Madison Square Garden was the stage for a primetime battle between the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks on Saturday night, with both teams right beside each other in the Eastern Conference standings. Boston (37-16) held a 1.5-game advantage over New York (34-17) for the two-seed entering the night, and the Celtics built on that conference edge, jumping out to a big lead early, holding off multiple Knicks runs and dominating the second half for a 131-104 win.
In the score column, the Celtics were led by a masterful performance from Jayson Tatum, who finished with 40 points (13/26 FG). It was also a great night off the bench for Payton Pritchard, who finished with 25 points in 27 minutes on 9-of-14 shooting. For the Knicks, Jalen Brunson finished with 36 points, shooting 13-of-13 from the free throw line.
The Celtics entered the night without Jrue Holiday, who was nursing a right shoulder impingement, Kristaps Porzingis (illness) and newly-signed forward Torrey Craig, who is returning from a right ankle injury. The Knicks were without starting wing OG Anunoby, Pacome Dadiet, and Mitchell Robinson.
Tatum scored the game’s first five points with a monstrous poster over Precious Achiuwa and a pullup 3-pointer, which sparked a 12-2 run in the first five minutes. The Knicks missed their first 10 shots during the run.
Boston’s offense consistently found the bottom of the net, with each starter connecting on at least one field goal for a 30-19 lead entering the second quarter. The Knicks were held to 26% from the floor during the opening 12 minutes.
Payton Pritchard led the Celtics through the early moments of the second quarter, scoring 11 points in the first 3:30, while a Tatum three forced a Knicks timeout and pushed the Celtics up 44-27. Boston kept its foot on the gas, maintaining its lead by attacking mismatches and getting stops on the other end. Brown (12 points), Tatum (16 points) and Pritchard (14 points) all finished the half scoring in double figures, with the Celtics shooting 50% from the field and leading 61-48 entering the third quarter.
Pritchard scored all 14 of his first half points in the second quarter, finishing the half shooting 5-of-8. Boston also had a significant advantage on the glass, with their double-big combos playing a big role in their 31-24 rebounding difference. Luke Kornet and Neemias Queta each had three offensive rebounds.
Momentum flipped coming out of halftime, with a 12-2 Knicks run captained by Jalen Brunson getting the deficit to as low as three points. Boston responded with its own 26-9 run to calm the storm, with Tatum taking over, erupting to score 19 third-quarter points while Derrick White added 11 more to keep Boston in command with a 96-76 lead entering the fourth.
Tatum’s hot shooting bled into the fourth quarter when he buried a long pullup triple and a pair of free throws to cross 40 points with 10 minutes to go, but the offense continued to hum when he stepped off the floor, with Pritchard leading the way with 11 fourth quarter points. Luke Kornet also completed his season’s first double-double, finishing the night with 14 points (7/7 FG) and 12 rebounds.
The Celtics will be on the road again on Monday, Feb. 10 for their second matchup of the season against the Miami Heat at 7:30 p.m. They beat Miami 108-89 in their first matchup.
