Jaylen Brown said the Celtics weren’t trying to send a message in their 118-105 victory over the New York Knicks on Sunday afternoon at Boston’s TD Garden.
The win was the Celtics’ third this season against a Knicks squad that wants to be considered among the Eastern Conference’s — if not the NBA’s — elite. While the 13-point margin was actually the closest so far in the season series between the teams, the loss shows just how far New York has to go to become a contender.
After all, New York is now 0-7 against the league’s Top 3 teams in Cleveland, Boston and Oklahoma City. So, really? No message?
“No message,” Brown told NBC Sports Boston’s Abby Chin when asked what kind of message Boston’s third-straight double-digit win over the Knicks sends. “I think we just have been playing some good ball, and maybe we caught them on a bad day. Anything can happen in the playoffs, so we’re not overlooking anybody. We’ve just got to get ready for the playoffs.”
If Boston caught the Knicks on a bad day, they may want to look into remedies for seasonal-depression disorder. The Celtics needed just three minutes, one second to build a 10-point advantage Sunday, and increased that margin to 19 by the start of the second quarter.
Even with starting shooting guard Josh Hart (20 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists), who missed the first two matchups between the teams this season, New York was unable to slow Boston’s offense. The Celtics are now averaging 127 points against the Knicks.
“We make it difficult on them,” Kristaps Porzingis told reporters after the game. “Obviously they have really talented offensive players, but our versatility and the guys we have on the team can make it really difficult for them. Obviously, it’s a dangerous team anyway, but we respect them and we came out the right way in the first and we set the tone for the game.”
Jayson Tatum (10 rebounds, nine assists) led all scorers with 25 points and finished just one assist shy of a second-consecutive triple-double. In fact, all five starters finished in double figures for Boston. Brown (24 points, eight rebounds), Derrick White (19 points, nine rebounds, seven assists), Porzingis (15 points, seven rebounds) and Jrue Holiday (14 points) also made their presence felt.
Karl-Anthony Towns rebounded from a slow start to lead the Knicks with 24 points, followed by Jalen Brunson (22 points), Hart (20 points) and Mikal Bridges (14 points).
Boston now holds a four-game lead over the Knicks for second place in the Eastern Conference standings with 25 games remaining. The teams will meet one more time this season when Boston travels to Madison Square Garden on April 8.
In the meantime, the Celtics (41-16) will try and win their sixth straight game Tuesday. They travel north of the border to take on the Toronto Raptors (18-39). The Raptors earned a 127-109 victory over the Phoenix Suns in their last outing Sunday.
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