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Celtics Wrap: Boston Cruises Past Knicks 128-100 To Push Win Streak To Four

NESN by Joshua Schrock on Thu, Dec 6, 2018 at 10:25PM
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BOSTON — The last time the Boston Celtics saw the New York Knicks, Trey Burke was carving them up for 29 points in a Knicks win at TD Garden.

Thursday night went a little differently on the parquet floor.

Boston stormed out to an early lead behind Kyrie Irving and some hot shooting and the Knicks never were able to recover, as Boston strolled to a 128-100 win at TD Garden.

The Celtics got contributions from almost everyone on the roster. Irving led all scorers with 22 points, while Al Horford (19), Jaylen Brown (21), Jayson Tatum (17), Terry Rozier (11), Marcus Morris (10) and Daniel Theis (10) also scored in double figures.

With the win, the Celtics improve to 14-10, while the Knicks fall to 8-18.

Here’s how it all went down.

STARTING FIVE
PG: Kyrie Irving
SG: Marcus Smart
SF: Jayson Tatum
PF: Marcus Morris
C: Al Horford

LITTLE SEPARATION
Boston opened the first quarter by shooting 66 percent from the floor in the opening five minutes to take an early 14-9 lead.

The Celtics’ lead oscillated between three and seven for most of the period. The Knicks threatened to grab the lead late in the stanza as a Mitchell Robinson dunk cut the C’s lead to 30-27. But the Celtics closed the quarter on an 8-3 run, getting four points from Theis, two from Gordon Hayward and two from Brown to take a 38-30 lead into the second quarter.

Irving led all scorers with nine points, while Tatum and Brown each netted seven. Tim Hardaway Jr. and Enes Kanter paced the Knicks with six apiece.

The Celtics got some bad news in the quarter as Aron Baynes left the game with a sprained ankle and did not return.

CELTICS EXTEND THE LEAD
The Knicks made a run to open the second quarter, as Kevin Knox scored five points in the first 2:26 of the frame to cut the lead to three.

But Boston answered quickly with Rozier drilling back-to-back 3-pointers to push the lead to 49-40 with 8:36 left in the half.

The Celtics’ lead sat at five with a little over three to play when Boston made an end of the half push. First, Smart drove into the paint and found Horford for an alley-oop. After a Hardaway missed a jumper, Tatum got into the lane and hit Horford with a slick pass under the hoop for an and-1 to push the C’s edge to eight.

The two sides traded baskets to end the half, as the Celtics took a 69-58 lead into the locker room.

Tatum and Brown were the high men in the half with 12 points each, while Kanter and Noah Vonleh led New York with 10 points apiece.

MORE OF THE SAME
Neither side could gain much of an edge to start the third quarter. The Celtics grew their lead to 14 to open the stanza but the Knicks were able to battle back and cut the lead to 87-79 with under five to play in the frame.

The Celtics held off New York’s rally, though, finishing the frame on a 12-5 run. With Boston leading by seven with 3:04 left in the third, Horford grabbed a defensive rebound and slung an outlet pass to Irving. The star guard sprinted up court stopped on a dime and drilled a triple to push the lead back to double digits.

Boston held a 99-84 lead after three quarters. Irving was the high man with 20 points through three, while Horford added 19. Emmanuel Mudiay and Hardaway paced the Knicks with 17 apiece.

NO COMEBACK IN THE CARDS
The fourth quarter largely was without drama as the Celtics’ lead never dipped below the 10-point mark in the final frame. Each time the Knicks threatened to make a run, Boston was able to answer with Rozier’s 3-pointer at the 4:30 mark that stretched the lead to 17 serving as the final dagger.

PLAY OF THE GAME
JEEEEEEZ.

UP NEXT
The Celtics will hit the court next Saturday when they visit the Chicago Bulls. Tip-Off from United Center is set for 8 p.m. ET.

112288

A different approach to the game since 2.5 weeks ago.

Pushing the ball up court, more passing, more touch by many, attacking the paint = winning basketball!

Irving is passing more then taking hero shots = a good sign!

BTW 7 Celtic players were in double figures tonight.

112288

Every player was on the plus side of+-. Horford with 4 blocks. Brown even hit his freebies.Sweet game. Hayward with some nice assists. My boy , MM, was due for a down game from 3. Excellent all around effort . They really seem to be playing more relaxed and the extra practice time from the light schedule is a plus.

