Celtics 123, Knicks 117

 

The answer to "in which quarter will the Celtics underperform?" last night was the first quarter.

The Celtics fell behind by as many as 13 points in the first, finishing the quarter down by eleven, 32-21. But then, in the second, Jaylen Brown scored 15 of his 42 points on the evening, as the Celtics outscored the Knicks 37-20 to take a 58-52 halftime lead. Boston continue to cruise in the third and then survived a furious comeback attempt by the Knicks in the fourth to win. by six, although a victory was not at all a sure thing down that final stretch.

As mentioned, Mr. Brown led all scorers with 42 points and Mr. White had 22. Jordan Walsh had "only" eight points all game, but six of those were in the fourth quarter when the Celts needed them most to withstand the Knicks comeback attempt. Along with three offensive rebounds, one defensive board, an assist, and a timely steal that quarter, Walsh almost singlehandedly kept the Celtics in the game.

What's been fun this Tatum-less season has been watching the players step forward, with Brown assuming a leadership role he hadn't filled before and the rest of the team taking their game up to the next level.

For once, the Celtics outrebounded their opponent, 38-33, although the Knicks hit 19 threes to the Celts' 13.

At 12-9, the Celtics are 2½ back from Toronto and third in the Atlantic Division. On Thursday, they will travel down to DC to play the lowly Wizards (3-17) before returning back home for Friday night's marquee match-up against Luka, LeBron, and the Lakers.