Jalen Brunson fired a team-high 39 points in just three quarters as the New York Knicks put on a dominating show on the road, toppling the NBA-best Boston Celtics, 118-109, for their third straight win.
— NBA (@NBA) April 12, 2024
He dropped 39 PTS in Boston tonight which is his 5th-straight game with 35+ PTS.
39 PTS | 6 3PM | 15-23 FGM | W pic.twitter.com/2x0xue0LeL
Brunson scored 21 second-half points and finished with six triples and four assists in just 30 minutes to lead a rampaging New York win in Boston.
Donte DiVicenzo added 17 markers while Josh Hart played a solid game of 16 points, 16 rebounds and five dimes for the Knicks, who led by as much as 31 points.
After a Derrick White basket made it 45-47 with 6:38 seconds left in the second frame, New York blew the game wide open with a 21-3 run, capped off by a Brunson fall away jumper, to end the first half holding a 69-48 advantage.
Jalen Brunson's tough pull-up beats the 1H buzzer!
— NBA (@NBA) April 12, 2024
He's up to 18 PTS and 4 AST at the half on TNT pic.twitter.com/jLSD6KIobC
The former Villanova Wildcat had already 18 markers and five dimes in 18 minutes in the opening half.
From that point on, Brunson continued to slice through the Celtics’ defense in the third frame en route to snapping Boston’s 13-game winning streak at home.
Brunson's tough floater off 2 gets him up to 31 PTS 🔥
— NBA (@NBA) April 12, 2024
This is his 5th consecutive game with 30+ PTS 👀
NYK-BOS on TNT pic.twitter.com/O12CP9lMEu
Brunson's tough floater off 2 gets him up to 31 PTS 🔥
— NBA (@NBA) April 12, 2024
This is his 5th consecutive game with 30+ PTS 👀
NYK-BOS on TNT pic.twitter.com/O12CP9lMEu
Jayson Tatum top scored the Celtics with 18 points, Payton Pritchard chipped in 16 while Jaylen Brown and Sam Hausser each had 15.
Despite putting up their highest quarter scoring in the game in the fourth with 38, Boston just ran out of time to salvage any comeback after a disastrous mid-quarter showing. The C’s were outscored, 68-42, by the Knicks in the second and third frames that proved to be the difference-maker of the game.
Kristaps Porzingis, who did not play in Boston's road loss over the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday, scored 14 points.
With the win, New York (48-32) closed the gap with the Milwaukee Bucks (49-31) to just one game in the race for the East’s second-seed.
The Knicks play their city rivals Brooklyn Nets tomorrow before closing out their regular season against the Chicago Bulls on Monday.
Boston (62-18) suffered their second straight loss and will face the Charlotte Hornets and Washington in their final two games.