I believe we may have had a season high on assists tonight. Smart in the starting lineup was the best thing to happen to this team. Teams have to have specialist in some areas instead of just scorers, Smart adds it to the first unit and Hayward adds it to the second unit. Love it.

Jaylen at his best last night offensively: Give me the ball. I'm going inside, driving to the hoop. No one can stop me, and I want to take and make foul shots too.

We need to see more of this guy. Good D as always.

I HAVE BEEN PREACHING DRIVING TO THE HOOP FOR 2.5 YEARS NOW ON THIS BOARD............FINALLY STEVENS GETS ITS, AND SO DOES HIS PLAYERS!

THIS IS NOT THE SAME TEAM FROM 2 WEEKS AGO REGARDING SHOT SELECTION AND PASSING.

LET US SEE IF THEY CAN CONTINUE THIS STYLE OR GO BACK TO HEAVING 3 POINT BRICKS!

"FUNDAMENTAL WINNING BASKETBALL STRATEGY HAS REMAINED THE SAME SINCE 1947..........ATTACK THE PAINT AND THE BASKET................ONLY THE NEXT BOY WONDER WANNABE GURU STRATEGY CHANGES FOR HIS 15 MINUTES OF FAME "...........112288

112288

"FUNDAMENTAL WINNING BASKETBALL STRATEGY HAS REMAINED THE SAME SINCE 1947..........ATTACK THE PAINT AND THE BASKET................ONLY THE NEXT BOY WONDER WANNABE GURU STRATEGY CHANGES FOR HIS 15 MINUTES OF FAME."


To whom is this quote attributable?

112288 wrote:I HAVE BEEN PREACHING DRIVING TO THE HOOP FOR 2.5 YEARS NOW ON THIS BOARD............FINALLY STEVENS GETS ITS, AND SO DOES HIS PLAYERS!  

THIS IS NOT THE SAME TEAM FROM 2 WEEKS AGO REGARDING SHOT SELECTION AND PASSING.

LET US SEE IF THEY CAN CONTINUE THIS STYLE OR GO BACK TO HEAVING 3 POINT BRICKS!

"FUNDAMENTAL WINNING BASKETBALL STRATEGY HAS REMAINED THE SAME SINCE 1947..........ATTACK THE PAINT AND THE BASKET................ONLY THE NEXT BOY WONDER WANNABE GURU STRATEGY CHANGES FOR HIS 15 MINUTES OF FAME "...........112288

112288

Celtics took 38 3 pt shots last night.

A very sound game as has been mentioned. Lots of quality stats in many areas.

Against a pretty weak opponent, but the Knicks were the same team they were two weeks ago when they beat the Cs.

A couple of extra practices and a little rest helped, but the new starting lineup is the main reason for such a different style of play in the last four games.

Here is the game flow.  We lead wire to wire.

bobheckler wrote:I thought they let those bums hang around a little too long, they let it get down into single-digits, but otherwise there was a lot to like about this game (the sushi and sake at Ozumas was pretty good too!).

53% fg% on 92 fgas.  Both are phenomenal numbers.  There is nothing to not like about them.

38 3pt fgas out of 92 total fgas is 41%.  That's a pretty high %, and shooting 34% 3pt fg% is not particularly good, but you can get away with it when you take that many fgas.  What bothers me is that NY got 91 fgas.  I know, I know, we won by 28 but next time we might not get 92 fgas.  Will our defense step up when we don't?

Jaylen is back!  21 points on 7-10 in 25 minutes.  He'll be back in the starting lineup if he shoots like that.  ALL of his points were in the paint, not just no 3ptrs, in the paint.  When he uses his size and athleticism like that he is very effective.  When he tries to be Kyle Korver, not so much.

Not that Smart hasn't done a heckuva job as a starter.  He didn't have a good shooting game (2-8, 0-5 from 3) but he had 7 assists and zero turnovers.  He's turned into a Quinn Buckner type of guard.  A good floor general (how many of us questioned if he could cut it as a point guard in his first few years?) and a ferocious defender.  For those who don't remember Quinn, or who remembered him as a non-shooting guard, he was also a winner at every level he competed at:  Indiana High School Champion, NCAA National Champion @ IU, Olympic Gold Medalist, World Champion Boston Celtic.

Why don't defenders get right up onto Hardaway, Jr?  I mean, RIGHT up on him.  He'll shoot from anywhere.  If he gets past you there will be rotation help but if he heats up, like he did last night, he goes unconscious.  The only thing that he does probably better than anybody else in the NBA (except maybe for Korver) is shoot 3s.

