New York took away Boston’s competitive will in a dominant performance where they held the Celtics below 30 until only three minutes remained in the first half and below 50 until minutes remained in the third quarter well after the game was no longer in doubt. While star Jalen Brunson took a bit of a backseat in the opening 1.5 quarters, Karl-Anthony Towns and the far hungrier Knicks kept the Celtics out of the paint and forced a large amount of misses from distance while punishing them on the offensive end with impunity. New York’s hustle throughout the first half was rewarded with 10 offensive rebounds, 4 steals, and 3 blocks that bolstered their moderate shooting and led to an overwhelming advantage in rebounds and field goal attempts. Boston’s remaining superstar Jaylen Brown fouled out with over 14+ minutes left in the game.
New York received balanced and potent efforts from its starters. Towns (21 points and 12 rebounds), Mikal Bridges (22 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 blocks), and Brunson (23 points, 6 assists, and 6 rebounds) got great support from Josh Hart (10 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists) - who got a gritty triple-double - and OG Anunoby (23 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks). Deuce McBride (10 points and 1 blocks) figured prominently in the first half detonation. Tom Thibodeau kept some of his starters in for extended garbage time in the fourth quarter.
Brown (20 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and 7 turnovers) had nearly 50% of Boston’s production in the first half beatdown from New York, while their starting guards Jrue Holiday and Derrick White shot an identical 1-for-7 in the first two quarters.
A frenzied pace carried the first quarter, as the teams traded blows over the first handful of minutes. Boston’s Brown tried to carry the playmaking for his team, while New York had a more egalitarian approach. While the points, as expected, were hard to come by, the teams ended up in the foul bonus halfway through the stanza. Towns was the frequent recipient of New York’s hustle to get into double digit scoring. With Boston’s outside shooting being inconsistent and their starting guards held scoreless, New York took advantage to get themselves a 26-20 lead after one.
A 7-0 run from New York to start the second period extended their lead to 13, and the non-Brown Celtics continued to struggle mightily to hit anything of consequence. The Knicks made them pay at the other end by relentlessly attacking the paint and on kickouts with little resistance. Brunson’s pair of floaters and stepback inflated the lead to 24. Even after Brown blocked an Anunoby attempt, McBride outhustled the Celtics to run down the carom and throw down a two-handed dunk. New York went to halftime up 27.
A pair of three pointers by White portended a good second half start for Boston, but that was short-lived, as New York got their scoring in threes - from behind the arc and on and-1s. Towns’ and-1 over Al Horford made it a 37-point game. To add insult to injury, Brunson drew a fifth foul on Brown midway through the stanza.
**Observations**
* Playoff games at the Garden are a necessity. In the last minute of the first half, chants of “_F\*\*\* you. Boston_” broke out. After their opening salvo in the third, the chants turned to “_Knicks in six._” In the final minutes, the screams turned into “_P.J. Tucker!_”
* **Sequence of the Game #1**: Anunoby notched the second of his two early blocks, and the Knicks scurried upcourt to find an open Bridges in the deep right corner - his transition three made it 11-5.
* **Sequence of the Game #2**: With most of the New York defenders marking him, Brown dropped off a nice pass late in the first half to Luke Kornet for a dunk an and-1.
* **Sequence of the Game #3**: Late in the opening half, McBride erased a White layup attempt, and Hart absorbed a bump in transition to knock down an impressive and-1.
* Bridges’ three-point stroke looks slightly different each time.
* Having not seen much of Towns post-trade, his energy level on the defensive boards was noticeable.
* After Brunson’s pair of second quarter buckets, my wife says “_he’s a bulldog isn’t he?_”
**Game Rundown**
From the tip, a hesitant Brown bricked a very open three and then tossed an errant pass out of bounds. Towns and Bridges converted difficult paint buckets for New York’s first field goals, but Brown steadied himself by hiting a three and transition lay-up to put Boston up. The tightly contested shots and deflections occurred on nearly every possession and stoked the Garden fans’ fervor. Towns’ three was waved off as the officials whistled him for a leg kick. Celtics’ reserve Sam Hauser picked up two fast fouls. Bridges picked up his second foul moments later. which brought in Mitchell Robinson and the Hack-a-\_\_\_\_\_\_ treatment. Brown’s pull-up three brought the Celtics within one. Towns, Josh Hart, and Anunoby were a handful on the boards. After what seemed like yet another Knick offensive rebound, Towns knocked down a wing three, and Boston left the first down six.
New York put up a quick flurry behind McBride’s three and Bridges’ banker to push the lead to 11. Towns crossed over a suddenly ineffective Al Horford to make it 33-20. White’s first points came 15+ minutes into action, but was quickly answered by an Anunoby three. Halfway through the frame, Boston was shooting a putrid 3-for-16 from three, while the Knicks sat on a 16-point lead. After Kornet’s manly and-1, Hart flew past him at the other end for a lay-up. Brunson and Towns proceeded to muscle their way into a handful of baskets to maintain pressure on the reeling Celtics. The Knicks’ end to the half? Despite Brunson’s pass bouncing off of Towns’ leg, he merely re-directed the ball to McBride in the corner for a swish - 64-37 Knicks.
Coming out of the break, White connected for a pair of threes to restore a glimmer of hope to Boston. The officials missed a Horford kick of the ball, and Bridges hit a fadeaway jumper in the lane. After Brown was whistled for an offensive foul, Brunson knocked down a stepback three on the Celtic seconds later and the onslaught continued in earnest.