Knicks stay alive in race for No. 2 seed in East, beat Celtics in Tatum's return to MSG

NEW YORK (AP) — Josh Hart scored 15 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, Jalen Brunson had 25 points and 10 assists, and the New York Knicks stayed alive in the race for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 112-106 victory over Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics on Thursday night.

Tatum finished with 24 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists in his first game back on the Madison Square Garden court where he ruptured his Achilles tendon in last season's playoffs.

The Knicks (52-28) pulled within two games of the Celtics (54-26) for second place with two games to play for both teams. New York owns the tiebreaker after winning the season series 3-1 and would take the No. 2 seed with two wins and two Boston losses.

Hart made two 3-pointers in the final 42 seconds to give New York more wins this season under Mike Brown than in its 51-31 finish last season in Tom Thibodeau's final season.

The Knicks then knocked off the Celtics in the second round of those playoffs, helped by Tatum's season-ending injury in Game 4 of the series. He acknowledged some nervousness and anxiousness Thursday before playing again in the arena before finishing just shy of his second triple-double since returning to play last month.

The Celtics had their four-game winning streak snapped while playing without leading scorer Jaylen Brown, averaging 28.8 points, because of left Achilles tendinitis.

Payton Pritchard added 23 points and Baylor Scheierman had 20, going 6 for 7 from 3-point range.

The Knicks host Toronto on Friday in a possible playoff preview and close against Charlotte on Sunday. Boston hosts New Orleans on Friday and Orlando on Sunday.

Celtics: Host New Orleans on Friday.

Knicks: Host Toronto on Friday.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

New York Knicks guard Josh Hart, left, defends Boston Celtics guard Derrick White during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, April 9, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/John Munson)

Boston Celtics center Neemias Queta, left, and New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns battle for a loose ball during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, April 9, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/John Munson)

Boston Celtics canter Nikola Vucevic, left, defends against New York Knicks guard Josh Hart, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, April 9, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/John Munson)

Boston Celtics center Neemias Queta, left, and New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns battle for a loose ball during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, April 9, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/John Munson)

New York Knicks guard Josh Hart, middle, shoots over Boston Celtics guard Derrick White, left, and forward Jordan Walsh during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, April 9, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/John Munson)

PORTERVILLE, Calif. (AP) — A man fatally shot a central California sheriff’s deputy Thursday morning while authorities were serving an eviction notice and was killed by officers after an hourslong standoff.

Tulare County deputies were serving the eviction notice at a home in Porterville when a 60-year-old man opened fire on them, the sheriff's department wrote on Facebook. Porterville is about 150 miles (240 kilometers) northeast of Los Angeles in the state’s Central Valley.

The man was barricaded inside the home with a rifle for several hours. At one point, authorities deployed gas into the home as the man continued to fire at law enforcement. The standoff ended around 6 p.m. when the man left the home and moved through the yards of nearby homes, Sheriff Mike Boudreaux said at an evening news conference.

Boudreaux said a Kern County SWAT team drove an armored car into the yard where the man was laying on the ground and he started firing at them. The team drove the car over the man, killing him.

Bystander video shot from a driveway and posted by the Visalia Times-Delta shows several armed deputies crouched on the ground in the road when a series of shots ring out and some of the deputies run away. The gunman cannot be seen from the video. Additional video shows someone being carried into an emergency medical vehicle.

Boudreaux said the man had failed to pay rent for 35 days and had been expecting law enforcement to arrive to serve a final notice for eviction. Boudreaux said he “laid in wait” and immediately shot at officers when they arrived.

The man's family was in contact with him and urged him to come out peacefully, but he refused, Boudreaux said.

The deputy was killed was part of a group of officers that arrived to help after gunfire began, Boudreaux said.

He was later identified as Detective Randy Hoppert, a veteran of the U.S. Navy who joined the sheriff's department in 2020.

“This is senseless,” Boudreaux said.

Residents in the neighborhood were evacuated by SWAT teams or urged to shelter in place for several hours Thursday afternoon. Nearby schools were on lockdown.

Miguel Ibarra, whose 82-year-old mother lives across the street from the gunman, said it was surreal to see his parents' house on TV in what is normally a quiet, boring neighborhood.

“The police did a really good job keeping us informed and keeping us in the know of what’s going on,” he said.

Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux, right, speaks to media after a sheriff's deputy was shot and killed Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Porterville, Calif. (Tulare County Sheriff's Office via AP)

Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux, center, attends a news conference after a sheriff's deputy was shot and killed Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Porterville, Calif. (Tulare County Sheriff's Office via AP)