POST GAME NYK - AWAY

Celtics Wrap: Kyrie Irving’s Big Night Leads Boston Past Knicks

NESN by Joshua Schrock on Sat, Feb 24, 2018 at 9:52PM

The Boston Celtics didn’t have their best stuff Saturday night at Madison Square Garden, as the New York Knicks, without Kristaps Porzingis, gave the C’s all they could handle on the second night of a back-to-back. While the C’s struggled on defense, especially containing penetration from Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr., Irving notched a near-triple-double at the mecca of basketball, tallying 31 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in Boston’s 121-112 win. Jaylen Brown (24 points), Terry Rozier (14 points), Al Horford (13 points), Jayson Tatum (11 points) and Marcus Smart (11 points) also scored in double figures for the C’s. Burke led the Knicks with 24 points. With the win, the Celtics improved to 42-19, while the Knicks fell to 24-37. Here’s how it all went down:

STARTING FIVE PG: Kyrie Irving SG: Jaylen Brown SF: Jayson Tatum PF: Al Horford C: Daniel Theis

BURKE BLAST The Celtics and Knicks both struggled to take the lid off the hoop in the opening minutes, as Boston led 12-9 with under six minutes to play in the stanza. Brown would get it going, however, scoring seven of the Celtics’ next nine points to give Boston a 21-17 edge. Burke gave his team a huge lift in the final minutes of the frame, though, scoring nine points in four minutes to give New York a 24-23 lead after one. Brown led all scorers with 10 points in the quarter.

NIP AND TUCK New York jumped out to a seven-point lead early in the second quarter, as Burke and the Knicks’ bench continued to torment the Celtics. But Boston responded with a 13-3 run to take a 43-40 lead with five minutes to play in the half. The two sides traded leads for the next three minutes before a Horford 3-pointer gave Boston a four-point edge. A late Emmanuel Mudiay bucket cut the C’s lead to two at the break. Both teams were more efficient on offense in the second quarter, as Boston outscored New York 36-32 in the period. Burke led all players with 15 points in the half. Irving paced the C’s with 13 points, while Brown chipped in with 10 and Smart added eight.

UNCLE DREW TAKES OVER After the Knicks took a one-point lead early in the second half, the C’s and Irving responded by going on a 21-11 run. During the C’s flurry, Uncle Drew poured in 11 points, finishing the quarter with 15 points (28 overall). Boston got a little 3-point happy toward the end of the frame, however, helping the Knicks trim the lead to 88-81 after three.

FINISHING MOVE Burke continued to torch the Celtics’ bench in the fourth quarter, helping cut the Boston lead to 99-96 with a little over six minutes to play. Boston stretched the lead to 10 on a Horford trey with five minutes left, but the Knicks came right back with a 6-2 run to cut the lead to 108-102, causing Boston to take a timeout. Hardaway Jr. cut the lead to five with 2:41, but Boston went on a quick 6-0 run, highlighted by a massive Brown dunk to seal the win.

HIGHLIGHT OF THE GAME Throw it down, JB!

UP NEXT The Celtics will hit the floor again Monday against the Memphis Grizzlies. Tip-off from TD Garden is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
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Kyrie, Celtics defeat Knicks 121-112

NBC SPORTS BOSTON By A. Sherrod Blakely February 24, 2018 9:55 PM



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Kyrie Irving on the court can be a lot of trouble, messed around and (almost) had a triple-double.

The Celtics all-star, no stranger to big performances on big stages, delivered one of his best all-around performances for Boston.

And did they ever need it, holding on for a 121-112 win over the pesky New York Knicks.

Irving was as dominant as we’ve seen him this season, finishing with 31 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.

Boston also got a strong game from Jaylen Brown who tallied 24 points which included a breakaway dunk to put Boston up 115-106 with less than two minutes to play.

And New York was led by Trey Burke’s 26 points.

After having lost three straight and four of five, Boston (42-19) has come out of the all-star break with back-to-back wins over Detroit and New York, respectively.

