Game ID: 22300816
Boston Celtics @ New York Knicks
Saturday, February 24, 2024 at 8:30 PM ET
Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
NYK 26 32 26 18 102BOS 30 32 35 19 116
BOS @ NYK ScoutingBOS @ NYK Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
NYK availability going into 2/10 · 1 day's restOUT Randle missed 6 since 1/29, out tonight
OUT Anunoby missed 6 since 1/29, out tonight
OUT Robinson missed 31 since 12/11, out tonight
OUT Sims missed 2 since 2/06, out tonight
BACK Gibson back 1/30 after 14, 12 min since (116% of 10)
NEW Hart 35 to 40 min over the last 5
NEW DiVincenzo 30 to 40 min over the last 5
NEW Achiuwa 24 to 42 min over the last 5
NEW McBride 21 to 27 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 2/12 · 1 day's restOUT Randle missed 7 since 1/29, out tonight
OUT Anunoby missed 7 since 1/29, out tonight
OUT Robinson missed 32 since 12/11, out tonight
OUT Sims missed 3 since 2/06, returns tonight: 29 min (235% of 12)
BACK Gibson back 2/06 after 2, 18 min since (174% of 10)
NEW DiVincenzo 30 to 40 min over the last 5
NEW Achiuwa 24 to 42 min over the last 5
NEW McBride 21 to 27 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 2/14 · 1 day's restOUT Randle missed 8 since 1/29, out tonight
OUT Anunoby missed 8 since 1/29, out tonight
OUT Hartenstein missed 2 since 2/10, out tonight
OUT Robinson missed 33 since 12/11, out tonight
BACK Sims back 2/12 after 3, 29 min since (235% of 12)
BACK Gibson back 2/06 after 2, 15 min since (144% of 10)
NEW DiVincenzo 30 to 41 min over the last 5
NEW Achiuwa 24 to 41 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 2/22 · 7 days' restOUT Randle missed 9 since 1/29, out tonight
OUT Anunoby missed 9 since 1/29, out tonight
OUT Hartenstein missed 3 since 2/10, returns tonight: 11 min (42% of 26)
OUT Robinson missed 34 since 12/11, out tonight
BACK Sims back 2/12 after 3, 34 min since (277% of 12)
BACK Gibson back 2/06 after 2, 14 min since (133% of 10)
NEW DiVincenzo 30 to 41 min over the last 4
NEW Achiuwa 24 to 41 min over the last 5
NEW Burks 15 to 23 min over the last 3
NYK availability going into 2/24 · 1 day's restOUT Randle missed 10 since 1/29, out tonight
OUT Anunoby missed 10 since 1/29, out tonight
OUT Robinson missed 35 since 12/11, out tonight
BACK Hartenstein back 2/22 after 3, 11 min since (42% of 26)
BACK Sims back 2/12 after 3, 29 min since (234% of 12)
NEW DiVincenzo 30 to 40 min over the last 4
NEW Achiuwa 24 to 41 min over the last 5
NEW Bogdanović 18 to 27 min over the last 3
NEW Burks 15 to 21 min over the last 4
NYK availability going into 2/26 · 1 day's restOUT Randle missed 11 since 1/29, out tonight
OUT Anunoby missed 11 since 1/29, out tonight
OUT Robinson missed 36 since 12/11, out tonight
BACK Hartenstein back 2/22 after 3, 17 min since (67% of 26)
BACK Sims back 2/12 after 3, 25 min since (205% of 12)
NEW DiVincenzo 30 to 37 min over the last 4
NEW Achiuwa 24 to 40 min over the last 5
NEW Bogdanović 18 to 25 min over the last 4
NEW Burks 15 to 20 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 2/27 · back-to-backOUT Randle missed 12 since 1/29, out tonight
OUT Anunoby missed 12 since 1/29, out tonight
OUT Robinson missed 37 since 12/11, out tonight
BACK Hartenstein back 2/22 after 3, 21 min since (79% of 26)
BACK Sims back 2/12 after 3, 24 min since (197% of 12)
NEW Hart 35 to 40 min over the last 5
NEW Achiuwa 24 to 38 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 2/29 · 1 day's restOUT Randle missed 13 since 1/29, out tonight
