Boston beat New York 107-103 to reach 1-1 and sit sixth in the East. Jayson Tatum scored 36, but the Knicks cut a 12-point lead to three and missed their last chances at the line and from deep.
Tatum carried the night, and the shooting was merely good.
Jayson Tatum scored 36 on 14-26 shooting, 3-10 from three and 5-5 at the line, with nine of Boston's 24 fourth-quarter points. Paul George added 15 and Neemias Queta 15 off the bench in 22 minutes. One game says little about the shot profile, but Boston needed all of it: Derrick White was a minus-4 in 34 minutes.
A 12-point lead was never a safe one.
Boston led 94-82 early in the fourth. New York answered with a 9-0 run to make it 94-91 and had the ball down three in the final seconds. Jalen Brunson missed both free throws with 0:03 left, and Anunoby's 28-footer at the buzzer missed too. Miles McBride went 6-8 from three for 20 points, which the Knicks are unlikely to repeat, and a four-point margin still left Boston a possession from overtime.
The next three games come quickly, and the standings will mean little.
Boston hosts Chicago on Monday, October 26, then Brooklyn on Tuesday, October 27, then Chicago again on October 30. Sixth place at 1-1 and a pace that projects to 41-41 are artifacts of two games. Devin Carter remains out with an illness, with an estimated return of November 8.
The closing group is the question Mazzulla has not answered.
Over the last five minutes Boston used White, Tatum, Jordan Walsh, Mitchell Robinson and Payton Pritchard. At the final buzzer the floor held Queta and George instead. Queta's 15 points argue for him, and Robinson's minutes argue for the glass. Neither case is settled by 22 minutes apiece.
What was the score of the Celtics-Knicks game on October 23?
Boston won 107-103 at home. Jayson Tatum led all scorers with 36 points.
When do the Celtics play next?
Boston hosts the Bulls on Monday, October 26, and the Nets the next night, October 27.
