The Celtics brought the heat in the second half of Saturday night’s game against the Knicks and It paid off in the end.
Boston started off slow, but emerged victorious with a 118-95 win over New York at Madison Square Garden, thanks in part to Kemba Walker’s monster night.
The guard struggled in the first two quarters but ended the night with 32 points. Jaylen Brown (19), Jayson Tatum (15), Marcus Smart (12) and rookie Carsen Edwards (10) all had double-digit points in the victory.
With the win, the Celtics moved to 2-1, while the Knicks fell to 0-3.
Here’s how it all went down:
STARTING FIVE
PG:Â Kemba Walker
SG:Â Jaylen Brown
SF:Â Jayson Tatum
PF:Â Gordon Hayward
C: Robert Williams
SLOW START FOR C’S
The Celtics got the first two points of the game on an easy bucket from Gordon Hayward, but the Knicks went on a 13-0 run to build a hefty lead in the opening minutes. Brown finally ended the drought with a two-handed dunk and Boston continued to chip away at its deficit, making the score 16-9.
The Celtics missed a plethora of shots, but did not go away quietly and cut the Knicks’ lead to one in the final two minutes before tying it 20-20 on a Smart three.
The C’s closed out the first with a 20-11 run to trim the Knicks’ lead to 24-22.
Brown led the C’s with seven points, while Smart had six off the bench.
KNICKS TAKE LATE LEAD INTO HALF
Boston took its first lead since its first shot of the opening quarter by going on a 7-0 run to begin the second. The Knicks answered back, but couldn’t quite regain the lead with the C’s pulling ahead 31-27 with some help from Robert Williams on the offensive side of the ball.
The Knicks were the ones playing catch-up throughout the second, but rookie Grant Williams stopped them from coming within four with a sweet block.
Boston couldn’t hold on to the lead, though, as New York went on an 8-0 run to end the second with a 51-46 advantage.
Walker led the Celtics with 11 points.
KEMBA HEATS UP
Tatum began the second half with a shot from beyond the arc and Walker continued to heat up, scoring 11 straight points to help the C’s pull even with the Knicks, 63-63.
The game remained close throughout the quarter, with Boston taking a 74-72 edge with 3:31 to go.
The Celtics continued to build their lead despite New York remaining right on their heels. But it was Boston that took an 82-76 lead into the final quarter.
Walker paced the C’s with 22 points through three quarters.
TACKO TIME
Another strong run to begin the quarter helped Boston pull ahead 90-76, including a 3-point shot from Smart.
Boston upped its lead to 100-85 halfway through the fourth before going up 18 on a Tatum shot from downtown followed by a two-handed slam.
It was all Boston for the rest of the game, with Walker continuing his strong second half and making it look easy as he upped his team’s lead to 103-85.
Tacko Fall checked into the game in the final three minutes and immediately made an impact with two rebounds and four points to help extend Boston’s lead.
The Knicks were in too far of a hole by that point, and dropped their third game of the season to remain winless.
PLAY OF THE GAME
*insert fire emoji*
UP NEXT
The Celtics return home to welcome the Milwaukee Bucks to Boston on Wednesday night. Tip off from TD Garden is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.