While there are certainly tougher foes on the horizon for the Celtics than what they’ve seen in these last two games (both wins), beating teams they’re supposed to is part of the process in getting back to where they were earlier this season.

But tonight’s game, like so many for the Celtics, didn’t exactly get off to the best of starts.

Boston avoided the early hole that they frequently found themselves in prior to the all-star break, but they didn’t exactly surge away and take control of the game from the jump, either.

Boston spent most of the first quarter playing with a slim lead, only for New York to end the quarter with a 5-0 spurt that put the Knicks ahead 24-23 after the first.

The second quarter was more of the same with both teams going on runs to seemingly take control, only for the lead to eventually disappear.

Trailing 49-48, Boston closed out the quarter with an 11-5 run to lead 59-54 at the half.

In the third, it was all about Irving who mixed in an array of 3’s and drives to the basket which helped the Celtics pull ahead by double-digits only for the Knicks to chip away at the lead which stood at 88-81 going into the fourth.
112288

Why not start Theis for now on Brad!

112288

112288 wrote:Why not start Theis  for now on Brad!

112288

Doesn't seem like it would hurt.

Smart makes a BIG difference to this team.

mrkleen09 wrote:Smart makes a BIG difference to this team.

Yes, you're right.

I think he's ended any real questioning of his place or value.

One good thing about this little "tailspin" the team was in before the all star break, They will not be peaking too soon as has happened to them before. They are still struggling to find combinations that will be good during the playoffs. Tatum is beginning to come out of his "rookie" funk, and Jaylen Brown is truly beginning to look like a steal at #3 for Danny. Those who booed his pick on draft night are seeing what Danny realized a long time ago. This kid is a physical beast. Just thinking of what will happen when he finishes those dunks and layups on a consistent basis is exciting.

Anyway, I believe we are on our way, no doubt. I am not predicting anything, I am just getting ready to enjoy the ride.
This team could be truly exciting next year with Gordon on the floor. Those shooting droughts will be few and far between.

This is fun!!!

mrkleen09 wrote:Smart makes a BIG difference to this team.

No question and he’s taking better shots and hitting them. Had a couple nice steals and finishes, credit to him and the coaches/trainers that he worked on his conditioning through the injury, he looks great.

RosalieTCeltics wrote:One good thing about this little "tailspin" the team was in before the all star break, They will not be peaking too soon as has happened to them before.  They are still struggling to find combinations that will be good during the playoffs. Tatum is beginning to come out of his "rookie" funk, and Jaylen Brown is truly beginning to look like a steal at #3 for Danny.  Those who booed his pick on draft night are seeing what Danny realized a long time ago. This kid is a physical beast. Just thinking of what will happen when he finishes those dunks and layups on a consistent basis is exciting.  

Anyway, I believe we are on our way, no doubt. I am not predicting anything, I am just getting ready to enjoy the ride.
This team could be truly exciting next year with Gordon on the floor.  Those shooting droughts will be few and far between.

This is fun!!!

Love Jaylen, I think he and Kyrie might be Sams favorites, Kyrie because he is so dazzling, taking that aspect of the game to new heights, similar to what Cousy did in his era....and Jaylen because he is such a physical beast that relishes going right at the best wings, and now he’s taking and making shots down the stretch, we’ve already seen Jaylen hit more big 4th quarter shots this season than Jeff Green did his whole career!!! We’ve seen him hit the corner 3 and how big and fun was that dunk off of Kyrie’s feed...???

We finally got some great young physical beasts in the 2 J’s to make up for Len Bias....and they are just getting started.

I would say Kyrie would be Sam's favorite. He just has so damn much talent, fearless shooter, excellent beyond compare when is comes to dribbling.

But you are right, for the young guys, Jaylen would have his total sport. The fact that he looked good last year, worked all summer on his game, insisted on playing summer league, and is so darn smart, would have won Sam over for sure. His intelligence level is awesome, this kid talks like he graduated from college with a masters and is on his way to a doctorate. But, he stays within the game and does not try to take over whenever he feels like it. He realizes the greatest gift he has is learning from a guy like Kyrie.

