There were palpable mixed emotions permeating Madison Square Garden on Monday night as the Knicks seized control of Game 4 of their Eastern Conference semifinals playoffs series versus the Boston Celtics.
Already leading the best-of-seven series 2-1 after taking the opening two games on the road, the No. 3 seed Knicks had overcome another double digit-deficit against the No. 2 seed Celtics, as they did in Games 1 and 2. Trailing 62-51 at halftime in Game 4, the Knicks urgently stormed back spearheaded by their irrepressible floor general and team captain, point guard Jalen Brunson, who imposed his will on the game with 18 of his team-high 39 points in the third quarter — emblematic of the Knicks’ staunch mental resolve.
Then, with 2:58 remaining in the fourth quarter, and the Knicks up 113-104, Celtics star forward Jayson Tatum, who had been primarily responsible for the Knicks falling behind by as many as 14 points, having abused them with 42 points on seven 3-pointers and forceful attacks on the basket, lay writhing in pain on the MSG court, grabbing at the back of his right leg after dropping to the floor on a non-contact play. The Knicks would go on to win the game 121-113, taking a commanding 3-1 series lead. Last night, they looked to close out the Celtics in Boston, with the No. 4 seed Indiana Pacers locked in to the conference finals. The Pacers culminated their dismantling of the East’s top seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in the other Eastern Conference semifinals pairing with a 114-105 victory on Tuesday night to take the series 4-1.
But the sight of Tatum being helped off of the court and then taken out of the Garden in a wheelchair left Knicks fans, coaches and players at once ecstatic by the win but empathetic for the 27-year-old six-time NBA All-Star and 2024 league champion for the Celtics.
“I’m not going to lie, [Jayson] Tatum was hitting some shots. Shout out to him too,” said Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns, who had 23 points and a game high 11 rebounds.
“I’m praying for him. If you saw me on the court, I just wanted to pray for him — it looked bad. Prayers to him and his family. You never want to see anybody in the NBA get hurt like that and hope it’s something minor and not something major.”
“I was … just shocked with that,” said Celtics veteran big man Al Horford. “[We are] just waiting to see what the results are.”
Unfortunately, the injury is severe. Tatum was diagnosed with a ruptured right Achilles tendon and had successful surgery to repair it Tuesday. Now an arduous recovery awaits. The average timetable for an NBA player’s return from the injury according to some orthopedists is 10 months. Game 6, if necessary, will be tomorrow at 8 p.m. at MSG with Game 7 at Boston on Monday night.