Everything you need to know about the Celtics’ 110-91 win over the Knicks in quickie form.
HEADLINES
The kids put on a show: The pair of No. 3 picks took turns guiding the Celtics offense to the blowout win. Jaylen Brown led the charge early by scoring 13 of his game-high 23 points in the first quarter, while Jayson Tatum helped put the game out of reach by scoring 10 points in the first five minutes of the second quarter. That outburst enabled the hosts to open up a 25-point lead midway through the frame, and the C's never looked back. Together, Brown and Tatum became the youngest Celtics duo in team history to both score 20-plus points in a game.
Horford is the Porzingis-stopper: The 7-foot-3 Porzingis had been the lone bright spot for the Knicks in their first two games of the season, averaging over 30 points per game in those contests. Al Horford brought the big man back down to earth quickly though with his defense. The 22-year-old Knicks player started the game 1-of-12 from the field as Horford ensured he wouldn't get any looks inside and limited him in the post.
TURNING POINT
The Celtics and Knicks were locked in a back-and-forth affair for the first six minutes of the first quarter before the C's offense and Brown caught fire. Boston outscored New York 19-7 over the final half of the frame, largely on the back of Brown and Kyrie Irving (20 points). The 21-year-old wing posted 13 points while Irving added 11. The starting backcourt combined to score 80 percent of Boston's points in the quarter and outscored the Knicks themselves by a 24-17 margin. The visitors never got the deficit below double digits the rest of the way.
SECOND GUESS
The construction of this Knicks roster. I mean, I know these guys want to tank but why do it with old guys? With point guards in their 30s like Jarrett Jack and Ramon Sessions getting big minutes, one would think this group would be better served giving more time to the young guys (or having more of them on the roster).
TWO UP
Brown: The birthday boy has scored at least 18 points in three of four games this season. He also did his scoring on Tuesday night with terrific efficiency going 9-of-16 from the field and 3-of-6 from 3-point range. On a night where the Celtics offense was sluggish out of the gate, Brown picked up the slack and got the ball rolling for the green.
Tatum: While Markelle Fultz struggles to even get shots up for the Sixers, Tatum easily played his best game as a pro. More impressive than the career-high 22 points was his shooting from 3-point range. Tatum went 4-of-6 from beyond the arc, a far cry from his 20 percent 3-point shooting (1-of-5) over his first three games.
TWO DOWN
Abdel Nader: Looks to be the odd man out of the rotation for now. He saw some garbage time minutes in the fourth quarter but Semi Ojeleye played with the second unit in his place during both halves, a reversal from Friday night in Philadelphia.
Knicks 3-point shooting: The visitors were an atrocious 1-of-12 from 3-point range. Not sure what is more surprising, the low percentage or that the Knicks only took 12 3-point shots all night.
INJURIES
Aron Baynes left the game wincing a little bit in the third quarter. He went to the locker room but did not return. However, the Celtic told sideline reporter Abby Chin of NBC Sports Boston that he just went back to the locker room to have more room to stretch.
TOP PLAYS
Tatum out of nowhere with the throwdown.
Watch your head when @jaytatum0 is crashing the boards ? pic.twitter.com/EvX0mDcr1U
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) October 24, 2017
That @FCHWPO guy is pretty athletic too, huh? pic.twitter.com/BCMVeWvh5f
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) October 24, 2017
Kyrie shows off his incredible handle along the baseline and gets the lefty floater to fall! pic.twitter.com/wcizu7jLyU
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) October 25, 2017