BOSTON — The streak is so strong it didn’t need Jalen Brunson.
Against an Eastern Conference elite and with an injured Brunson in street clothes, Immanuel Quickley took the reins as the Knicks remained the NBA’s hottest team with another thriller, a 131-129 victory in double overtime Sunday night. Quickley was the hero and Energizer Bunny, scoring a career high 38 points — including seven in the second overtime — while dancing and prancing his way through 55 minutes.
The Knicks (38-27) have won nine in a row, the longest streak in the league. They also won three of their four matchups this season against the Celtics (45-20).
Julius Randle added 31 points in the rollercoaster of the game. At different critical points, it was won then lost, then won then lost — until it was won for good when Al Horford’s potential game-winning 3-pointer clanged off the rim at the final buzzer.
The Knicks absolutely flubbed the end of regulation. They led by 7 with 1:23 remaining but found every way to blow it, including Quentin Grimes fouling Jaylen Brown on the Celtics’ and-1 shot with 12.9 seconds remaining.
Up by 3 and with Brown dribbling near the paint, Grimes would’ve been better off just allowing a lay-up. Instead, he was caught reaching and the Knicks never got off a potential game-winner on the following possession because Randle was stripped. New York went to overtime for the second time this season at TD Garden.
The first extra period was highlighted by a tying runner in the lane by Quickley with 12.9 seconds left. Tatum, who finished with 40 points, bricked the winner on a contested lay-up at the buzzer. The Celtics shot just 39% on the night.
It appeared the Knicks were unraveling early in the third quarter. Randle was frustrated by a flop from Marcus Smart and shoulder-bumped the referee, drawing his seventh technical of the season. The visitors trailed by 14.
But then the Knicks took control with a 30-7 run between the third and fourth quarters, a stretch keyed by Quickley.
Brunson was ruled out before the game because of a sore left foot, the point guard’s first absence since December.
According to Tom Thibodeau, Brunson woke up Sunday morning with pain — two days after he logged 35 minutes in a victory over the Heat. The coach claimed he was unaware if Brunson underwent an MRI.
“They’ll reevaluate him (Monday), the medical people,” Thibodeau said.
Brunson had turned his right ankle in Friday night’s game against Miami and received treatment in the locker room. The Knicks, who declined to make Brunson available to the media, claimed the latest injury is unrelated.
It was a strange timeline since Brunson wasn’t listed on Saturday’s injury report.
“They’re looking at it. Hopefully — I don’t think it’s anything serious,” Thibodeau said. “He just woke up with soreness. So we want to make sure he’s good.”
The Knicks started Quickley and gave the backup point guard minutes to Miles McBride, who played just eight minutes.
The Knicks started well enough without Brunson but malfunctioned at the end of the first half, which the Celtics finished on an 11-0 run to take a 61-54 lead at the break. The turning point was a questionable foul call on Mitchell Robinson, which sent him to the bench with his third personal.
Thibodeau went small and the Knicks were killed on the glass. They gave up 11 offensive rebounds in the first half with 18 second-chance points for Boston.
The Knicks pounded the Celtics less than a week prior at MSG, where Tatum was frustrated into a fourth-quarter ejection after scoring just 14 points.
Josh Hart, who was a main defender on Tatum in both matchups, knew the MVP candidate would return motivated.
“Got to know there’s games where you play well defensively and guys make shots. And then there are times when he misses shots,” Hart said. “I think what we did possibly frustrated him but he’s a good player and felt like he missed some shots he should’ve made and that’s the difference between scoring 30 and 13. He’s going to be aggressive tonight as we know. And we got to make sure we contain it.”
Tatum was aggressive but inefficient Sunday while missing 11 of his 17 3-pointers.
It helped Tatum on Sunday that All-Star teammate Jaylen Brown played 47 minutes and scored 29 points. Brown missed the previous Knicks matchup because of an injury.
