Brunson's 31 points power Knicks past Celtics, snapping Boston's five-game winning streak

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BOSTON (AP) — Jalen Brunson scored 31 points and Josh Hart added 19 to help the New York Knicks beat the cold-shooting Boston Celtics 111-89 on Sunday.

Karl-Anthony Towns had 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks, who never trailed over the final 42 minutes. Mikal Bridges (14 points) and recently acquired Jose Alvarado (12 points) rounded out the double-digit scorers for New York, which shot 14 of 45 (40%) from behind the 3-point line.

Jaylen Brown socred 26 points and Derrick White added 19 for the Celtics, who saw their five-game winning streak snapped, Baylor Scheierman started in place for the injured Sam Hauser and finished with 10 points, 13 rebounds and five assists.

Boston shot 37% for the game and was 7-of-41 (17.1%) from behind the arc.

The matchup pitted two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, with Boston entering with a one-game lead over New York for second place. They’ll meet one more time during the regular season on April 9 in New York.

New York pushed its advantage to 85-68 entering the fourth quarter after closing the third on a 20-7 run. The lead kept growing when Brunson scored 10 straight points to give the Knicks a 23-point lead with four minutes left.

Boston revisited the “Hack-a-Robinson” tactic that was introduced during last spring’s playoff meeting with the Knicks. A career 51% shooter from the free-throw line and connecting at a 38% clip this season, Mitchell Robinson had the last laugh when he went 2 of 2 at the line with 2:32 left in the third after the reserve big man clanked all four free throws he attempted during the first half.

The Knicks led 60-53 at halftime. Brunson had 19 points through two quarters, with 12 coming during the first. Boston trailed by as many as 17 points but made it a two-possession game entering the second half despite shooting 5 of 22 (22.7%) from 3-point range.

Knicks: Host Indiana on Tuesday night.

Celtics: Host Chicago on Wednesday night.

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