Against the Knicks on Tuesday night, the Boston Celtics decided to start every star player.
While New York spent the majority of theirs sleeping.
That was the day’s first Key Moment, indicating that the second Key Moment was almost certain to occur.
The top eight players for Boston were committed from the first tip, and they made the first half into a farce by scoring 41 points in it. An 8-0 run by their high-volume attack to end the quarter gave the C’s a 41-29 advantage.
The Celtics were undoubtedly the superior team, and their explosive attack was led by a new dynamic scoring three. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum each scored eight points in the first quarter, compared to Kristaps Porzingis’ 10 points. Blocked shot
Boston continued to lead 50-33 after scoring nine of the first twelve points of the second quarter. This advantage quickly extended to as many as 27 throughout the period, effectively ending the game.
In the third quarter, New York did manage to close the gap to eight points, but the C’s answered with nine straight points to put the hammer down on the Knicks. By a score of 123-110, Boston went on to complete the victory.
Key Player
When he scored a preseason-high 28 points against the New York Knicks on Tuesday night, Jayson Tatum was in midseason form.
Tatum was hot from every area of the court, making a perfect 5-for-5 from the line and 9-of-15 from the field and 5-for-8 from long range. Since all but one of Tatum’s efforts were made from beyond the arc or at the rim, his shot chart was almost perfect.
Like he does every night during the regular season, Tatum went much beyond just scoring. In addition, he shared the team lead with eight rebounds, contributed four assists, led the team with three steals, and blocked one shot. And he completed all of this work in less than 30 minutes.
So, as we said: Tatum was in midseason form tonight.
Box Score Nuggets
- Boston scored 78 points during the first half while making 16 shots from long range.
- Both teams attempted 20 free throws.
- Jayson Tatum led the game in scoring with 28 points.
- Quentin Grimes led New York with 22 points.
- Boston’s largest lead was 27 points.
- Jaylen Brown tied for the game high in assists with six, while also scoring 17 points.
- Kristaps Porzingis totaled 20 points and eight rebounds.
- The Celtics dished out 26 assists, while the Knicks totaled 25.
- Sam Hauser led all reserves with 15 points.
Quote of the Night
“I really like the mental state our guys are in.”
– Joe Mazzulla on the team’s mentality in Boston
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