Final: Celtics 99, Knicks 75 - Jaylen Brown's first career triple double leads comfortable win

Game 40
Boston Celtics (18-21, 11-9 home, 11th East) vs. New York Knicks (19-20, 10-9 road, 10th East)
TD Garden
7:30 PM - NBC Sports Boston, NBA TV

PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS

Boston: Marcus Smart, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Robert Williams, Al Horford

New York: Alec Burks, RJ Barrett, Mitchell Robinson, Immanuel Quickley, Julius Randle

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

- The only Celtics out tonight are Payton Pritchard (Health and Safety Protocols) and Brodric Thomas (back)

- Evan Fournier is out with a thigh contusion. Kemba Walker is out with left knee soreness

- Also out for the Knicks: Derrick Rose (ankle surgery), Ryan Arcidiacano (ankle), and Luka Samanic (G-League). Nerlens Noel (return to competition reconditioning).

GOING A LITTLE DEEPER

Focus. Focus. Focus. 

Evan Fournier’s big game is as big an example as you’ll find of Boston’s struggles. The Celtics defensive miscommunication between Marcus Smart and Al Horford on Fournier’s first 3-pointer of the game set the tone for a rough night. 

“We weren't as physical as we should have been from the start. Let him be too comfortable, losing track of him, not being connected, not being physical in his pick-and-rolls,” Ime Udoka said before the rematch. “And quite frankly, not following the game plan on him, which is to chase him over and not go under and several times we got caught whether it was off-ball or on-ball, pick-and-rolls going under, and when somebody is making that many obviously you have to find him on the court, in transition, and in other areas. and so we lost him quite a few times.”

Horford and Smart are two of Boston’s best defensive players. It seems like no one is immune from a lack of focus. 

“We talked about locking in and focusing from the start of the game. Not allowing one mistake and then figuring out or remembering the game plan,” Udoka said. “And when you multiply that by five guys, and everybody makes a mistake, you find yourself down or letting guys get going early.”

THREE THINGS TO WATCH FOR

1. Focus: So with that in mind, let’s make these three things very simple. I’m not looking for exploiting matchups or tendencies right now. It’s about the Celtics doing the little things, so step one is focus and remember what the game plan is. 

2. Keep composure during opponent runs: Other teams are going to go on runs. The key is to stop those runs at 9-2 rather than what the Celtics have been allowing, which is something like 21-4. The Celtics get so caught up in answering the run that they get away from the kind of offense that will actually do that. 

3. Finish strong: This certainly means finishing games and fourth quarters strong, but it also means finishing every quarter, too. Boston is notorious for building a big lead and then letting the other team finish a quarter or half with a few buckets to get their confidence back. 

These are the most rudimentary things to watch for, but this is where Boston is. 

GAME THREAD

Stick around for more comments below as the game goes on. Feel free to add your two cents in the comments.