Jalen Brunson Brews Bunches in Boston, New York Knicks Slice Celtics

The New York Knicks finally earned an elusive victory over the NBA-leading Boston Celtics thanks to another scoring showcase from Jalen Brunson.

It ain't easy beating green but the New York Knicks finally pulled off the feat on Thursday night at TD Garden.

Behind yet another brilliant offensive effort from Jalen Brunson, the Knicks finally downed their local rivals, for the first time in five tries. Brunson bludgeoned the Boston Celtics in a 118-109 final, scoring 39 points in the one-sided triumph, which further strengthened the Knicks' playoff foundation. The final score was only as close as it was due to the Knicks pulling their top men for the final minutes, as they owned leads that reached as high as 31.

With the win, the Knicks (48-32) have their best win total since 2012-13 and remained in third place on the Eastern Conference leaderboard. New York can clinch homecourt advantage in the first round with either one more win or an Orlando Magic loss.

Apr 11, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) controls the

Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

Entering Thursday's game, the Celtics, long established as the East's top seed, were the only team in the conference the Knicks had failed to beat. A narrow showdown between rivals appeared to be in store, especially after Boston utilized most, if not all, of their major men. In the early going, the Knicks made their fortune the gritty way.

In building a 47-45 lead over the first 18 minutes, New York rendered a drought from deep (3-of-13) mostly null by forcing six turnovers (which yielded 11 points) and pulling in nine offensive rebounds. Isaiah Hartenstein and Mitchell Robinson outboarded Boston on their own, pulling in four and three second chances respectively.

From there, however, the Knicks' in-season newcomers brought aboard for the purpose of besting Boston began to fulfill their purpose. A three-pointer from OG Anunoby opened a run of 17 consecutive New York points and he was warmly assisted by Bojan Bogdanovic off the bench. The Knicks outscored Boston by a 22-3 tally over the rest of the period overall, with Anunoby, Bogdanovic, and Brunson accounting for every point in that tally. Brunson capped things off with a buzzer-beating double with a tenth of a second left on the clock.

With a large double-figure lead firmly established, the Knicks got to sit back and watch Brunson do his work, as the second-year New Yorker scored all but 10 of the Knicks' 31 points in the third period. Brunson was 8-of-10 over the dozen minutes but was denied a shot at his third consecutive 40-point game when he was kept to the sidelines for the remainder of the game. He is, however, nonetheless to score at least 35 in five in a row, joining Carmelo Anthony and Bernard King as the only Manhattanites to do so.

Brunson's fellow Villanova alumni (and Slam cover boys) Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo likewise impressed: Hart (16 points and rebounds each) had a double-double alongside Hartenstein (13 rebounds, 11 points) while DiVincenzo was the Knicks' second-leading scorer at 17. Anunoby had 12 in his first metropolitan showdown with the Celtics and the Knicks improved to 18-3 when he's in the lineup.

Boston (62-18) remains stationed in the top seed but missed out on a chance to earn a five-game sweep of the Knicks (and first of at least four games since 2010-11). Jayson Tatum had 18 points while Kristaps Porzingis had 14 in the Knicks' first game since the yield for the 2019 trade with Dallas headlined by the Latvian big man was completed. If the Knicks stay stationed in the third seed, they won't face the Celtics until the Eastern Conference Final round.

The Knicks return home for their final two regular season games, beginning with a Friday night visit from the Brooklyn Nets (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG).