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Josh Richardson provides spark: 8 takeaways as Celtics bounce back vs. Knicks
"I was like, 'All right, I’m feeling good now.'"
Here are the takeaways as the Celtics responded to a tough loss vs. the Warriors with a resilient 114-107 win over the Knicks.
1. Josh Richardson was an interesting addition to the roster this offseason — a solid rotation player in Miami who struggled to contribute with both the 76ers and the Mavericks over the last few years.
On Saturday, he was the best player on the floor for the Celtics, with 27 points on 9-for-14 shooting, including 5-for-7 from 3-point range. In six of his last eight games played, Richardson topped double figures, including 15 or more in four of those contests.
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“I felt it early,” Richardson said on Saturday. “I made a pull-up mid-range — that’s usually how I get going — and I got a couple layups. The third quarter, I made a three off a Jaylen Brown kick-out. That was probably when I was like, ‘All right, I’m feeling good now.’
“I kind of yelled at myself after that shot, because I was like, ‘Just do what you’re supposed to do on your shot and it’s going to go in.'”
Defensively, Richardson bothered Kemba Walker — pursuing over screens and contesting with what Richardson called “rear-view contests.” Richardson’s effectiveness called to mind his performance defensively against Walker two years prior during the Disney World bubble season when the Celtics and Sixers battled over the course of the year and in the playoffs. Richardson was a crucial piece of that puzzle defensively.
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“Kemba had a great few years here, he’s had a great career,” Richardson said. “So I’ve been competing against him for a while. …
“I was trying to deny him in the back court, make him run, make him use his legs, and hope for the best.”
2. Ime Udoka called timeout and unloaded on the Celtics in the third quarter after a lackluster stretch allowed the Knicks to hoist themselves back into the game. Eventually, the Celtics rallied back — holding the Knicks to 19 points after a 41-point third quarter.
“I was livid, honestly,” Udoka said. “Just really, ‘wake up.’ We talked about what we did well in the first half, came out and did the opposite, for the most part. I felt we got a little cute there and relaxed up 15. But give them credit, they responded well. …
“Coming off a hard-fought game yesterday, to come in the back-to-back, guys playing extended minutes with all the people missing. We just had a little lapse there and snapped out of it and picked it up where we left off in the first half.”
Richardson declined to offer details.
“I don’t know how much he told you and I ain’t no snitch,” he said, grinning. “I can’t really get into that. He laid into us good. And that’s what good coaches know they need to do sometimes. We were bleeding. We needed to stop it and it wasn’t happening so we sat down and he let us have it, as he should have.”
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Still, Richardson called it a “good” moment, and he offered support for Udoka.
“He kind of said in the locker room, ‘I don’t want to have to do that,'” Richardson said. “But I was like, ‘Nah, nah. We needed that.’ I said that in front of everybody: ‘That was good. We needed that.'”
3. In addition to Richardson, Payton Pritchard had a break-out game — 16 points on 6-for-10 shooting in extended minutes. Udoka acknowledged that Pritchard has seen his minutes trimmed despite a successful rookie year and an eye-opening Summer League performance.
“There’s been a number crunch or a minute crunch with Dennis being the backup for most of the year,” Udoka said. “So that’s all it is. It’s nothing that Payton has done or has not done that has limited the minutes there. [I’m] from the same city as him, I’ve seen him in high school win state championships. Watched him in college and have extreme confidence in him, knowing when he gets the opportunity, he’s always going to be ready. So it was good to see him do what he did, but not surprising.”
Pritchard admitted not playing much has been tough.
“It’s a daily thing,” he said.
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Still, coaches didn’t have to tell him to be ready.
“It’s what you get paid to do,” he said. “It’s a job and at the end of the day when you get an opportunity, you’ve got to be ready to perform.”
4. The Celtics’ bench outscored the Knicks’ bench an eye-popping 47-3 in a game they won by seven.
5. The Knicks, who are also dealing with COVID absences, slotted Walker back into the starting lineup. After Walker got a big ovation when he was introduced, and after very warm greetings with his former teammates, he poured in 29 points on 8-for-20 shooting.
“Those are my brothers,” Walker said of the Celtics. “A lot of the guys who I played with are still here. Obviously, Smart, JB and JT, man, we still talk all the time. …
“Smart came to my sister’s wedding. [Jayson Tatum] was supposed to be there, but he had USA basketball. [Jaylen Brown], those are like literally my little bros right there, so it was great to see those guys.”
Walker saved all of his mean-mugging for his coach — Tom Thibodeau pulled Walker from the Knicks’ rotation in late November, and Walker had not played in any of the Knicks’ 10 games prior to facing the Celtics.
After the game, Walker said he hates not playing.
“I know I should be playing, so no question,” he said. “It feels great. But whatever situation I’m in, I’m gonna stay locked in, stay prepared.”
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Thibodeau — who said at the time that Walker was a starting caliber player, and he didn’t want to play Walker out of the starting lineup — was asked if Walker will be back in the rotation when everyone is healthy.
“We’ll see,” Thibodeau said. “You’ve got to look at everything in totality.”
6. Enes Freedom continued to take the back-up center minutes. He pulled down eight rebounds — including four offensive — but the Knicks knew exactly how to target him defensively. Evan Fournier in particular got going against Freedom — he scored the first 10 of his 32 points either attacking Freedom in his drop pick-and-roll coverage or 1-on-1 on a bad switch.
7. The bench bailed the Celtics out on a night when Brown and Tatum were uncharacteristically quiet. Tatum in particular was 3-for-13 from 3-point range and appeared to settle when attacking the rim worked wonders. Brown, meanwhile, finished with five assists but four turnovers. Brown now has nine combined turnovers in his last two games and 12 in his last three.
8. All things considered, the Celtics can feel pretty good about the way they started their brutal schedule post-west coast trip. Saturday’s win boosted them back to .500 after they were competitive against the Warriors and dominant against the Bucks. If they stay healthy and attached to .500, the schedule clears a bit in January.
Next up: The 76ers on Monday.
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