Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum had what may have been his best performance of the season as he tallied 30 points (on 10-23 shooting from the field), six rebounds, seven assists, two steals and two blocks on his way to leading the Celtics to a double-digit win over the New York Knicks.
Knocking down timely 3-balls, of which he was 5-11 for the night, Tatum’s output was nearly matched by wing Jaylen Brown’s 28 points (on 11-18 shooting from the field), five rebound, one steal and one assist.
Boston, however, trailed for most of the second half despite the contributions of the Jays.
In large part because New York native Kemba Walker struggled from the field for the second straight game, scoring 16 points on 33% from the field and three, continuing a pattern of poor shooting against longer teams.
Fortunately for Boston they were able to outscore the Knicks, who have been playing a bevy of big men, by 21 points outside the arc. That seems to have been the difference for the two teams, as New York got a strong performance from both Julius Randle and Dennis Smith Jr. (43 combined points), who continued to test the Celtics’ interior defense.
Boston is now 14-5.
