Defeated by a buzzer shot from RJ Barrett in New York on Thursday, the Celtics took their revenge with success 99-75 over New York at TD Garden on Saturday night.
Jaylen Brown for the occasion signed his first career triple-double with 22 points (9/15), 11 rebounds and 11 assists. Jayson Tatum finished with 19 points (6/14, 3 rebounds, 1 assist), Josh Richardson 17 and Robert Williams 12 points, 7 rebounds and 4 blocks. Led early in the game (26-21 New York after 12 minutes, and a gap of up to 10 points in favor of the Knicks) the team broke away in a big 3rd quarter and did not – this time, it had a 25-point lead before falling 108-105 at the Thursday buzzer – not let his lead slip away.
R.J. Barrett finished leading scorer for the Knicks (6/15 in free throws, against 15/17 for Boston) with 19 points, Julius Randle has signed 13 points and 12 rebounds. Led by only 2 points (44-42) at half-time thanks to a tap of Mitchell Robinson after a missed shot from Barrett 0.9 seconds from the buzzer, New York then conceded a 32-18 in the third quarter. The C’s started the period 10-2 and returned 11 of 19 shots, including a 3-pointer from Brown for the +16, 76-60. The team kept pace to start the 4th, with two consecutive 3-points signed Richardson and Tatum for the +22, 82-60.
Evan Fournier, 41 points in the previous game, did not play (thigh).
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