Jayson Tatum didn’t just put up numbers Friday night. He answered the noise.
After an uneven opener against Detroit stirred up doubts about how he’d look coming off a prolonged Achilles rehabilitation, Tatum looked like Boston’s franchise centerpiece again, pouring in 36 points to lift the Celtics over the defending champion New York Knicks, 107-103, at TD Garden.
The scoring came efficiently, too. Tatum finished 14-of-20 from the field and piled up 25 points after halftime, keeping Boston afloat and then carrying the Celtics through the tightest stretch of the night.
New York chipped away at what had been a 12-point Boston lead and closed within 99-98, threatening to flip the game in the fourth quarter. Tatum stopped that surge in its tracks.
He buried a 19-foot jumper with 1:11 left, then followed with the backbreaking step-back three-pointer. Seven of Boston’s final eight points came from Tatum, and that was the difference in a game that had turned tense late.
With Jaylen Brown now in Philadelphia, Boston needs even more from Tatum on offense, and Friday was a strong reminder of what he can still do when the lights get bright. The early-season questions that followed the Detroit game don’t disappear after one night, but this was the kind of performance that quiets them for the moment.
For the Celtics, it was more than a win. It was an early glimpse of what their new setup can lean on: Tatum controlling possessions, scoring with pace and precision, and closing the door when the game hangs in the balance.
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Celtics Just Exposed A Knicks Problem Fans Know Too Well
The Knicks opened their season with a pair of losses, first to the 76ers and then to the Celtics, and the second defeat laid bare a familiar issue for New York. Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby gave the Knicks solid stretches, but the offense never settled in, and the team spent too much of the night fighting its own mistakes instead of controlling the tempo.
Mikal Bridges early offensive slump has only made the margin for error thinner, especially when the Knicks are already struggling to play with urgency. Boston took advantage of those empty possessions and unsteady stretches, turning New Yorks inconsistency into the kind of game that leaves the Knicks searching for answers before the season has even really begun. [Read more 🡒]
Celtics Got The Win They Needed And Sparked A Rotation Debate
Boston got the kind of early-season win it needed, edging the Knicks in a game that carried a little extra weight for both sides after each was trying to avoid an 0-2 start. Jayson Tatum was central to the outcome, but the more interesting wrinkle for the Celtics came from the middle of the rotation, where Neemias Queta made his presence felt in a tight, physical matchup that never really loosened until late.
Quetas impact in the third quarter helped Boston seize momentum, giving the Celtics a different look in the frontcourt and adding energy on the glass and around the rim when the game was hanging in the balance. On the other side, Mitchell Robinson never found a steady rhythm for New York as foul trouble and an uneven outing limited his influence, and that contrast is likely to fuel the rotation conversation coming out of a win Boston badly needed. [Read more 🡒]
Celtics Escaped A Scare After One Knicks Reserve Caught Fire
The Celtics finally got into the win column, but it took a real fight to do it in a 107-103 victory over the Knicks at TD Garden. Boston had enough answers in the end, yet New York kept hanging around for much of the night thanks in large part to Deuce McBride, who gave the Celtics all kinds of trouble with his shot-making off the bench and helped keep the game tight deep into the fourth quarter.
Bostons late-game edge still showed up when it mattered most, with Jayson Tatum steadying the offense as the margin shrank. The Celtics needed those baskets to protect a lead that never felt fully safe, and the scare served as an early reminder that even a home opener against a division foe can turn into a grind before the final horn. [Read more 🡒]