Celtics roll over Knicks once again, but Jaylen Brown gives New York full respect
The Boston Celtics have been on a roll and the defending NBA champions have been playing some of their best basketball of the season. They defeated the Knicks by a 118-105 margin at TD Garden Sunday, and it gave the Celtics 9 wins in their last 10 games and a 5-game winning streak. The Celtics have beaten the Knicks decisively in all three meetings this season, but Boston star Jaylen Brown says his team is not taking New York lightly.
Brown had 24 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists in the victory and said the Celtics still have plenty of respect for head coach Tom Thibodeau's Knicks. “There's no message that we are sending them,” Brown said. “We are playing some good ball and maybe we caught them on a bad day. Anything could happen in the playoffs. We're not overlooking anybody. We just have to get ready for the playoffs.
The Celtics beat the Knicks at Madison Square Garden in the first two meetings. In addition to beating New York on Opening Night of the season, Boston recorded a 131-104 victory in New York earlier this month. The Celtics were able to open up a 27-point lead on the Knicks in Sunday's game before the Knicks rallied in the third quarter to make the game more respectable.
Brown, Tatum lead the Celtics attack once again
As usual, Jayson Tatum joined Brown in punishing the Knicks. Tatum just missed putting a triple-double in the scorebook. He had 25 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists in the game. Tatum connected on 8 of 20 shots from the floor, 3 of 10 from beyond the arc and all 6 of his free throw attempts.
The key to the Celtics attack was their offensive consistency. In addition to Brown and Tatum, starters Jrue Holiday, Derrick White and Kristaps Porzingis were also in double figures. White led that trio with 19 points thanks in large part to 5 of 6 shooting from beyond the arc.
Brown said that both he and Tatum get pumped up when he sees teams like the Knicks put defensive stoppers like OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges on the wings in an effort to prevent the Celtics top duo from putting big numbers on the board.
“Absolutely,” Brown responded when asked by Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe if those Knicks defenders got his attention. “It just does. It lets us know what's going to happen in the playoffs.”
The Knicks got back in the game by outscoring the Celtics 39-25 in the third quarter. However, Boston put the game away with a 29-23 advantage in the final quarter.
