Boston Celtics

Jaylen Brown, Celtics handle short-handed Knicks: 10 takeaways

Porzingis was an essential part of the Celtics’ offense on Saturday, burying three deep 3-pointers in the third quarter en route to 22 points on 7-for-11 shooting.

Six Celtics finished in double figures on Saturday night. (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images)

By Tom Westerholm

4 minutes to read

The Celtics’ offense exploded in the second half to defeat a short-handed Knicks team 116-102 and extend their winning streak to eight on Saturday. 

Here are the takeaways. 

1. Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla often talks about how important it is for the Celtics to accept that certain nights will belong to certain players, and on Saturday, Jaylen Brown took his opportunity and ran with it. The Knicks will be without OG Anunoby (and Julius Randle) for a while, and as a result, they were stretched thin all over the court, chasing Celtics shooters and opening up the lane. Brown made a number of tough shots inside the arc — including several post-up jumpers — and he got to the rim repeatedly, swooping past bigger defenders for layups. 

Led by Brown, who finished with 30 points on 13-for-24 shooting, the Celtics outscored the Knicks 58-38 in the paint (36-22 in the first half), which offered the dual benefit of wearing down a Knicks defense that couldn’t recover quickly enough in the second half. 

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The Celtics are at their best when their stars work symbiotically, and with the Knicks’ defense selling out to stop Jayson Tatum and scrambling to cover Kristaps Porzingis, Brown’s offense stressed them to their breaking point, especially in the first half (20 points, 9-for-12 shooting). 

2. Porzingis really seems to enjoy playing against his old team in Madison Square Garden, and fans seem to enjoy letting him know how much they appreciate his time in New York. 

Knicks later continued to appreciate Porzingis when he was whistled for a technical. After picking up a number of technicals early in the season, Porzingis seems to have cooled down a bit (outside of Madison Square Garden, at least) and now has a much more manageable nine, still seven away from a one-game suspension. 

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Porzingis was an essential part of the Celtics’ offense on Saturday, burying three deep 3-pointers in the third quarter en route to 22 points on 7-for-11 shooting. Importantly with the playoffs approaching, he played just 31 minutes.

3. The Celtics got hot from behind the arc in the third quarter, going 9-for-13 and outscoring the Knicks 35-26. Porzingis led the charge, but they got contributions across the board, including Tatum (2-for-3) as well as Brown, Holiday, White and Sam Hauser (one each). 

The Celtics famously rely heavily on 3-point shooting, and they will (and should) continue to do so, but bruising an opponent around the rim for 24 minutes makes it a lot easier to open up the game from deep over the next 12. 

4. After making multiple moves before the trade deadline, the Knicks could be a genuine threat in the Eastern Conference if they can get healthy again before the postseason. Anunoby’s health might be particularly crucial — he’s the kind of switchable wing who can credibly guard either Tatum or Brown 1-on-1, which makes a lot of other options easier for the Knicks’ defense. 

Still, Saturday showed several of the questions the Knicks will need to answer if they face the Celtics, particularly on the defensive end. Jalen Brunson is not a strong defender, but he’s the team’s star. Can the Celtics hunt him effectively? Can they continue to hunt Donte DiVincenzo? Can the Knicks slow the initial attack enough to keep the Celtics from swinging the ball around the court?

The short-handed Knicks had little chance against a Celtics team that has been remarkably good at handling business against weaker opponents this year. The full-strength Knicks will be a lot better, but it remains to be seen if they can stop enough of the leaks.

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5. The Knicks are not an easy team to finish off, and the Celtics were forced to weather a fourth-quarter run that trimmed the lead to nine with nine minutes remaining. But Mazzulla didn’t call timeout, forcing his team to figure things out on their own, and layups by Horford, Tatum and Brown sparked a 10-0 run that pushed the lead back to a comfortable 19. The Celtics cruised the rest of the way.

6. The Celtics gave up 15 offensive rebounds and allowed multiple possessions, whereas the Knicks grabbed several boards in a row. While they have the eighth-best defensive rebounding rate in the NBA this season, the Celtics do give up the fifth-most offensive rebounds per game this year at 11.3. 

7. For the second game in a row and the second time this season, Al Horford played and did not attempt a 3-pointer. He finished 5-for-7 from the field for 10 points and looked spry as he cut and moved without the ball, nabbed four offensive rebounds (seven overall) and switched defensively. 

8. Mazzulla loves when the Celtics allow 25 points or fewer in a quarter. They allowed 26 in the first and third, and just 18 in the fourth.

9. Saturday’s game was the start of an odd stretch for the Celtics: Seven straight games on national TV. Saturday was televised on ABC, and the primetime network will also air the team’s upcoming games against the Warriors (March 3) and Suns (March 9). TNT will handle the 76ers (Tuesday), Cavaliers (March 5) and Nuggets (March 7), while ESPN will air Celtics vs. Mavericks next Saturday.

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10. The Celtics now enjoy an eight-game lead in the Eastern Conference standings. That, of course, guarantees nothing when the postseason rolls around (just ask Milwaukee), but it could allow the team to get plenty of rest down the stretch if they can maintain that advantage over the next month and a half. The Celtics return to TD Garden for the first time since the All-Star break on Tuesday, when they take on the 76ers.

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