OUT Anunoby missed 13 since 1/29, out tonight
OUT Robinson missed 38 since 12/11, out tonight
BACK Hartenstein back 2/22 after 3, 21 min since (79% of 26)
NEW Achiuwa 24 to 38 min over the last 5
NEW Sims 12 to 24 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 3/03 · 2 days' restOUT Randle missed 14 since 1/29, out tonight
OUT Anunoby missed 14 since 1/29, out tonight
OUT Robinson missed 39 since 12/11, out tonight
BACK Hartenstein back 2/22 after 3, 20 min since (78% of 26)
NEW Hart 35 to 43 min over the last 5
NEW Achiuwa 24 to 34 min over the last 5
NEW Sims 12 to 21 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 2/11 · 1 day's restOUT Queta missed 2 since 2/07, out tonight
BACK Porziņģis back 1/30 after 2, 31 min since (105% of 29)
BACK Kornet back 2/04 after 3, 16 min since (106% of 15)
BOS availability going into 2/13 · 1 day's restOUT Queta missed 3 since 2/07, out tonight
BACK Kornet back 2/04 after 3, 12 min since (84% of 15)
BOS availability going into 2/14 · back-to-backOUT Queta missed 4 since 2/07, returns tonight: 13 min (118% of 11)
BACK Kornet back 2/04 after 3, 13 min since (87% of 15)
BOS availability going into 2/22 · 7 days' restBACK Queta back 2/14 after 4, 13 min since (118% of 11)
BOS availability going into 2/24 · 1 day's restBACK Queta back 2/14 after 4, 13 min since (118% of 11)
BOS availability going into 2/27 · 2 days' restOUT Queta missed 2 since 2/22, out tonight
BOS availability going into 3/01 · 2 days' restOUT Tillman missed 2 since 2/24, returns tonight: 15 min (123% of 12)
OUT Queta missed 3 since 2/22, out tonight
BOS availability going into 3/03 · 1 day's restOUT Queta missed 4 since 2/22, out tonight
BACK Tillman back 3/01 after 2, 15 min since (123% of 12)
BOS availability going into 3/05 · 1 day's restOUT Queta missed 5 since 2/22, out tonight
BACK Tillman back 3/01 after 2, 16 min since (134% of 12)
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 106 a night and allowing 113, shooting 45 percent and 37 from three, 19 free throws a game; Brunson at 30 and DiVincenzo at 22 a game. Without Randle (10 straight), Anunoby (10 straight), Robinson (35 straight). One day's rest. Boston comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 125 a night and allowing 109, shooting 53 percent and 43 from three, 20 free throws a game; Tatum at 29 and Porziņģis at 22 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 4 a night. One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the arc, Boston at 43 percent from three to New York's 37. Call it Boston 116, New York 111.
2/10 vs IND 111-125 — NYK notes
NYK lost 111-125. NYK shot 48% (40 of 84) to IND's 61%, 10 of 32 from three. NYK turned it over 9 times to IND's 15. Brunson led with 39 (14 of 25, 1 of 5 from three, 10 of 10 at the line); Burks added 22, Achiuwa 15. Q1 was theirs, 27-26, but the other 3 periods went 99-84 against them. Hart's -20 in 36 minutes was the worst on the floor.
2/12 @ HOU 103-105 — NYK notes
NYK lost 103-105. NYK took 12 more shots (92 to 80), fed by 19 offensive rebounds, but shot 46% to HOU's 45%, 12 of 36 from three, and got to the line just 12 times against 23 fouls committed. NYK turned it over 16 times to HOU's 11, and HOU turned those into 12 steals. The glass went 51-39 for them. Brunson led with 27 (10 of 25, 2 of 6 from three, 5 of 8 at the line); DiVincenzo added 23, Hart 17. Q3 was theirs, 28-17, the deficit cut from 14 to 3, but the other 3 periods went 88-75 against them. Bogdanović's -13 in 23 minutes was the worst on the floor.
