Porzingis caught the ball on the move, timed his shot for the final second of the quarter, and lofted a short floater over George's help defense.
The ball bounced twice on the rim before dropping through the net.
At the same moment, the third-quarter clock ran out.
After three quarters, the New York Knicks held a solid 109–100 lead.
Anyone could see that Boston was in trouble.
The Celtics had no answer for the Knicks' four-forward lineup, couldn't contain New York's offense, and were trailing on the scoreboard.
Unless something miraculous happened in the fourth quarter, the Celtics were unlikely to win tonight.
As for the Knicks fans...
They could hardly wait to celebrate their team making history by tying the Golden State Warriors' astonishing record of 73 wins in a season!
Who could have kept their emotions in check at a moment like this?
The break between quarters was short.
After a lively performance by the cheerleaders, the fourth quarter soon got underway.
The two teams resumed their battle.
The Knicks did not stick with their lineup from the end of the third quarter. Instead, they rested both Chen Xi and George, sending Chris Paul out to lead a group of reserves.
The substitution showed just how confident New York's coaching staff was—perhaps even a little overconfident.
Then again, they had earned the right to be...
The Celtics, meanwhile, extended Brown's and Tatum's minutes. The Jays took the floor with the reserves and tried to cut into the lead early in the quarter.
From another perspective, both coaching staffs were keeping their heads.
Thibodeau had taken his two stars out to test the second unit under Paul's leadership. He wanted to see what those rotation players could do without Chen Xi and prepare for the playoffs.
The Celtics