The Boston Celtics picked up a nice bounce-back win against the New York Knicks after losing in such a disappointing fashion at the buzzer Thursday night only to then blow them out Saturday by a final score of 99-74.
Unlike their last bout against this same squad, Boston was in complete control of the second half this time around and never gave New York a chance to cut into the lead.
Jaylen Brown was the star performer on the night in which he recorded his first career triple-double, finishing with 21 points, 11 boards, and 11 dimes on an efficient 9-15 shooting from the floor.
This is one of the first satisfying wins for the Boston Celtics in a while and is a good chance for them to build some momentum moving forward.
With this, here are some of the good, the bad, and the ugly from the blowout victory:
The good: The Boston Celtics maintained control of the game until the end
It is no secret that the Boston Celtics have been awful in the second half of games and that is especially true in the fourth quarter. Too many times this season the Cs have gone cold in crucial moments and given away games they previously had total control over.
Four of their 21 losses this season have come after blowing leads of 19 or more, including their previous game against the Knickerbockers.
Biggest leads by the Celtics in what became losses this season: 19, 19, 19 and now 25.
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) January 7, 2022
Teams with 25-point leads were 138-1 this season before tonight.
The Celtics were not interested in adding to that statistic Saturday night and were able to see off the Knicks with a complete second half on both ends of the floor.
On the offensive side of things, the ball was moving well, players were moving with purpose, and it was leading to good looks. They finished with 26 assists on 36 made baskets tonight and it’s no coincidence that the assist numbers are high when the offense doesn’t settle for too many isolation sets.
It wasn’t just their offense that allowed them to maintain control, however, but also their defense. They managed to hold New York to 18 or fewer points for the final three quarters of action.
Marcus Smart and Robert Williams III were the leaders on the defensive end and both filled up the stat sheet, with the former finishing with four steals and the latter finishing with four blocks.
The Time Lord’s defensive impact was felt all night and he made a contest on nearly every New York attempt inside.
The C’s will need to put up more balanced performances like this if they are to make a push in the standings before the playoffs.
The Bad: This game alone is not enough to spark a mid-season turnaround
The Boston Celtics played very well Saturday night and were able to dominate a depleted Knicks team. However, if they really want to turn things around they need to build off of this dominant win.
Boston has not found consistent play and has not been able to maintain momentum after good wins. They have only been able to manage a single three-game win streak this season due in large part to their inconsistency.
This win was definitely an encouraging one but it still doesn’t change the fact that they need a lot of work done.
The first thing they need to do is to replicate this type of performance against the Indiana Pacers in their next game. If they can prove that they are capable of playing team basketball, then fans will really have something to feel confident about.
The Celtics will likely still need to make some roster changes before things can really turn around because of their inconsistent track record.
In no way should Boston’s effort and performance against the Knicks be minimized because they did everything they were supposed to do, but until they make changes and find consistency this cycle will keep repeating itself.
The Ugly: The Knicks couldn’t buy a basket all night
The game wasn’t pretty by any stretch of the word and the New York Knicks were a major reason for that. They shot a poor 37 percent from the field and a measly 40 percent from the free-throw line.
Sure, certainly give the Boston Celtics a lot of credit for holding them down on offense, but let’s not pretend that some of the blame has to fall on the away team.
The Knicks only turned the ball over 12 times so it isn’t like they weren’t getting lots of shots up. They finished with 79 attempts on the game which was three more than what the shamrocks totaled, and they still lost by 24 points.
Julius Randle, RJ Barrett, and Alec Burks shot a combined 15-51 from the field and could never find any sort of rhythm.
New York is missing a few key players and it was clear that the ones who were available were a bit gassed from the extra workload.
It is always tough to pick up shorthanded road wins in the NBA but Saturday’s performance for the Knicks was as ugly as it gets after their 25-point comeback just two nights prior.