Celtics stomp out struggling Knicks at Madison Square Garden

Highlights

• The Knicks put up a fight in the first half, but Celtics took control in the second half.
• The Celtics dominated second half with multiple scoring runs, led by Jaylen Brown.
• Despite Jalen Brunson’s 34-point performance, the Knicks fell short due to Boston’s superior strength.

It wasn’t a matter of the New York Knicks struggling to get a win. It was a matter of them facing the best team in the NBA, the Boston Celtics. These two teams had faced each other three times this season prior to tonight, with Boston taking all three of those matchups. Tonight, that record moved to 4-0 as the Celtics defeated the Knicks by a score of 116-102.

Jalen Brunson put up 34 points, by far the most of the game. But with the Knicks’ major starters still sidelined by injuries, it was unrealistic to expect Brunson to be able to put the whole team on his back.

The Knicks were able to keep pace with the Celtics through the first quarter, which ended with a 30-26 Boston lead. Brunson got off to a hot start, putting up 13 points in that quarter, by far the most of any player up to that point (next was Jrue Holiday with five) and the same amount as the rest of the Knicks team combined.

The second quarter would see Boston surge a bit, taking a lead as high as ten points (56-46 with 3:26 to go). However, the theme of the first half was ‘hang in there’ for the Knicks, and this they did. They never allowed Boston to engage in a streak, and would bring the lead down to four points by the end of the half.

This feat was aided by Josh Hart nailing a layup from Miles McBride with 0.1 seconds remaining. The layup by Hart was preceded by Precious Achiuwa blocking Jaylen Brown’s 3-foot driving layup.

Celtics get streaky with it

Boston would own the second half courtesy of multiple runs

Boston still had 36 points from the paint in the first half, tied for the most this season. However, the Knicks were 10-23 from the three-point line versus Boston’s 6-14, significantly better. The Knicks would tie it early in the third quarter at 64, but once again it would be the Celtics who would extend the lead to 10 for the second time, helped by a 9-0 run.

The Celtics would embark on another 9-0 run shortly after to extend the lead to 17, and would not look back. By the end of the third quarter, the Celtics possessed a 97-84 lead. The Madison Square Garden crowd would come alive in the fourth, as the Knicks would embark on a 13-2 run of their own to cut the Celtics lead to 99-90.

However, the crowd’s euphoria would be short-lived, as that point would mark the end of the Knicks’ run. The Celtics put the pedal to the metal and left New York in the dust, defeating them by a score of 116-102. Jaylen Brown led the Celtics in points, with 30, and also notched 8 rebounds and 3 assists.

Former Knick, Kristaps Porzingis, also recorded 22 points among a cacophony of boos each time he touched the ball. Brunson was far and away the scoring leader of the Knicks tonight, with 34, but with Julius Randle and OG Anunoby still out (they are 5-6 in games without them), he could not do it all.

Tatum quiet at the Garden

Celtics star did not score as many points as expected

Jayson Tatum finished the first half with only seven points, indicative of his rather streaky play this season. But the Celtics are such a powerhouse, they can function fine even when Tatum is having an off-night, as they possess the supporting weapons to keep the ball rolling. Tatum would end up finishing with 19 points, a bit shy of the 26 that GMS predicted.

Bojan Bogdanovic also did not score as many points as predicted. In the Knicks’ previous matchup versus the Philadelphia 76ers, Bogdanovic put up 22 points and was averaging 26.2 points over his last five prior to tonight. He only saw 19 minutes tonight off the bench as opposed to the 24 the other night, and therefore only scored 8, failing to reach the predicted 20 points.

The Celtics have now won eight straight games, and no end to their steamrolling appears to be in sight. They are far and away the best team in the league this season at 45-12, and they fear no opponent. They will take on the Joel Embiid-less 76ers on Tuesday, while the 34-23 Knicks will look to right the ship on Monday versus the lowly Detroit Pistons.