Brunson, Knicks too much for Celtics
New York star drops 39 points in rout
The Celtics entered Thursday’s game against the Knicks with just three home losses all season. For the most part, fans at TD Garden have been treated to an incredibly enjoyable experience.
But there are apparently limits to everything. With 47.4 seconds left in the third quarter and the Celtics getting throttled by New York, coach Joe Mazzulla pulled his starters from the game, and there were boos.
The booing returned when Knicks guard Jalen Brunson went to the foul line moments later, but these were solely to drown out the ‘MVP’ chants he was receiving, a rare sound for a visiting player here.
Brunson scored 39 points in just three quarters and the Knicks crushed the Celtics with their effort, hot shooting, and physical play that probably left some marks, rolling to a 118-109 win. New York pushed to a 31-point second-half lead before the Celtics’ third string made a late rally.
“Obviously, we got booed at the end for a reason,” Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis said. “This is not the team that our fans love, this wasn’t displayed. But, best believe we’re going to show up when we need to.”
The Celtics, of course, clinched the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference weeks ago and may have struggled to muster motivation for this game. They appeared a step slow. Several times, the Knicks had time to line up a 3pointer, think about it, and loft it toward the rim before a Celtics player even bothered stepping forward.
The Knicks (48-32), meanwhile, continue to fight for playoff seeding and looked very much like a team that is still playing for something. New York pounded the Celtics on the offensive glass, registering 22 secondchance points and 56 points in the paint.
“We’re kind of expecting the ball to bounce in our direction,” Celtics forward Jaylen Brown said. “Other teams [are] just jumping over our backs and we’re just kind of watching. We’ve got to be better at that.”
The Celtics were also dominated by the Bucks on Tuesday night, and it remains to be seen if anything that transpired this week is cause for alarm. The Celtics generally did not seem to think so.
Mazzulla acknowledged that the effort level was not great during the first half.
“But I think it’s just a tough spot to be in,” he said. “I think our guys have handled that as best they could. Our last two games were against two teams that were highly, highly desperate, and as much as we want to be able to simulate that, that’s just not the position that we’re in.”
Mazzulla expressed to both his team and to reporters afterward that he did not mind this week’s results, however.
“I think it’s important,” he said. “Going in with a bunch of wins and feeling good about yourself isn’t any better than having a little bit of a bloody lip because of a game.”
Even though two games remain, it is unlikely that all five Celtics starters will take the court together again until the playoffs begin. Regardless, Game 1 will not arrive until April 21. The rhythm will probably just have to be regained at the team’s practice facility.
If there is a potential silver lining from this result for the
Celtics it is that with this win, the third-place Knicks extended their lead over the fourth-place Cavaliers to a full game with just two remaining. If New York stays in that spot, it could not face the Celtics until the conference finals.
Porzingis said the Celtics tried to bring the necessary intensity to the start of the game, but he admitted that the reality of the setting was impossible to ignore.
“It’s tough,” he said. “We cannot, like, trick ourselves into that kind of mode. It’s realistically very tough.”
The Celtics trailed, 47-45, midway through the second quarter when the Knicks created separation by continuing to dominate the Celtics on the backboards. New York held a 17-2 edge in second-chance points in the opening half and took 20 more shots than Boston did.
Over a 70-second stretch, Bojan Bogdanovic drilled a 3pointer from the left corner before Brunson connected on consecutive 3-pointers, including a 4-point play, helping the Knicks open up a 64-45 lead.
They led by 18 early in the third quarter before Brunson made a pair of 3-pointers to cap an 8-0 run. The Celtics never made a serious push again, and Brunson made sure of that. He scored however he wished, whenever he wished, carving through the lane for floaters or lining up demoralizing longrange darts.
He made 8 of 10 shots in the quarter and scored 21 points, helping the Knicks take a 10071 lead going into the fourth. Boston’s starters were done for the night by then, booed to the bench and left to watch the rest.
“I think we have to take this as a kick in our [butts] and, ‘Come on, let’s go,’” Porzingis said. “Let’s turn it up, let’s have good practices, good games, finish strong and head into the postseason with a killer mentality.”