2/14 @ ORL 100-118 — NYK notes
NYK lost 100-118. NYK took 8 more shots (84 to 76), fed by 16 offensive rebounds, but shot 42% to ORL's 63%, 11 of 29 from three, and went to the line 24 times to ORL's 11 — 19 points from the stripe to their 10. Brunson led with 33 (11 of 21, 5 of 8 from three, 6 of 7 at the line); Achiuwa added 23, Burks 13. Q1 was theirs, 36-27, but the other 3 periods went 91-64 against them. They led by as many as 12. Burks's -28 in 30 minutes was the worst on the floor.
2/22 @ PHI 110-96 — NYK notes
NYK won 110-96. NYK shot 48% (38 of 79) to PHI's 44%, 15 of 34 from three, and went to the line 27 times to PHI's 14 — 19 points from the stripe to their 12. Bogdanović led with 22 (8 of 13, 6 of 6 from three); Brunson added 21, Hart 18. The hinge was Q2, 37-25: a lead of 11 became 23, and the lead reached 26. Brunson was the night's best plus/minus at +20.
2/24 vs BOS 102-116 — NYK notes
NYK lost 102-116. NYK shot 45% (37 of 82) to BOS's 57%, 13 of 38 from three. NYK turned it over 13 times to BOS's 7, and BOS turned those into 8 steals. Brunson led with 34 (12 of 25, 4 of 9 from three, 6 of 6 at the line); Hart added 16, DiVincenzo 12. Q2 was theirs, 32-32, but the other 3 periods went 84-70 against them. Bogdanović's -14 in 19 minutes was the worst on the floor.
2/26 vs DET — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 105 a night and allowing 112, shooting 46 percent and 36 from three, 20 free throws a game; Brunson at 31 and DiVincenzo at 16 a game. Without Randle (11 straight), Anunoby (11 straight), Robinson (36 straight). One day's rest. Detroit comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 119, shooting 45 percent and 34 from three, 15 free throws a game; Cunningham at 21 and Fontecchio at 15 a game. That is 5 straight losses. Without Stewart (10 straight), Evbuomwan (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the defense, New York allowing 112 a night to Detroit's 119. Call it New York 116, Detroit 110.
2/27 vs NOP — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 106 a night and allowing 109, shooting 45 percent and 38 from three, 20 free throws a game; Brunson at 30 and DiVincenzo at 18 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Randle (12 straight), Anunoby (12 straight), Robinson (37 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. New Orleans comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 108, shooting 46 percent and 34 from three, 20 free throws a game; Williamson at 24 and Ingram at 19 a game. Without Daniels (6 straight). One day's rest.
So: New Orleans wins, on the road, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it New Orleans 111, New York 110, New York keeping it close.
2/29 vs GSW — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 103 a night and allowing 111, shooting 43 percent and 37 from three, 22 free throws a game; Brunson at 31 and DiVincenzo at 18 a game. Without Randle (13 straight), Anunoby (13 straight), Robinson (38 straight). One day's rest. Golden State comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 112, shooting 47 percent and 40 from three, 18 free throws a game; Curry at 20 and Thompson at 20 a game. One day's rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the turnovers, Golden State giving it away 16 times a game to New York's 13. Call it New York 114, Golden State 113, Golden State keeping it close.
3/03 @ CLE — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 112, shooting 46 percent and 40 from three, 25 free throws a game; Mitchell at 22 and Garland at 19 a game. One day's rest. New York comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 103 a night and allowing 110, shooting 42 percent and 35 from three, 22 free throws a game; Brunson at 29 and DiVincenzo at 18 a game. Without Randle (14 straight), Anunoby (14 straight), Robinson (39 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the arc, Cleveland at 40 percent from three to New York's 35 and the glass, where New York has been plus-2 a night and Cleveland minus-3. Call it Cleveland 113, New York 108.
2/11 @ MIA 110-106 — BOS notes
BOS won 110-106. BOS shot 51% (41 of 81) to MIA's 41%, 16 of 39 from three. Tatum led with 26 (11 of 20, 2 of 6 from three); Porziņģis added 25, Brown 20. The hinge was Q2, 33-28: a lead of 4 became 9, and the lead reached 15. White was the night's best plus/minus at +6.
