The Celtics and Knicks met for the second time on Monday night, in a repeat of the season opener, with Boston once again asserted their dominance over the New York Knicks. The Celtics ran out comfortable victors in this one, winning 114-98 against their Atlantic Division rivals. Jayson Tatum showed why he is deserving of this year’s KIA MVP award, dropping in 35 points (including 17 in the fourth quarter), 7 assists and 5 rebounds. Boston continues its early season success with a perfect record against the New York sides (4-0 against the Knicks/Nets).
Boston once again allowed their opponents to gain an early lead before rallying to regain the lead at the end of the first quarter. Kristaps Porzingis found some success against his former team, as he put up 21 points, 6 rebounds and led the game with a +19 plus-minus. The Celtics had an admittedly poor start, as they found it difficult dealing with the Knicks’ offence. Boston often opted to help defend off Knicks’ guard/forward Josh Hart, with Hart capitalising on his open looks nailing three 3-pointers in the game. The Celtics were also hampered by their rebounding ability, allowing the Knicks to haul in twelve offensive rebounds which enabled them to stay in the game.
The Celtics’ issues continued throughout the second quarter, with New York building up a healthy 8-point lead with 1:33 left in the 2nd quarter. All seemed to be going well for the Knicks until Boston closed the second quarter on a 9-2 run, which brought them within a single point at half time. The quarter was finished off perfectly for Boston, as guard Jaylen Brown nailed a three-point shot at the buzzer. Brown developed on his last two excellent performances, with another superb outing as he added 22 points 6 assists and 5 rebounds to steer his side towards a third consecutive victory.
The third quarter signalled the changing point for the Celtics. Tatum finally found his shooting touch – after starting the game 0-6 from three – leading Boston to an 8-point lead by the end of the third quarter. Sam Hauser seemingly has found his fit off the bench, as his hot shooting streak continued, he shot 4-6 from three in another solid game. The Celtics, in both games against New York, found it hard to slow down their shooting, as once again the Knicks had 19 3s on 44.2% shooting. Although Holiday’s defence made it an extremely inefficient night for All-NBA star Julius Randle. Holiday on the offensive end surpassed 15,000 points (Congratulations Jrue!).
The fourth quarter was a display of complete and utter dominance from Jayson Tatum. He nailed four 3-point shots and completely took over the game, putting up 17 points in the process. Tatum undoubtedly had the best play of the night, shooting a 28-foot step back three over Hart, who also fouled him allowing him to convert it into a four-point play. Boston needed little else in the fourth quarter; Tatum’s heroics carried them to a fifth home win of the NBA season.
Jayson Tatum commented on his performance after the match via ESPN: “I’ve played enough games, had enough tough shooting nights. All really, really good scorers know it just takes one to change your momentum, change how you feel about yourself shooting the ball. And once you see one go in, you just feel a lot better about yourself”. The Celtics will face the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night, in what will be a top of the conference clash. Boston’s game against the Sixers will start a four-game road trip and ends a very successful homestand.
By Will C
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