NBA playoffs: Knicks put champs Celtics on brink of elimination as Tatum collapses

• New York 3-1 up in best-of-seven series after comeback
• Boston star scores 42 but limps off after worrying injury

Jalen Brunson had 39 points and 12 assists, and the New York Knicks moved a win away from their first Eastern Conference finals appearance in 25 years and pushed the defending champion Boston Celtics to the brink of elimination with a 121-113 victory Monday night in Game 4.

The Celtics will have to make just the 14th comeback from a 3-1 deficit in NBA history to extend their title reign and may have to do it without All-Star Jayson Tatum, who was carried off the court with a leg injury in the final minutes.