What a crazy finish in New York City! The New York Knicks were up to 25 points behind the Boston Celtics, but with a wild threesome over the board with the buzzer, RJ Barrett shot the Knickerbockers to a 108: 105 comeback victory. With Evan Fournier, another player played an important part in this.
New York Knicks (19-20) – Boston Celtics (18-21) 108:105 (BOXSCORE)
The Celtics saw themselves in overtime when Jayson Tatum sank a long stepback double to equalize with just over a second on the clock. But the points 34 to 36 of the star of the guests (12/21 FG, 6/11 3FG, 6 rebounds, 9 assists) should not be enough, as the Knicks had a final time out and Barrett still had an answer. Though Tatum Barrett defended closely, Madison Square Garden exploded.
It looked different earlier in the evening: The Celtics were leading with 57:32 just under four minutes before the break following Dennis Schröder had sunk a three. Julius Randle reacted to the expressions of displeasure with a lowered thumb and clearly stated followingwards that he wanted to tell the fans but please be calm and that the opinion of the audience does not interest him very much.
And in the end it was actually the home side who were allowed to cheer for the victory and who pushed past Boston in the standings. Once once more, the weakness of the Celts was evident in clutch situations, which now stand at 7-16 (Knicks at least 11-11). With 22 points and 8 rebounds as well as a plus / minus of +14, said Randle (8/20 FG) also had a large share in the chase, even if he had problems from a distance (2/8 3FG). However, there was another player on the field with a better plus / minus (+18) and he goes by the name of Evan Fournier.
With 41 points and 10 converted three-pointers, the Frenchman set up two career highs at the same time, he is only the sixth player in NBA history to score more than 40 points and pocket 10 three-pointers and need less than 15 attempts from a distance (10 / 14) – the other five names: Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Kemba Walker, Fred VanVleet and Ray Allen.
Knicks: Fournier with Career Night – strong fact too little
All of these 41 points urgently needed the Knicks, as apart from Randle and Reservist Immanuel Quickley (16, 6/12 FG) none of the Knicks was particularly convincing. This was especially true for Alec Burks (3, 1/10 FG) and for a long time also for matchwinner Barrett (13, 4/15 FG, 6 assists). “It was a tough throw, but every time I throw I think the throw can go in. Since I fell I mightn’t see it go in, but I might tell by everyone else’s reaction. That was cool, “said Barrett.
Celtics coach Eme Udoka rated the performance of his team less positively, but did not want to attach this to the last throw. “It’s regarding everything that led to this litter. We need more leadership, something that calms us down when things don’t turn out the way we’d like them to.” Even before the break, the disaster slowly took its course. With an 8-0 run, the Knicks went into the cabin, at the latest following Barrett and Fournier’s three-pointers early in the second half, they were fully back in the game – even if Boston briefly moved away once more to +20 thanks to a three-point play by Schröder.
He was one of the better guest players and contributed 20 points and 5 rebounds from the bench with good odds (8/12 FG). He only lost the ball, but it came in the final seconds when the score was 101: 103. On the other side, Barrett sank one of two free throws before Tatum and Barrett’s final throws followed. With a goal from distance a good two minutes before the end, Fournier had given the Knicks the lead for the first time.
Tatum led the Celtics with 36 points, besides Schröder only Jaylen Brown (16, 6/14 FG) and Marcus Smart (14, 4/10 3FG) scored double digits. As a team, the guests hit 47.5 percent from the field and 37.8 percent from a distance, in the second discipline the Knicks made it significantly better (18/36 3FG, 50 percent). With 11 offensive rebounds, New York earned numerous second chances, in the end the home team took ten more throws – and the last of them made for great joy.
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