Knicks put rivalry aside and hope Jayson Tatum’s injury isn’t serious

Even though the Knicks finally won Game 4 of their Eastern Conference semifinals, the match was tainted by the horrible injury suffered by their rival Jayson Tatum. This is why the New York players and coach hoped for him to have a speedy recovery.

Despite winning 121-113 at the Madison Square Garden, and looming close to their first conference finals appearance in 25 years, the Knicks players couldn’t help but address the Celtics forward’s injury. “I was actually telling everyone to get off the court. I was like, it’s nothing to celebrate,” said Jalen Brunson.

As Tatum had to leave the court with a scary injury, Brunson opened his postmatch news conference with prayers for the Boston All-Star. “I think [tonight] was a sense of urgency, desperation. Knowing that we had a great opportunity against a really good team,” he praised his opponents.

The New York guard, who finishing with a team-best 39 points on 25 shots with 12 assists, even praised his opponents. “I don’t even think we’re playing our best basketball yet. We have a team that’s still fairly new this year, and we have a long way to go be the best team we can be,” he assured postgame.

Now with the series 3-1 in their favor, JB knows this is not the Manhattan squad’s best version of themselves. “There’s always time to learn for us. We’re never satisfied, and that’s the mentality,” the 28-year-old said, convinced that Wednesday night’s clash in Massachusetts won’t be easy.

However, there really was a lot to celebrate, as four Knicks players ended with at least 20 points. Despite having a slow start, the All-Star produced an 18-point effort in the fourth quarter. “There was a lot of miscommunication,” said teammate Mikal Bridges.

“Later in the game, we did better, and they were making a lot of tough shots. We can live with that. But early, you can’t let that happen on [defense],” he then added, noting how the Celtics exploded with 9-of-14 on 3s in the first quarter for 39 points.