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The New York Knicks pushed the defending champion Boston Celtics to the brink of elimination Monday night with a 121-113 win in Game 4 at Madison Square Garden, taking a 3-1 lead in their second-round series. But the spotlight quickly shifted from the Knicks’ commanding performance to a potentially devastating injury to Celtics star Jayson Tatum.
Tatum exited the game with just more than three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter after suffering a noncontact lower body injury. He had to be helped off the court and was later left the arena in a wheelchair.
Prior to the injury, Tatum had turned in a dominant performance, scoring 42 points with eight rebounds, four assists, four steals, and two blocks in 40 minutes while shooting 16-for-28 from the field and 7-for-16 from three.
After the game, Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns — who led New York with 23 points, 11 rebounds, an assist, and a block on 11-of-15 shooting — offered his support and concern for Tatum during his postgame availability with Bobby Manning of Celtics on CLNS.
“I'm praying for him,” Towns said. “If you saw me on the court, I wanted to pray for him. It looked bad. Prayers to him and his family. You never want to see anybody in the NBA get hurt like that. I hope it's something minor and not something major.”
Jayson Tatum to undergo MRI as Knicks near first ECF berth since 2000
Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla confirmed to reporters after the game that Tatum will undergo an MRI on Tuesday to determine the extent of the injury.
“I talked to the medical staff; they told me it's a lower body injury, and he'll get an MRI [Tuesday],” Mazzulla said. “We'll see where it goes from there.”
Towns, who the Minnesota Timberwolves traded to the Knicks last offseason, continued to speak on the broader impact of injuries across the league.
“(I hope) whatever process he has to go through is a quick, painless process and we can see him back in the NBA,” he said. “The NBA, we need that kind of superstar talent that he is. I know we're competing at the highest level in the playoffs, but this is a brotherhood.”
The Knicks will travel to Boston for Game 5, scheduled for Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET on TNT. A win would send New York to its first Eastern Conference Finals appearance since 2000, when they fell to the Indiana Pacers in six games. A potential rematch could be on the horizon as the Pacers hold a 3-1 series lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers heading into Game 5 on Tuesday night.
Tatum’s status looms large over the rest of the series with the Celtics now facing elimination and potentially without their franchise cornerstone.
