Fourth verse, same as the first: Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics completed a regular-season sweep of the New York Knicks—thanks to Tuesday night’s 119-117 overtime victory.
Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns each notched double-doubles, and OG Anunoby did as good a job as anyone defending Tatum.
It wasn’t enough.
It hasn’t been enough.
And it more than likely won’t be enough if these teams meet in the postseason.
That’s four-straight losses to the Beantown bombers and nine-straight losses to the NBA’s top-3 for the Knicks.
What can we take away from New York’s admittedly most competitive of four-straight losses to the Celtics?
Jalen Brunson is back like he never left
After missing 15 games with an ankle sprain suffered back in March, Brunson was rusty in his return against the Phoenix Suns. He hit a clutch, fourth-quarter three to help capture the win, but he shot just 33% en route to 15 points.
Tuesday’s game against Boston was more characteristic of the captain.
Brunson finished with 27 points and 10 assists to only 2 turnovers, on 10-of-12 shooting and 5-of-12 from deep.
Nothing stood out to me more than this clutch-time dime to Josh Hart:
Leon Rose and company acquired a pair of 20+ point-per-game scorers last offseason in an effort to upgrade Brunson’s supporting cast. He’s bought into the vision, with his diligence as a playmaker all the evidence you need.
Not only is Brunson averaging a career-high 7.4 assists per game, but if you look at the year-over-year numbers in clutch time (i.e. when the score is five points or less with five or fewer minutes to go), you’ll see a newly motivated floor general:
- 2023-2024:
- 20 assists
- 6 turnovers
- 15-15 record in 30 clutch games
- 2024-2025:
- 28 assists
- 8 turnovers
- 17-9 record in 26 clutch games
Add in his 152 points scored in such situations this season, tied for second behind only Anthony Edwards, and the case for NBA Clutch Player of the Year writes itself.
If you’re worrying about Tuesday night’s loss to the Celtics and the subsequent postseason implications, don’t; Brunson’s availability alone raises New York’s ceiling far higher than the rafters of Madison Square Garden.
Jayson Tatum is a top-10 NBA player … period
Old friend Kristaps Porzingis was Boston’s leading scorer in overtime and on the night, but Tatum punched its ticket to the winning frame with this three-pointer:
As much as it sickens any Knicks fan to say it, that’s greatness personified.
Anunoby spent most of the night throwing every tool from the shed at Tatum. But when it mattered most, it didn’t matter.
Tatum finished the night with 32 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and a pair of stocks, in the latest argument (and supporting evidence) for his place in the NBA’s hierarchy of stars.
Boston is the defending champions. Nothing about Tuesday night’s game has given fans any reason to doubt their ability to do it again.
Put Miles McBride’s face on a milk carton
Among all nine Knicks who suited up against Boston, only two finished with a positive plus-minus score for the two-point loss: Miles McBride and Towns. (Landry Shamet did, too, but he played seven first-half minutes, and that’s not corollary.)
McBride made clutch play after clutch play in the fourth quarter. He secured two rebounds, added an assist, and ripped a steal in five minutes when he didn’t take a single shot.
So, why, then, was he absent in overtime?
That question becomes far more compelling when you factor in the off-night Mikal Bridges had (yet again) against Boston. He’s the reason they lost the game if you look at it strictly through the lens of this late-game blunder:
Bridges’ defense against Tatum was like putting a bandaid on a burn wound. It looks better than nothing, but it’s not effective.
Once the Knicks switched Anunoby on to Tatum, there’s little argument for Bridges playing over McBride on a night he shot 6-for-15.
According to Cleaning the Glass, the five-man lineup of Brunson, McBride, Hart, Anunoby, and Towns has played just 160 possessions this season. For reference, a Knicks’ unit that features Bridges and not McBride has played 1,898 possessions.
While the results are assuredly a small sample size, wouldn’t outscoring opponents by 43.7 points per 100 possessions warrant a little more time for that lineup?
New York’s roster will earn $188 million collectively this season to play basketball the best way they know how. Head coach Tom Thibodeau makes millions of his own to put them in the best positions to do that.
Tuesday night’s loss represents a failure on both fronts.
