Jalen Brunson had enough of the Knicks being embarrassed. (AP Photo/John Jones) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)The NBA in-season tournament groups are rounding into form as some teams finish their four-game slate, giving the league what it wanted when it created this event: games that ostensibly matter.Take, for example, the wildest game of Friday, in which the New York Knicks erased a 21-point third-quarter deficit to stun the Miami Heat 100-98, grab possession of the Eastern Conference’s wild-card spot and avenge their playoff loss last season.The Knicks entered the day 1-1 in group play, needing a win to stay alive in a group with the undefeated Heat and Milwaukee Bucks. That hope seemed to fall apart after a competitive first half, with the Heat ripping off a 19-0 run to open the third quarter. A Miami win would have set up a clash against the Bucks for the group win, but then the Knicks started clawing back.The stunner required separate runs of 11-0, 5-0 and 12-0, all in front of a raucous Madison Square Garden crowd. The final blow was delivered by Jalen Brunson, who made a midrange jumper to put the Knicks up three with 84 seconds remaining. The Heat didn’t make a field goal for the rest of the game.Brunson finished with a game-high 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting (1-of-4 from 3-point range) with three rebounds and three assists. After the game, he revealed the spark that ignited the comeback:”Honestly, a fan looked at me in my eye over here and said, ‘This is embarrassing,'” Brunson said.Another big swing arrived in East Group C, where the 2-0 Boston Celtics needed only a win over the 2-1 Orlando Magic. Instead, they received a 113-96 loss.Maybe that shouldn’t have been a surprise, as the Magic entered the game on a five-game win streak, as well as a three-game streak over the Celtics. Orlando flexed its strength up front, outscoring the Celtics 60-40 in the paint with a 48-31 rebounding advantage. Coming up biggest was Moritz Wagner, who came off the bench to score a season-high 27 points on 10-of-13 shooting….. click to visit the source….
