Overview
- New York closed out a 112–106 win at Madison Square Garden on Thursday after Josh Hart hit back‑to‑back late threes to cap a fourth‑quarter surge.
- Jayson Tatum played his first game at MSG since last season’s Achilles rupture and finished with 24 points, 13 rebounds and 8 assists in 40 minutes.
- Boston ruled Jaylen Brown out earlier in the day with left Achilles tendinitis, a late availability change that reshaped the Celtics’ rotation.
- The defeat keeps Boston at 54–26 and New York at 52–28, with the Knicks holding a 3–1 head‑to‑head edge that would decide a tie for the No. 2 seed.
- Bench guards Payton Pritchard and Baylor Scheierman kept Boston close with 23 and 20 points, as the NBA’s pregame note made clear a Celtics win would have clinched the Atlantic Division and second seed.