The Celtics won their third consecutive game on Monday night, rallying from a first-half deficit for a 114-98 win over the Knicks at TD Garden. Jayson Tatum led five different Celtics in double figures with 23 of his game-high 35 points after intermission in the balanced scoring effort for the hosts that gave Joe Mazzulla and company one of their best wins of the year. Jalen Brunson had a team-high 26 points in the setback for New York, who saw their four-game winning streak snapped.
Boston trailed by as many as eight points during a sluggish first half but they turned the tide with a 32-23 third quarter as they tightened things up defensively before running away with the game in the fourth quarter behind a scoring barrage from Tatum. The Knicks were also without starter RJ Barrett who was a late scratch due to illness.
Boston wrapped up their homestand with a 3-0 record following the victory and improved to 8-2 on the year. They will now hit the road for a four-game road trip beginning on Wednesday night in Philadelphia.
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Here are four takeaways from the Celtics win:
Sam Hauser is still on fire: The most consistent member of the Celtics bench to begin the year delivered once again on Monday night, particularly in the first half where made his first three 3s. Through Boston’s first ten games of the year, he’s shooting over 47 percent from the field, which would be a career high for him. The steady play helped to carry a lackluster Boston offense through the first half of the second quarter and is putting him in line for more moments as the season progresses. He’s on the verge of averaging over 20 minutes per game as he earns more trust from Joe Mazzulla as a reliable kickout option for Boston’s scoring weapons. Hauser finished 4-of-6 on the night from deep for 12 points.
Cross-matching creates some rebounding woes: The Celtics have started some small to begin the season and that’s a recipe for trouble against a big Knicks front line. New York dominated the glass in their opening matchup and that trend continued on Monday night as they feasted on seven offensive rebounds in the first half alone which led to 10 second chance points. Payton Pritchard found himself matched up with Julius Randle in a lot of these sequences after a switch, which led to double teams and unmarked men on second chance opportunities. There isn’t much margin for error on the glass in this matchup and the Celtics made life tough on themselves for much of the night on the front before stopping the bleeding some in the second half.
Turnovers lacking early but defense improves late: One of the few defensive weaknesses that has carried over from last season has been an inability to force turnovers. That trend continued on Monday night as the Celtic managed to force just two Knicks turnovers in the first half, limiting their ability to get out in transition. They ranked 29th in the league in turnovers forced entering Monday night so this is an area that Joe Mazzulla and his staff will need to give some attention to if they want to sustain an elite defense. Putting Jrue Holiday on bigs like Julius Randle has limited some of the ball pressure that Boston can put on opponents. However, Boston’s upped their defensive ball pressure in the second half and that paid dividends as they forced Randle into three third quarter turnovers that helped turn the game around with Boston winning the frame 32-23.
Improved ball movement: The Celtics have been a tremendous offense to begin the year but consistent ball movement has not necessarily been a part of that equation. Against a Knicks defense that likes to pack the paint and send multiple defenders on drivers, the Celtics did a much better job of moving the ball to find open looks as the game wore on. They assisted on 15 of their 21 field goals in the first half, the team’s best assist rate to begin the game in the year. By the time the night was over, the Celtics had seven different players that tallied two or more assists with their two stars leading the way in that category, making the right reads for much of the night.
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