NEW YORK (AP) — Jayson Tatum was carried off the court with a lower right leg injury with 2:58 remaining in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Monday night.
The Celtics had just turned the ball over and as Tatum moved for the loose ball, his leg gave out and he went down. He buried his face in a towel in obvious pain while grabbing at his leg above the ankle after the non-contact injur.
Tatum scored 42 points, his high in these playoffs, before he was hurt. He was seen in a wheelchair in the tunnel after being taken off.
The Celtics went on to lose the game 121-113 and now trail 3-1 in the series.
The Celtics will have to make the NBA’s 14th comeback from a 3-1 deficit to extend their title reign and may have to do it without All-Star Jayson Tatum, who was carried off the court with a right leg injury with 2:58 left.
Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns each added 23 points and OG Anunoby bounced back from two poor performances by scoring 20 for the Knicks, who can win the series Wednesday night at Boston. If not, they would come back to Madison Square Garden to try to do it Friday night.
Tatum scored 42 points, his high in these playoffs, before he was hurt when the Celtics turned the ball over and his leg gave out as he tried to lunge forward toward the loose ball.
The Knicks had taken control just before that in front of a delirious crowd of fans who haven’t seen them play in the conference finals since they lost to Indiana in 2000.
Nobody has come from 3-1 down since Denver did it twice in 2020 at the Walt Disney World resort. It hasn’t happened when a team had to win a true road game since Cleveland rallied past Golden State in the 2016 NBA Finals.
After leading by at least 20 points in the first three games — but blowing the first two of them in Boston — the Celtics had another double-digit lead less than five minutes into this game.
They led 62-51 at halftime, but the Knicks played their starters the entire way in a desperate third quarter in which they outscored the Celtics 37-23 to set up a thrilling final period.
Tatum’s three-point play tied it for the final time at 102-all before Anunoby hit a 3-pointer and the Knicks later put it away for good with an 11-0 burst that made it 116-104.
Derrick White made six 3-pointers and scored 23 points for the Celtics. Jaylen Brown had 20.
The Celtics fall to the Knicks in Game 4 of the NBA Conference Semifinals and now trail 3-1 in the series. Jayson Tatum was carried off the court late in the game with an unknown injury. pic.twitter.com/p5SWPs6O5I
— Boston 25 News (@boston25) May 13, 2025
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
©2025 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/7QOJU3BNCJERBNKJC5LWTBYFLU.png)