A very fast-paced game with 92 fgas for us and 96 for them, that drove the score up some.  

When Smart was out injured our perimeter defense stunk.  Since he's been back, it's been really good.  They were 6-27 for 22.2% from 3 last night.  Some open shots but not anywhere near as many as they were getting before the ASB.  Offensively, which we know is his big weakness, he was 4-5 for 11 points and, for the first game this season, did not have a single 3pt fga.  That stupid injury might be the best thing that happened to him, big picture.  He is our back up point guard.  Not TRo, not Larkin, Smart.  The offense runs coherently when it's running through Smart, I think even more so than when it's running through Irving even though Kyrie had 8 assists last night.  Irving is a scorer first, second and third.  Smart is a team player first, second and third and that includes ball distribution.

But Irving was unconscious last night.  Tons of Celtic fans at MSG last night and when Irving went off you could hear the Celtic fans cheering and the Knick fans exhale like they got punched in the stomach.  1 rebound and 2 assists away from a triple-double.  When he's playing like that he is gold.

Jaylen with a great game.  I don't know if 24 points is his career high, probably not, but it's pretty damn good on 10-17.  He's too inconsistent.  He'll have nights like this and then nights where he'll be 3-13.  He's young and his work ethic is superb, so I'm sure he'll work this out, but it would be very helpful for him to work it out within the next 20 games or so because we'll need him to be a full-time threat if we want to go deep into the playoffs.

Morris with 30 minutes of stinkweed, both ends.

Emmanuel Mudiay is another almost-freak athlete that makes poor decisions.  Body by Caterpillar, brain by Mattel.

Trey Burke lit us up, bigly.  Beasley and Kanter didn't.  I'm fine with that trade-off.  I'm FAR more worried about The Beas and Kanter than I am of Burke.  The only Celtic that did a decent job staying in front of Burke was Larkin, but he only played 5 minutes in his return.

Horford with 13 points on 5-13 and 10 rebounds but ZERO assists.  It's weird to see Al with no assists.  3 blocks.  

Tatum with an understated 4 steals.  Smart with 3.  Everybody just plays harder when Marcus Smart is on the floor.

Theis 7 rebounds in 18 minutes.  Remember what a shitty rebounding team we were last year?  With Baynes out it was Horford and Theis vs Beasley and Kanter.  Tough assignments and they did MUCH better than the last time we played them when Kanter had, I think, a 20-20 game and Beasley was anointed the Michael Jordan of W. 34th Street.  He (Theis, not Beasley) will be even better next year.

http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=400975632











bob



.

B2B wins on the road against inferior competition is what we have seen over the past two games.

The Celtics have 2 games at home before they embark on that perilous road trip in March.  Boston will be playing 9 out of 13 games on the road.  I mentioned the March schedule a while back.  It will make or break the Celtics' season in terms of playoff seeding.  Their 4 home games are no cake walk (Indiana, Washington, OKC and the dreaded Raptors.

Road games include Houston, Chicago, Minnesota, Orlando, New Orleans, Portland, Sacramental, Phoenix, and Utah.  There are 4 playoff teams among this group of games.

It has been good to get Marcus Smart back and he looks ready to go for it.  The entire team appears to be well rested and they are going to need to head out of town with defense on their minds.  Little by little, Brad is running a few plays for Monroe in the low post.  It seems strange to see a guy that deep in the post.  I like it as it adds another dimension that we have not had.

Regarding Theis, he is playing very well.  I think he may be our best P N R guy in terms of getting to the rim.  I think we will see him get more starts while Baynes is out but also I expect to see Morris get some starts when we play teams that do not have a behemoth at center.

During the time when Marcus was out Terry Rozier finally broke through the double digit scoring barrier.  I think he has earned a few more minutes.  

