Jayson Tatum absolutely saved the day for the Celtics on Friday night, dropping 36 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists to lead them to a 107-103 victory over the defending champion New York Knicks. Talk about starting the season with a statement! This dude took over in the fourth quarter, delivering two clutch buckets that put the whole league on notice.
First Half Foul Fest and Rebounding Woes
The game kicked off with the Celtics rolling out their usual starting five: Derrick White, Paul George, Jordan Walsh, Jayson Tatum, and former Knick Mitchell Robinson. But things got dicey real fast. Robinson picked up two quick fouls and had to sit just three minutes into the game, with Neemias Queta stepping in. Honestly, it felt like a total hack show for the Celtics in the early going. The Knicks were in the bonus by the 7:25 mark in the first quarter, which is just brutal. The C’s trailed 27-26 by the end of the first, with Tatum putting up 7 points, 5 boards, and 2 assists, but literally no one else had more than one field goal. You gotta spread that offense around, right?
The second quarter saw a bit of a spark when Luka Garza dropped two buckets, including an offensive rebound put-back and a three-pointer, to put Boston up by four. The defense was flying around, which is always good to see, but the offense just wasn’t clicking. Payton Pritchard couldn’t get anything going, and turnovers plagued the team. It was a low-scoring quarter, but Paul George came through with a buzzer-beater to send the Celtics into the half up by a single point, 50-49. At the break, Tatum was leading the charge with 11 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists, while Queta had 7 points and 4 boards, even if he was only 2-6 from the field. But the biggest problem? The defensive glass was a mess. The Knicks snagged an insane 42.9% offensive rebounding rate in the first half. That’s just bad.
Second Half Surge and Clutch Time Tatum Magic
The Celtics’ offense finally started to open up a bit in the second half. Tatum really asserted himself, with back-to-back strong drives that pushed Boston up by seven with 7:11 left in the third quarter. But let’s give props where they’re due: Deuce McBride for the Knicks was an absolute menace. That guy was a “Celtics killer” for real! He made an acrobatic play to save the ball, then drained a three-pointer, eventually racking up 11 points off the bench in the third, going 3/4 from deep. McBride finished the game an unbelievable 6/8 from three. Even Neemias Queta got in on the action in the third, hitting a three of his own. Great stuff from Neemy.
But when it came down to it, this was Tatum’s night. After all the back and forth, after the defensive struggles, after McBride’s heroics, Tatum took over the fourth quarter exactly when it mattered. He hit those two clutch buckets, sealed the deal, and showed the entire league that the Celtics are here to compete with the defending champs. This wasn’t just a win, it was a statement. The season is still young, but seeing Tatum step up like this, especially against a team that just won it all, gives you a serious jolt of excitement. The next game is going to be massive, because if this is the kind of fire Tatum’s bringing, the Celtics are going to be a problem.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Celtics Blog.
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