NEW YORK — Off the court they trudged, into the bowels of Madison Square Garden and into a basketball fate they never expected to face this soon. One by one the Celtics departed, some glancing up at a scoreboard that told the story of their desperation, but all of them moving quickly enough to escape the raucous party going on around them.

The New York Knicks defeated the Boston Celtics 121-113 on Monday at Madison Square Garden to take a 3-1 series lead as Jayson Tatum had to be carried off the court with an apparent leg injury