After a couple of commanding victories against the New York Knicks already this season, the Celtics looked for a third on Sunday. The Knicks finally had a healthy roster – aside from Mitchell Robinson – but it would not stop Boston from dominating yet again. They led by as much as 21 points in the first half alone and despite a nervy third quarter that allowed New York to whittle down the lead, they still kept their cool. Thanks to Derrick White they regained control in the opening exchanges of the fourth quarter and came out on top yet again, earning a nineth win in their last ten games.
The Celtics got off to yet another blistering start, leading by 19 points after the first. Boston’s elite defence played a huge role in their early success, making things really difficult for the Knicks especially to score inside. Once again Jayson Tatum took the game and made it his own, leading the team in first quarter points. The Knicks have massively struggled against Tatum this season and he had another fantastic outing in this one, ending just one assist shy of a triple double.
Boston played with a great intensity throughout the entire first half, dragging the lead up to 21 on the final possession (a Luke Kornet dunk). Their defence was again a thorn in the side of the Knicks offense, nobody felt it quite as bad as Karl-Anthony Towns though. KAT managed just five points in the first half, proving just how impressive the interior defence of Kristaps Porzingis and Kornet can be.
Initially the second half started swimmingly as Boston drove their lead as high as 27 points, but then the reigning champs took their foot off of the gas ever so slightly and opened the door for New York. It was the Knicks star point guard Jaylen Brunson that led the comeback as he scored 15 points in the period reducing Boston’s lead to just seven at the end of the quarter.
The Knicks even went as far as making it a two-possession game to begin the fourth quarter, but then the championship pedigree of the Celtics began to shine through. The Celtics did what they do best and went to Derrick White for some early fourth quarter offense and he certainly provided it. White hit two huge shots from beyond the arc to restore a double-digit advantage for his team. Within a blink of an eye the lead had reached 20 once again and Boston had the game won. Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau had other ideas apparently as he kept his starters in for the rest of the game. Mikal Bridges hit two meaningless threes to reduce the end score to 118-105, yet another fantastic performance by the team in green.
by Will C.
Add comment
Comments