Watch: Knicks' Mikal Bridges stops Celtics' Jayson Tatum to end Game 2

After Jalen Brunson hit two free throws to give the Knicks a one-point lead, Bridges took the ball away from Jayson Tatum. to preserve a 91-90 win. It looked like a block, but was officially ruled a steal since Bridges came away with the ball. As a result, the Knicks won both of the first two games in Boston.

In Game 1, Jaylen Brown had a chance at the game-tying bucket in overtime, but Bridges took the ball away from him before he could attempt a shot.

It was another huge closing effort for Bridges, who had two steals and a block in overtime of Monday's 108-105 win. He did whatever the Knicks needed down late in Game 2, on both ends of the court.

Down 15 points to start the quarter, the previously-scoreless Bridges scored 14 of the Knicks' first 16 points in the final quarter, then grabbed three rebounds and delivered an assist in the last four minutes.

The Knicks made a run to the second round of the playoffs last year based on their excellent offense, but they gradually added wing players specifically to counter the Celtics' duo of Tatum and Brown. They traded for OG Anunoby (All-Defensive team 2023) and then made the move for Bridges seven months later. Anunoby and Bridges combined to shoot only 8-for-29, but also combined for seven steals.

The defending champions still won't be easy to beat, even down 0-2. But the Knicks have proved that in a close game, they've got a great crunch-time player on offense in Brunson (six points in the last two minutes) and great crunch-time players on defense in Anunoby and Bridges.