The defending champion fell down! The Knicks reversed 20 points, Tatum scored 23+16+6

On May 6, in the Eastern Conference semi-finals of the NBA playoffs, the Celtics faced the Knicks at home. The ESPN expert team made predictions for this round of series, with 12 reporters predicting the Celtics to win, while no one predicted the Knicks to win. Although the Knicks have a pretty good record in the regular season this year, ranking third in the Eastern Conference with 51 wins and 31 losses, they seem to be almost intrigued to compete for the championship. Judging from the data, their shortcomings are very obvious, their shooting is poor, and their three-point shooting is lacking. From the lineup, the Knicks' depth is also quite limited, and their scores are too dependent on the main lineup. When they faced the Pistons in the first round of the playoffs, McBride, who averaged the highest average score on the bench, averaged only 3.8 points per game, which will bring some hidden dangers.

If a main player is injured, then their game rhythm will inevitably be destroyed. Finally, when the Knicks played against strong teams this season, their record was not good. They faced the top three teams in the league, with a total of 0 wins and 10 losses, and they never won the Celtics. For the Celtics, as the defending champions, they have the advantage in all aspects of this round of series. When talking about the game strategy, Celtics head coach Mazula also said: "In the series against the Knicks, we will constantly change the starting lineup, and constantly change the starting and rotation modes of the second half. Just like Luke Cornett and Payton Pritchard, they both started in the second half of the first round." In this game, both sides in the starting lineup, the Celtics sent:

Tatum, Brown, Porzingis, White and Holiday. The Knicks sent out Brunson, Towns, Anunobi, Hart, and Bridges. At the beginning of the first quarter, Towns jumped to the ball, the Knicks took the lead, Hart beat the heroes and made a strong make-up goal to score the first goal of the game. White's open three-pointer also opened for the Celtics. Hart braked and pulled out mid-range and scored another goal. Brunson used the cover, and there was also a one-arm push shot. Towns's Dragonfly Punching the Football Punch steadily, Tatum shot a long three-pointer and shot through the heart, and Anunobi also had a three-pointer. Tatum felt hot at the beginning, and the inside and outside blossomed to score 10 points in a row. Miro took a cake in the penalty area, causing damage, and stood on the free throw line with both free throws. In the first quarter, the two sides started a tug-of-war, and the scores were chasing each other and led alternately. After the first quarter, the Celtics led the Knicks by 1 point 26-25. At the beginning of the second quarter, Holiday pulled out jump shot from the free throw line and made a two-pointer to help the Celtics win the first place. Towns was hit by a pincer, but took advantage of his physical advantage to make a layup. Brown drove straight into the line and made both free throws. Holiday made both free throws in Europe and took off the defense, flew to make a steady drop, Prichard pulled the ball and took a long three-pointer, piercing through the center of the basket, and Bridges's paint area was agile and small throw shot counterattack. By the middle of the second quarter, the Celtics took the lead in breaking the deadlock and taking the initiative. Brown began to exert force, making many aggressive shots at the basket, leading the Celtics to launch a wave of offensives. The difference between the two sides also reached more than 10 points. After the half-time game, the Celtics led the Knicks 61-45 by 16 points. The second half began, and the side changed again. Bridges hit a three-pointer on the wing, opening the prelude to the third quarter. Holiday was not willing to be outdone, and confidently made a three-pointer at the 45-degree angle to fight back. Brunson made three big steps to the basket and scored two points. Anunobi easily scored a layup with an empty cut. White scored two burst three-pointers in a row. The Celtics expanded the lead to 20 points at most. However, soon, they relaxed their vigilance. The Knicks seized the opportunity to launch a counterattack. Miro raised his head high in the penalty area and made a dunk continuously. Anunobi and Brunson made a three-pointer shot into the heart of the net. Hart made a steadily shot in the penalty area.

Knicks' counterattack attack, narrowing the gap to within 10 points. After three quarters of the game, the Celtics led the Knicks by 9 points 84-75. In the final quarter, the Knicks continued to take shape. Anunobi and Hart took a two-pronged approach and led the team to continue to set off a wave of counterattacks. The gap was actually flattened and both sides returned to the same starting line. Brunson scored two three-pointers in a row, worthy of being the most critical man of the year. The Knicks once overtook the Celtics by 6 points, but Tatum broke into the inside to cause damage, White pulled out both sides to hit the hollows, and the Celtics stabilized the situation and tied the score. At the critical moment, Tatum tried consecutive three-pointers and had a high-difficulty jump shot but failed, leaving the Knicks with the last chance to attack. With 5 seconds left in the game, the two teams tied the score, and the Brunson painted area bounced out of the basket, the Celtics escaped and tied 100-100 to enter overtime. In overtime, the Knicks dominated the situation and maintained a slight lead. In the last 3 seconds, the Celtics fell behind by 3 points, Bridges directly intercepted, the Celtics lost 105-108 and were reversed by 20 points. In terms of data, on the Celtics, Tatum scored 23 points, 16 rebounds and 6 assists, Brown scored 23 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists, White scored 19 points and 11 rebounds, Holiday scored 16 points and 6 rebounds, Prichard scored 13 points and 3 rebounds, and Boss retired with 0 points and injured in the first half. On the Knicks' side, Brunson scored 29 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists, Anunobi scored 29 points and 4 rebounds, Towns scored 14 points and 13 rebounds, Hart scored 14 points and 11 rebounds, and McBride scored 11 points.