Everything you need to know about the Celtics' 113-104 victory over the Knicks with BSJ insight and analysis
HEADLINES
Young guns help C’s surge in fourth quarter to victory: The Celtics have relied on their youth plenty over the past few seasons. They did it again after an ugly first 36 minutes, rallying with a 32-19 fourth quarter to get back on track with a 113-104 victory. Jayson Tatum scored 30 points and dished out a career-high seven assists while Jaylen Brown posted 28 points and 5 rebounds in the victory. Tatum and Brown combined for 21/41 FG and 9-of-21 shooting from 3-point range in what was a stellar performance from the young duo.
Kemba Walker also delivered a double-double (16 points, 10 assists) despite an off shooting night as the C’s improved to 14-5 on the season and handed the Knicks their fifth straight loss. While Tatum and Brown will get the headlines, it was the improved team defense thanks to a frontline of Semi Ojeleye and Grant Williams in the fourth quarter that helped contain the Knicks’ bigs and limit Julius Randle (26 points) late.
The Celtics now return to Boston for two days of rest before facing off with a red-hot Heat squad at the TD Garden on Wednesday night.
Marcus Smart suffers abdominal injury: The veteran guard has battled through a bruised hip, sprained ankle and multiple jammed fingers over the past two weeks and suffered another injury on Sunday afternoon following a collision with Kevin Knox. The Knicks forward barreled into Smart at full speed while Smart was trying to take a charge and Smart was holding his left side as doctors attended to him on the court following the collision. Brad Stevens indicated the team would know more tomorrow about the oblique injury but it ‘wasn’t as bad’ as the injury Smart suffered last season in the same spot. Smart had been struggling mightily shooting the ball lately while playing through his other injuries so a couple of days off probably isn’t a bad thing.
TURNING POINT
The Celtics struggled to get stops for the majority of the first three quarters but took command in the final frame with a 17-2 run thanks to a unique unit of Kemba/Brown/Tatum/Ojeleye/Grant Williams playing together. The guards handled the scoring while Ojeleye and Williams provided the defensive versatility to guard five positions that the C’s needed to slow down the Knicks offense and turn the game around.
TWO UP
Jayson Tatum: The third-year forward put together one of his best halves of the season while taking advantage of the Knicks switching their big men onto him after picks. He scored a team-high 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting and also managed to tie his career-high for assists with six in just 17 first-half minutes. He eventually finished with a game-high 30 points and a new career-high with seven assists.
Jaylen Brown in the fourth quarter: The swingman was lights out in the fourth quarter, scoring 11 of his 28 points in the final frame while making all five of his shots, carrying the C’s offensive load late during a clutch fourth-quarter rally.
TWO DOWN
Marcus Smart in the first half: The shooting slump continues for the starting guard. He missed all six of his attempts in the first half, including three from beyond the arc. After a red-hot start to the year from 3, Smart is just 10-of-49 from downtown over his last eight games.
Carsen Edwards: His poor shooting and lack of consistency earned him a spot on the bench in this one during the first half as Stevens went with Javonte Green for a bigger role in what had usually been Edwards’ minutes. The rookie got a chance once Smart went down but proved to be ineffective on both ends (0 points, 3 fouls) in his seven minutes with his size on defense proving to be a liability.
TOP PLAY
Kemba getting fancy ? pic.twitter.com/KajsIqMGnb
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) December 1, 2019
TWO TAKES B-ROBB WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER
Rob Williams’ carelessness may have cost him regular minutes: The second-year center had a solid stint in the first half (3 points, 2 rebounds, 2 blocks) but found himself quickly pulled from the game in the second quarter after a foolish no-look pass under his own basket. The ill-advised decision on a rebound led to two easy points for the Knicks and got Williams pulled from the game immediately. Stevens did not go back to Williams at all in the second half as he leaned on Theis, Kanter and Grant Williams for all of the team’s center minutes in what can only be construed as a message to his young center. There is clearly plenty of potential here but Williams has been given ample opportunity over the first month-plus of the year and keeps making inexcusable errors once or twice a game. Williams is not playing well enough to get away with these types of mistakes, especially with more reliable alternatives on the defensive end in Grant Williams and Semi Ojeleye. It’s likely this may have been a one-game benching for Timelord but it should be a wakeup call that the team is running out of patience for his careless miscues.
The Celtics could really use Gordon Hayward back: This group did a nice job stringing together another four wins on their streak without their veteran swingman but his absence is beginning to loom large on both ends of the floor. Against the worst team in the East, the C’s looked incredibly vulnerable for most of the night as they struggled to punish the Knicks’ trapping defense and keep New York out of the paint until they went with a no-offense/good-defense frontline of Williams/Ojeleye. Winning games with this crew against the Knicks is do-able but these types of performances against the upcoming schedule (Heat, Nuggets, Pacers, Sixers) would have been losses. Hayward thinks he is ahead of schedule in his recovery with a doctor’s appointment looming on Monday so an early return would be a big help, especially if Smart needs to miss time.