26 fast break points.  That's the counterbalance to the 39 points from 3s.  LOVE the uptempo.

The ball movement was beautiful last night.  We need to keep that up.  It wears teams out when they're running after the ball like chickens with their heads cut off while we're standing at the arc and just moving the ball.  "Move the ball or move yourself" - Tommy Heinsohn.

58 points in the paint.  Love that too.  It was all clicking last night.

Pretty much everybody looked good last night but Horford was a monster.  4 blocks, including a beauty on Kanter point blank.

14-10.  Better.  The 2x4s propping up the sky are still holding...

http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401071046






bob




.

And now Quinn is the biggest homer announcing basketball for Indiana.

Bob, reading your posts is almost as much fun as watching Jaylen drive to the basket. So glad that someone got in his ear and said "Score! Whatever way you can, but score."

When his shot is not falling it's better to score in the paint. Sure glad his handle is improving as is his frito shooting. 7-9 is a welcome change. More Celtics should be taking it to the rim and getting fritos.

By the way, my gal Kathleen is still using the Argan oil from Morocco you gave her and really appreciates it. I bought a new engine - a Suzuki 200HP four stroke for our new AquaSport 225,
and we are finally starting to recover stuff - weather permitting. Four foot seas and 20 mph winds have kept us ashore lately.

Jaylen 14-19 fg in his last 2 games. McHale had an interesting point recently, he was saying that young players have to find what they do well and keep on doing what can work, make the game simple. Jaylen can drive and we as a team were not doing enough of that, keep on driving and be the guy that gets to the line, punish the other 2nd units....

Bob Smart is a much more impactful defender and better offensive player too that Quin Buckner, for 2 guards that can’t shoot...

Did he win a championship with C’s? Don’t remember seeing him on floor barely/much on any of those teams.

Quinn averaged 10 min pg. 1.2 trb, and 3.1 ppg in three playoff seasons with the Celts.
82-83
83-84
84-85

https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/bucknqu01.html

Bob, water telps are dropping to the 60's down below. Visibility is decent. However, it's too windy to venture out.

Here's what I saw...

1) Assist/FGM = 65%, basically 2 out of 3. 3 out of 4 is usually the upper end of that stat.
2) 20 free throw attempt vs. 20 for NY. Driving to the hoop.
3) If I'm doing the math right, our two point field goals attempted/fgm= 36/58=62%!!. Has to be
mostly lay ups or great mid range shooting or both. You won't lose any games shooting 62%
inside the beltline.
4) 3pt% @ 34%, right around league average of 35%. I can live with that.
5) JB 7/9 from the stripe. Only one driving to the hoop.

Again, Insert Mr. Wolf's quote from the Bonnie Situation scene here. This was against the hapless Knicks. And the even more hapless Bulls are up next. But as long as we keep winning and those above us are beating each other up, it's the only way to get to the top.

Detroit vs. Phila, GSW v. MIL while we wait. This means DET or PHI will have the same number of loses in the loss column as us after tonight and maybe GSW can knock off MIL and give them 8 loses. Need to keep winning though. Otherwise moving up won't happen.

On Inside the NBA last night, Charles Barkley, (who can't predict his way out of a paper bag) literally just gave us 1st place in the east when he was asked where we would finish...He said 3rd. Thanks, Charles!!

db

Let me begin by saying, all those claiming a big change in style and some grand epiphone that was found in the past few weeks by Coach Stevens are clearly seeing what they want to see.  All the current streak proves was that this team needed time to gel.  They are still shooting 3s at a record rate - the difference is the ball is hitting the paint first and they are spreading the floor before shooting.  They will be fine, as I have said all along - PATIENCE is all they need.

Great game by Jaylen who is already showing exactly what I talked about in the other thread - that he needs to show his athleticism and drive and shoot ability to take the next step.  He was aggressive and decisive last night and anchored the second unit perfectly.  Very few starters in the NBA can deal with Jaylen - even fewer bench players can deal with his power and strength.  Stay aggressive young fella.

Rest of the team looked solid.  Kyrie is playing great and so is Hayward and Tatum.  Horford was quiet at first and then came alive and put the team over the top.  

A bit concerned with the Baynes sprain, hoping it is only a minor twist.

On the right track....keep it going men.

Baynes ankle may mean the Rook could see the floor for a few games.

Shamrock1000 wrote:

112288 wrote:I HAVE BEEN PREACHING DRIVING TO THE HOOP FOR 2.5 YEARS NOW ON THIS BOARD............FINALLY STEVENS GETS ITS, AND SO DOES HIS PLAYERS!  