2/13 @ BKN 118-110 — BOS notes
BOS won 118-110. BOS shot 52% (43 of 83) to BKN's 49%, 15 of 37 from three. Tatum led with 41 (14 of 26, 5 of 11 from three, 8 of 8 at the line); Brown added 19, White 16. The hinge was Q2, 36-27: a lead of 6 became 15, and the lead reached 23. Tatum was the night's best plus/minus at +21.
2/14 vs BKN 136-86 — BOS notes
BOS won 136-86. BOS shot 57% (52 of 91) to BKN's 38%, 22 of 45 from three. The glass went 51-31 for them. Pritchard led with 28 (11 of 16, 6 of 9 from three); White added 27, Tatum 20. The hinge was Q2, 38-17: a lead of 15 became 36, and the lead reached 56. White was the night's best plus/minus at +44.
2/22 @ CHI 129-112 — BOS notes
BOS won 129-112. BOS shot 54% (45 of 83) to CHI's 47%, 23 of 47 from three. White led with 28 (9 of 14, 5 of 10 from three); Tatum added 25, Brown 21. The hinge was Q3, 37-21: BOS came in trailing by 3 and left it ahead by 13, and the lead reached 21. BOS trailed 59-62 at the half and won the second half 70-50. Brown was the night's best plus/minus at +19.
2/24 @ NYK 116-102 — BOS notes
BOS won 116-102. BOS shot 57% (46 of 81) to NYK's 45%, 15 of 35 from three. BOS turned it over 7 times to NYK's 13. Brown led with 30 (13 of 24, 3 of 9 from three); Porziņģis added 22, Tatum 19. The hinge was Q3, 35-26: a lead of 4 became 13, and the lead reached 20. Tatum was the night's best plus/minus at +15.
2/27 vs PHI — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 103, shooting 54 percent and 45 from three, 17 free throws a game; Tatum at 26 and Brown at 22 a game. That is 5 straight wins. 2 days' rest. Philadelphia comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 105 a night and allowing 111, shooting 45 percent and 36 from three, 15 free throws a game; Maxey at 27 and Hield at 17 a game. Without Embiid (11 straight), Covington (25 straight). One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the arc, Boston at 45 percent from three to Philadelphia's 36 and the defense, Boston allowing 103 a night to Philadelphia's 111. Call it Boston 118, Philadelphia 108, Boston by 10.
3/01 vs DAL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 102, shooting 55 percent and 43 from three, 21 free throws a game; Tatum at 27 and Brown at 25 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 8 a night. 2 days' rest. Dallas comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 117, shooting 51 percent and 40 from three, 18 free throws a game; Dončić at 35 and Irving at 30 a game. One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the defense, Boston allowing 102 a night to Dallas's 117 and the glass, where Boston has been plus-8 a night and Dallas minus-1. Call it Boston 121, Dallas 112.
3/03 vs GSW — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 127 a night and allowing 102, shooting 55 percent and 45 from three, 19 free throws a game; Brown at 27 and Tatum at 25 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 8 a night. One day's rest. Golden State comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 104, shooting 45 percent and 37 from three, 17 free throws a game; Curry at 22 and Kuminga at 19 a game. That is 3 straight wins. Without Wiggins (3 straight). One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the arc, Boston at 45 percent from three to Golden State's 37 and the turnovers, Golden State giving it away 16 times a game to Boston's 10. Call it Boston 118, Golden State 110.
