Knicks Beat Celtics 112-106 in Playoff Preview Thriller

This felt like a playoff game. The Knicks beat the Celtics 112-106 in a thriller at Madison Square Garden that featured 13 ties and 16 lead changes before New York pulled away with a dominant 31-23 fourth quarter.

Josh Hart was the hero, scoring 15 of his 26 points in the final period. Jalen Brunson ran the show with 25 points and 10 assists. On the other side, Jayson Tatum returned to MSG for the first time since his Achilles injury and put up 24 points, 13 rebounds, and 8 assists — but the Knicks' depth was too much down the stretch.

New York (52-28) is now just two games behind Boston (54-26) for the East's No. 2 seed with two games left for both teams. The Knicks hold the tiebreaker. Is a 2-seed possible? Barely. But this team isn't going to stop fighting for it.