THIS IS NOT THE SAME TEAM FROM 2 WEEKS AGO REGARDING SHOT SELECTION AND PASSING.

LET US SEE IF THEY CAN CONTINUE THIS STYLE OR GO BACK TO HEAVING 3 POINT BRICKS!

"FUNDAMENTAL WINNING BASKETBALL STRATEGY HAS REMAINED THE SAME SINCE 1947..........ATTACK THE PAINT AND THE BASKET................ONLY THE NEXT BOY WONDER WANNABE GURU STRATEGY CHANGES FOR HIS 15 MINUTES OF FAME "...........112288

112288

Celtics took 38 3 pt shots last night.

They were 13/38 or 34% which sucks.  If they did not attack the paint and score easy buckets, they would have lost the game as the Knicks were hanging around for a long period of time.  Also that is a misleading stat of 38 3 point attempts as many  3 pointers were attempted well after the game was decided and it did not matter anymore, so you go heave happy and see what you can score. BTW The Celtics team average is 34 shots per game.

112288

The game looked closer than it was.

I thought the Celtics still settled for the 3 ball way too much.  However they did other things on offense to make up for a poor shooting night from behind the arc.  Diversity in their offense helps to make up for areas that are a bit rough.

They scored 26 points on fast breaks to their 7 and won the battle in the paint 58-36.  Overall they shot the ball very (49-92 or 53.3%)
well despite their poor 3 point shooting (13-38 34%)

Defensively they turned them over 17 times and held them under 40% from the field.

The Celtics got a lot of offense across the board with 7 players in double figures.  The Celtics won every QTR.

It was nice to see Jaylen Brown return and he actually picked up from where he left off in terms of getting to the rim and finishing.  He is still struggling from deep.

I thought GH was way too passive.

Horford with a rare double double (his second one this season)

Morris could not find his range going 0-7 from deep.  Our other Marcus went 0-5 from deep but the shots were mostly within the offense.  

Tatum was 7-11 for 17 points and 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.  He played 26 minutes.

How does Brad figure out the minutes on this team?  Should he use the process of osmosis?

It is pretty obvious who is playing well and who is not.  I would like to see minutes distributed accordingly.

This team still has a long way to go but they are looking better each game.  They have now won 5-6 and their 5.4 point differential continues to increase and puts them at #3 in the east and #6 overall.  Next up the Bulls tomorrow night along with their new coach.  I expect Williams to be activated.

mrkleen09 wrote:Let me begin by saying, all those claiming a big change in style and some grand epiphone that was found in the past few weeks by Coach Stevens are clearly seeing what they want to see.  All the current streak proves was that this team needed time to gel.  They are still shooting 3s at a record rate - the difference is the ball is hitting the paint first and they are spreading the floor before shooting.  They will be fine, as I have said all along - PATIENCE is all they need.

Great game by Jaylen who is already showing exactly what I talked about in the other thread - that he needs to show his athleticism and drive and shoot ability to take the next step.  He was aggressive and decisive last night and anchored the second unit perfectly.  Very few starters in the NBA can deal with Jaylen - even fewer bench players can deal with his power and strength.  Stay aggressive young fella.

Rest of the team looked solid.  Kyrie is playing great and so is Hayward and Tatum.  Horford was quiet at first and then came alive and put the team over the top.  



A bit concerned with the Baynes sprain, hoping it is only a minor twist.

On the right track....keep it going men.

Agreed that’s the way Jaylen can play, needs to play.

I thought Hayward was tentative and would like to see him attacking more.

Kleen

I do not think the team has gelled yet but they are playing better collectively. The thing that stands out for me is that 3 point attempts remain high but they are doing other things offensively.

You know I am a big proponent of fast break basketball and scoring in the paint. What seems to be happening now is more diversity in the way that they score the basketball.

I am not impressed with the 5-6 run here because they played 3 of the worse teams in the NBA (Hawks, Cavs and Knicks) and 2 average teams in NOLA and T'Wolves) These are games that they are supposed to win.

It is however a very positive sign they they are starting to play better. There next 5 games are against Chicago, NOLA (H), Washington, Atlanta (H) and Detroit. They should win all 5 of those games. Then they finally get some home cooking with 4 games at home. That will be the first time this year that they play 4 straight at home (Phoenix, Milwaukee, Charlotte and Philadelphia (XMAS)