Celtics get their 8th win in a row against Knicks

Jaylen Brown’s 30 PTS Helps Celtics with 116-102 victory over Knicks

With 30 points from Jaylen Brown and 22 from Kristaps Porzingis, the NBA-leading Boston Celtics defeated the New York Knicks 116-102 on Saturday night to win eight games in a row.

Derrick White had 13 points and Jayson Tatum scored 19 for the Celtics, who have won 10 of their previous 11 games.

During the Knicks’ four-game season series sweep by Boston, Jalen Brunson scored 34 points on 12-for-25 shooting from the field and 4-for-9 from 3-point range, while Josh Hart added 16 points.

Boston had a 4-point lead early in the second half, but an All-Star combination of Brown and Tatum, together with Knicks first-round selection Porzingis, launched a 30-point run that put the game out of reach.

Payton Pritchard snagged his 100th career steal at the 9:53 mark of the 2nd quarter tonight in New York

Following two free throws by Isaiah Hartenstein to bring New York’s deficit to 67-61, Porzingis and Tatum connected on consecutive 3-pointers to increase the lead to 73-66. At 8:21 in the third quarter, the Knicks were forced to call a timeout as a result.

After New York turned the ball over, Brown made a three-pointer to respond. Brunson was then fouled while trying a three-point shot, and he made all three of his free throws to make the final score 76-69.

The Knicks and Celtics traded baskets with 3:53 remaining in the first, but Porzingis’ 3-pointer from the top of the key sparked a 10–0 run, and Brown concluded it with a layup to increase the advantage to 88-71.

After baskets from Hart and Brunson, Boston answered with a 9-0 run that was capped by a 3-pointer from Tatum to make it 97-77 with 1:30 remaining in the quarter. The visiting supporters let out loud cries of “Let’s Go Celtics!” throughout this sequence.

With 9:17 remaining in the third quarter and a 13-2 run to start the fourth, the Knicks mounted a comeback, bringing the score within 99-90 thanks to a jumper by Bojan Bogdanovic.

However, with 4:43 remaining in regulation, the Celtics extended their lead to 109-90 by going on a 10-0 run, taking advantage of three Knicks mistakes and six missed attempts.

With 10 points in the first quarter, Brown helped the Boston take a 30-36 lead at the half. He scored ten more points in the second quarter, helping Boston lead 62–58 at the break. In the first half, the Celtics shot 42.9 percent from beyond the 3-point arc and 66.7% from the field.