Field Level Media
Dec 1, 2019
The Boston Celtics scored 12 unanswered points late in the fourth quarter Sunday afternoon to overtake the host New York Knicks and earn a 113-104 win.
The Celtics have won three of four. The Knicks have lost a season-high six straight.
Jayson Tatum scored a game-high 30 points for the Celtics, including the run-capping 3-pointer that gave them a 104-95 lead. Jaylen Brown scored 28 points, including six straight for Boston in the final 2 1/2 minutes.
Enes Kanter, who played 115 games the previous two seasons for the Knicks, had 11 points and 11 rebounds, while Kemba Walker (16 points) and Brad Wanamaker (11 points) also scored in double figures.
Julius Randle scored 26 points for the Knicks, who received 17 points from Dennis Smith Jr., 16 points from RJ Barrett, 11 points from Kevin Knox II and 10 points from Damyean Dotson.
The teams were tied 58-58 after a first half in which they combined for 10 ties and 17 lead changes. Barrett and Randle combined to open the third quarter on a 6-0 run for the Knicks, who scored 15 of the half's first 21 points to extend their lead to nine with 6:38 remaining in the period.
The Celtics didn't tie the game again until Semi Ojeleye hit a 3-pointer to even the score at 95-95 with 6:33 left in the game. Randle missed a 3-pointer on the Knicks' next possession, after which coach David Fizdale called timeout. But Brown stole the ball from Dotson out of the timeout and converted the layup to give Boston the lead for good with 5:52 remaining.
Randle's miss marked the first of four straight misfires by the Knicks, a span in which Tatum hit 1-of-2 free throws and Walker and Tatum sank 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to extend the Celtics' lead to 104-95. New York never got closer than six the rest of the way.
--Field Level Media