Things are going very well for the New York Knicks at the moment, perhaps better than they could have ever imagined.
They are up 3-1 against the defending champion Boston Celtics, and Jayson Tatum's status for the rest of the series is up in the air after a gruesome Game 4 injury that led to him being carried off the floor at Madison Square Garden.
Despite the odds being in New York's favor, the Knicks cannot afford to slip up now with three chances to clinch a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals.
"After falling behind 3-1 in the series, the Celtics now need to deal with what looks like a significant injury for Tatum," The Athletic insider Jay King wrote.
"Even before he fell to the court in pain, the Celtics were on their way to a Game 4 loss. Their defense, so strong over the first three games of the series, evaporated in the second half Monday night. After taking a 14-point lead, Boston had three straight mistakes against Brunson that allowed the Knicks to close the gap to five. New York dominated the rest of the third quarter to take a lead into the fourth."
"Tatum scored clutch baskets midway through the fourth, but the Celtics couldn’t get enough stops to stay ahead. Bridges and Anunoby hurt them. Brunson created space to score important points. The Knicks shot 54.3 percent from the field, easily their best output of the series," King continued.
"That would have been a painful loss for the Celtics anyway. It could be a devastating one if Tatum’s injury is as bad as it looked."
Things are looking grim for the Celtics, but they are the defending champions for a reason. The Celtics are incredibly resilient, and they are far from done in the series. The Knicks need to put all of their effort into Game 5 in hopes of closing out the series as soon as possible before the Celtics get any glimmer of hope.
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