Stephen A. reacts to Knicks’ Game 4 win and Jayson Tatum’s injury | SportsCenter

Stephen A. reacts to Knicks’ Game 4 win and Jayson Tatum’s injury | SportsCenter

Stephen A. Smith was in the building for game four and he joins us now from the Garden Floor. So Stephen A, this wasn’t those the epic late comebacks of games one and two. This was the Knicks going toe-to-toe with the Celtics the entire second half. What stood out to you about the way the Knicks played tonight. Well, what you just said, how they went toe-to-toe, how they were ready for battle, how they showed up and they played defense collectively. Offensively, you had four different dudes scoring in over in double figures. This is what you expected from the New York Knicks. not necessarily to win games, but to make it a grind and to make sure that the reigning defending NBA champions knew they were in a dog fight for the first three quarters of games one and two. You didn’t see that. And then the Knicks miraculously miraculously came back from 20 point deficits. In game three, they got blitzed and you know, Boston, the best road team in the NBA, five games better than they were at home during this regular season. Came in Madison Square Garden and then bun rush the New York Knicks. So, you walked up in here and that momentum, that vibe, that fur and everything that came with it for game three at Madison Square Garden clearly dissipated to some degree coming into game four because there were a lot of New Yorkers that were incredibly concerned. Could the Knicks beat this team? Could they avoid getting down into a deep deficit that they probably wouldn’t be able to dig themselves out of? And sure enough, the New York Knicks stood toe-to-toe and battled them throughout before the New York Knicks pulled away. Despite the greatness of Jason Tatum and what kind of show he put on, nobody else had anything that the New York Knicks couldn’t handle. Collectively, they showed up led by Jaylen Brunson, the clutch player of the year, the face of this franchise, showing up and showing what a star he truly truly is. And that’s why they won this game. And now they’re just one game away from advancing to the conference finals. You mentioned Jason Tatum, the great game he had, and then the terrible injury late in the game. And so now the Celtics have to try to regroup and win three in a row, likely without their best player. What sense do you have of what this series is going to look like the rest of the way? Well, first order of business, we don’t know what happened to him yet. A whole bunch of people are speculating courtside that it’s a torn Achilles because it looked very similar to what happened to Kevin Durant years ago in the NBA finals against Toronto. We hope that’s not it, but everybody is of the mindset. That’s how it looked to the human eye, those of us near courtside watching what transpired to him. So, we wish him nothing but the best. As it pertains to the Boston Celtics, Jaylen Brown is getting paid $34 million for a reason. This kid Pritchard is uh sixth man of the year. Al Hawford is a champion. Derek White and and obviously Drew Holiday, they’re champions. We know what they bring to the table and you can’t count them out. But it is safe to say that when you look at the New York Knicks right now going up against a Boston Celtics team without Jason Tatum, there is no question that the New York Knicks should win this series. You can’t lose a 3-1 series lead. Even to the reigning defending NBA champions if they are devoid of their best player, the New York Knicks, if you can’t close it out in Boston, you damn sure should be able to close it out at Madison Square Garden for game six. That is now the expectation for New Yorkers and New York fans everywhere.

Stephen A. Smith joins SportsCenter from Madison Square Garden to recap the New York Knicks’ 121-113 win over the Boston Celtics in Game 4 to take a 3-1 series lead.

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