Marcus Smart is Brad's security blanket.  When things are getting rough he is the guy Brad goes to.  Now that Terry has increased his profile, the combination of Smart and Rozier is pretty dynamic.

Jaylen Brown is another player that may have taken another step.  Last night he scored in a variety of ways.  

Tatum has bounced back some but he is still struggling to shoot from deep and finish at the rim.  Tatum has a long way to go before he can finish through contact but he is getting a lot of valuable experience this year.

The Celtics will go as far as their young players take them (Smart, Rozier, Brown and Tatum)

Over the 13 game March schedule, I would like to see a 10-3 record (7-2 on the road and 3-1 at home)

dboss wrote:

Over the 13 game March schedule,  I would like to see a 10-3 record (7-2 on the road and 3-1 at home)

If they play 0.770 ball over, with three quarters of the games on the road, I'd be pretty happy too....

Shamrock1000 wrote:

dboss wrote:

Over the 13 game March schedule,  I would like to see a 10-3 record (7-2 on the road and 3-1 at home)

If they play 0.770 ball over, with three quarters of the games on the road, I'd be pretty happy too....

no doubt. I am looking for the Celtics to play well throughout the remaining regular season games.

I am going all in on Marcus Smart. People in the game comments called my apparent bluff. How can someone be judged on a game and a half, they asked.

The dude is in amazing shape. He lost whatever remained for body fat. His game is much faster. It is like car racing where they can modify cars and they race much better. I hate auto racing and am just trying to make a point.

He has a whole new body from last year. Just look at him.

He embarrassed himself in public forcing a speed up process for personal wisdom.

He can now power float to the rim like a young Dwyane Wade. His shooting was actually improving before the self-afflicted injury. It was his pg skills that were starting to go down the tubes.

I got into walking a few years back to lose a bit of weight. It got progressively easier as I got skinnier. The only side effect that could hurt Marcus is that he will have it a little bit tougher to get around picks. But it's better to have an athletic body and lose a little power than being a bigger Marcus Smart. Sully needed to do this.

This guy was picked sixth knowing he wasn't a great offensive player. I think he's back to looking more like the guy who might become the next Chauncey Billups. This is the Marcus Smart I thought had arrived to start the season.

Marcus Smart changes everything. It is so difficult to lose weight. He got it done. I called this a clean slate for him and the team. They look good.

I am not quite on the train with the Celtics.

They have a tendency of going back to hero ball verses a rotating offense with guys cutting to the basket for back door plays and toss and stuff passes.  Example was last night in the 4th Q 10minutes - 6 minutes left  until Brad called a time out with the Knicks closing.   Then thay went back to rotational play.

Not sure who calls the plays........however whenever isso play comes to dominate their game..........they lose.

They are a nice team but no killer where they can just shut the door on teams including marginal teams like the Knick's

112288

112288 wrote:I am not quite on the train with the Celtics.

They have a tendency of going back to hero ball verses a rotating offense with guys cutting to the basket for back door plays and toss and stuff passes.  Example was last night in the 4th Q 10minutes - 6 minutes left  until Brad called a time out with the Knicks closing.   Then thay went back to rotational play.

Not sure who is call the players........however whenever isso play comes to dominate their game..........they lose.

They are a nice team but no killer where they can just shut the door on teams including marginal teams like the Knick's

112288

You are very hard on them. They have the fourth best NBA record. I want to see them get 60 wins. That's my barometer. Who other than Golden State can one get on the train?

I'm just saying they have a legit puncher's chance. Stevens coached mediocre college talent to Cinderella seasons. There's no train to get on. The C's arrived once they went on that 16-2 run. Let's see how Monroe and Smart proceed. How is the Celtics roster not stacked? I'm only asking for an underdog's respect. I don't believe in any team but Golden State if forced to choose, but upsets happen. The Celtics are in the tier right below the Warriors. Haywood might come back.

112288,

Good points. We simply do not put teams away like we should. But perhaps this is due to our youth.


KJ