The New York Knicks and Isaiah Hartenstein snatch a win from the NBA’s best team, the Boston Celtics. The playoff race in the West remains exciting
The New York Knicks and Isaiah Hartenstein have secured an important win in the NBA playoff race. On Thursday (local time), the Knicks defeated the Boston Celtics 118:109 (69:48) on the road, inflicting New York’s first home defeat on the NBA’s best team after 13 home wins in a row.
The Knicks remain third in the East, but have just one win less than the second-placed Milwaukee Bucks after their third successive victory.
The Knicks pulled away with a 17-0 run at the end of the second quarter, at times leading by 31 points. It did not matter that the visitors lost the final period by 18:38. The best Knicks scorer was Jalen Brunson with 39 points. Hartenstein contributed eleven points, 13 rebounds and six assists to the win.
It remains exciting in the West
The Golden State Warriors knocked the Los Angeles Lakers out of ninth place for the time being with a 100:92 (49:46) away win against the Portland Trail Blazers in the West, with both teams currently set to meet in the pre-qualifiers for the play-offs. The visitors turned the game around with an 11:0 run in the final minutes, with superstar Stephen Curry leading the Warriors with 22 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.
The New Orleans Pelicans claimed a 135-123 (64-58) away win against the Sacramento Kings to maintain sixth place in the West, which would mean a secure playoff qualification. The Kings remain eighth, but the Warriors and Lakers behind them have the same record of 45 wins and 35 losses.
