mean, do you know who Mikal is? He has a lot of criticism, and he never affects him. And we don’t know how many games he’s won for us.
“He has played a big role in this team, and sometimes those things are overlooked, people look at the statistics, he goes out there and his shots aren’t falling, but he is often overlooked.
“It won’t show up, but you know, he’s just. His motor always goes. He’s a winning player. He plays winning.