For Once This Season, The Celtics Executed Down The Stretch In The Fourth Quarter & Actually Won

 

    It's quite sad that it's come to this but the Celtics (26-26 overall, 16-10 home) squeaking by the Knicks (25-27 overall, 11-17 away) 101-99 tonight at the TD Garden was nevertheless a very notable result in the bottom of the Eastern Conference playoff picture. Boston trailed 73-70 going into the fourth quarter but thanks to guard Marcus Smart (17 points, 9 assists) who scored 14 points in the final stanza, they made winning plays for a change rather than falling apart like you read about. Shooting guard Jaylen Brown (game-high 32 points, 10 rebounds, 2 steals) was the best player on the floor while swingman Jayson Tatum nearly had a triple double (25 points, 10 rebounds, 8 turnovers) but not of the variety that you're looking for. 

    These mediocre clubs were tied in the standings coming into this evening so now the C's are a game up on the Knicks for seventh-place in the East. The crazy part is that with the win, Boston only trails fourth-place Charlotte (26-24) and fifth-place Atlanta (27-25) by a game. Can you feel the excitement? What a time to be alive! New York's lone All-Star power forward Julius Randle (22 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals) was held to 9-for-23 shooting from the field. Shooting guard RJ Barrett (team-high 29 points, 5 rebounds) was 6-of-6 on 3-pointers. The only other Knick to score in double-figures was the ghost of point guard Derrick Rose who scored 11 points off the bench. 

    The education of center Robert Williams continued as he bounced back from fouling out last night against Philadelphia (35-16) by grabbing 10 rebounds and blocking two shots. I made a snide comment about center Tristan Thompson's extended absence yesterday (due to Covid-19) but the joke is on me because he returned for the first time since March 14 and was a difference-maker off the bench for the C's. In 22 minutes, he had seven points, eight rebounds and three blocks. For a team that is really lacking in decent big guys, Thompson's return was much needed. Please stay home Tristan and stop going out (where the hell has he been frequenting in the pandemic?) so much!

    This game got off to a slow as Boston led 21-19 after the sleepy first quarter. Both offenses perked up in the second quarter as New York outscored them by one point (27-26) so the Celts were up by one point at halftime (47-46). The Knicks took the third quarter by four points (27-23) leaving the Green to be the heroes in the final 12 minutes. Boston had 14 more rebounds than New York (53-39) including 11 more defensive boards (16-5). The C's blocked three more shots (7-4), scored 10 more points in the paint (42-32) and they posted 13 more second chance points (20-7) than the Knicks.

    The Celtics have won three out of their last four games but they are still only 3-3 in the first six games of this season-high seven-game homestand. They have a great opportunity to end it on a winning note as they host the Timberwolves (13-39 overall, 5-22 road) aka the worst team in the NBA on Friday (7:30, NBC Sports Boston). As they have proven over and over again this season, no opponent is an automatic victory for the Celts therefore they better take Minnesota seriously-as wretched as they are in 2021. Be aware that center Karl-Anthony Towns and rookie No. 1 pick Anthony Edwards are each liable to go off for the T-Wolves. 

The Celtics Won't Play A Worse Game This Season Than Today's Gross 30-Point Loss To The Knicks

 

    Listen, we all have a bad day (or night) at work or just a crappy 24 hours overall. One of the infinite differences between us and professional athletes is that when they have a tough time on the job, it can be seen live and in color by a worldwide audience. This afternoon was one of those head-scratching occasions as the Knicks (6-8 overall, 4-4 road) came to TD Garden on a five-game losing streak and they promptly destroyed the Celtics (8-4 overall, 4-2 home) 105-75. For real, that occurred. Ironically, the C's had come in riding a five-game winning streak and I am pretty confident that this will be their biggest stinkbomb of 2021. Yes, they will play poorly many more times and lose their share of contests but given the mediocre at best competition and the way that they had been playing lately, it's hard to fathom a more unexplainable no-show than this. 

    It started out as a promising Sunday morning when Boston confirmed that point guard Kemba Walker (9 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, 5 turnovers in 20 minutes) would return to game action for the first time this season. Seeing him not look completely comfortable was expected (he was 3-for-13 from the field including a woeful 1-for-8 on 3s) but watching his teammates brick shot after shot was the stunning part. As a team, the Celts shot 29.8% from the field and 15.2% (7-for-46) on three-pointers which are a pair of percentages that you rarely ever witness in an NBA game. For everything that Boston did wrong, New York looked like a contender in the Eastern Conference for a brief moment. 

    The Knicks outscored the Celtics in every quarter including by 11 in the first (28-17) and 12 in the third (27-15). When New York built a big lead right away, you figured that an even more impressive answer was imminent by Boston except that it never even came close to actually happening. Head coach Tom Thibodeau's motley crew of misfits that will have to scrape by just to make the playoffs this spring were up 48-35 at halftime and they cruised from there with their highest scoring frame in the fourth (30-25) in the most smelly of garbage time at the Garden. 

    There wasn't one particular player that went crazy statistically for the Knicks but they had five guys score in double-figures led by power forward Julius Randle (20 points, 12 rebounds, 3 steals). Second-year shooting guard RJ Barrett (last year's No. 3 overall pick) added 19 points, 11 rebounds and two steals while journeyman small forward Reggie Bullock put up 11 points and seven rebounds. Two rookies (both 1st round picks) for New York were good off the bench as well: shooting guard Immanuel Quickley (17 points, 8 assists) scored 17+ points for the third game in a row and power forward Obi Toppin notched 12 points and five rebounds.  

    For the Celtics, star forward Jayson Tatum and center Robert Williams still remain out due to Covid-19 and their team looked completely lost without them, not that they probably would have made that much of a difference today. Shooting guard Jaylen Brown (25 points, 6 rebounds) got his requisite numbers but guard Marcus Smart (10 points, 2 steals) was the only other Celtic to reach double-figures but his hardly counts since he went a brutal 4-for-15 from the field including 0-for-7 on three-pointers. Whenever Tatum returns, Smart will go back to the bench where he belongs (as the very valuable 6th man) with Kemba rightfully starting in his place.  

    The only real good news to come out of this turd burger for the Celtics is that last time I checked, it only counted as one loss. I don't expect this to have any long-term ramifications but I guess we'll have to wait and note how they perform the next time out: on Wednesday (7, NBC Sports Boston) at Philadelphia (9-5). It's a two-game set with Sixers at the Wells Fargo Center with another matchup on Friday (7:30, NBC Sports Boston). The Sixers have suffered through their own Coronavirus outbreak but before that, they were playing great under new head coach Doc Rivers. Hey, I remember that guy! It'll be the first time that these rivals will meet since Boston swept them with ease in the first round of the bubble playoffs last year.