3/05 @ CLE — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 113, shooting 46 percent and 41 from three, 20 free throws a game; Mitchell at 22 and Garland at 19 a game. Without Mitchell (2 straight), LeVert (2 straight). One day's rest. Boston comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 128 a night and allowing 102, shooting 55 percent and 45 from three, 19 free throws a game; Brown at 27 and Tatum at 26 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 5 a night. One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-5 a night and Cleveland minus-3 and the defense, Boston allowing 102 a night to Cleveland's 113. Call it Boston 117, Cleveland 111.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
BOSAH A. Horford
DW D. White
JB J. Brown
JH J. Holiday
JT J. Tatum
KP K. Porziņģis
LK L. Kornet
PP P. Pritchard
PO Porzingis
SH S. Hauser
NYKAB A. Burks
BB B. Bogdanović
DD D. DiVincenzo
DJ D. Jeffries
IH I. Hartenstein
JB J. Brunson
JH J. Hart
JS J. Sims
MM M. McBride
PA P. Achiuwa
BOS/NYK the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
NBA-leading Celtics cruise to 8th straight win with 116-102 victory over Knicks
NEW YORK -- — Jaylen Brown scored 30 points, Kristaps Porzingis had 22 and the NBA-leading Boston Celtics easily handled the New York Knicks 116-102 on Saturday night for their eighth consecutive victory.
Brown shot 13-for-24 from the field and had eight rebounds for the Celtics, who improved to 45-12 and sit atop the Eastern Conference with an eight-game lead over Cleveland.
The All-Star forward downplayed the big advantage in the standings with less than two months left before the start of the postseason.
“When it comes down to the playoffs, none of that stuff really matters,” Brown said. “I feel like it’s going to be about matchups, it’s going to be about playing hard. Obviously, home court (advantage) matters. So, that is key. You get into the thick of it, you've got to win basketball games.”
Jayson Tatum had 19 points with six assists and six rebounds and Derrick White added 13 for Boston, who have won 10 of their last 11.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzula gushed over the performance of Tatum, who has at least five assists in seven of his last nine games and six rebounds in 16 of 17 games.
“I thought today was a beautiful display of basketball from Jayson,” Mazzula said. “It won’t go into the most valuable category, but his ability to control the game with his pick-and-roll pace, his pick-and-roll passing, his defense. He put himself on (Jalen) Brunson, welcoming 2-on-1s and creating for others was great. My hats off to him for knowing that's a way for us to win.”
Brunson had 34 points on 12-for-25 shooting from the field and 4-for-9 from 3-point range and Josh Hart had 16 for the Knicks, who were swept by Boston in their four-game season series.
Boston opened the second half with a 4-point lead before the All-Star tandem of Brown and Tatum along with Porzingis, a 2015 first-round draft pick of the Knicks, sparked a 30-11 spurt to put the game out of reach.
After Isaiah Hartenstein hit a pair of free throws to cut the deficit for New York to 67-61, Porzingis and Tatum hit back-to-back 3-pointers to make it 73-66. That forced the Knicks to call timeout with 8:21 left in the third quarter.
New York then turned the ball over on the following possession and Brown answered with a 3 before Brunson was fouled on a 3-point attempt and hit all three free throws that made it 76-69.
The Knicks and Celtics traded baskets before Porzingis started a 10-0 run with a 3 from the top of the key and Brown closed it with a layup to extend the lead 88-71 with 3:53 remaining in the quarter.
Hart and Brunson followed with consecutive baskets, but Boston responded with a 9-0 run capped by Tatum’s 3 that made it 97-77 with 1:30 left in the quarter and drew loud “Let’s Go Celtics!” chants from the visiting fans before boos rained down from the Knicks faithful.
“I prefer any kind of emotion over no emotion,” said Porzingis, who was booed by Knicks fans the night he was selected in the NBA Draft and was jeered when his name was called during the lineup introduction.
“If it’s cheers or boos, I want them," he said. "Tonight was no different. Big game, (national) TV game, fans were into it and we just took care of business.”
The Knicks charged back with a 13-2 run bridging the end of the third quarter and the start of fourth quarter, cutting the deficit 99-90 on Bojan Bogdanovic’s jumper with 9:17 to play in the period.
But the Celtics took advantage of three Knicks turnovers and six missed shots to go on a 10-0 run to extend the lead 109-90 with 4:43 left in regulation.
Brown had 10 points in the first quarter to help the Celtics to a 30-36 lead at the end of the opening period. He added 10 more in the second period to pace Boston to a 62-58 advantage at halftime. The Celtics shot 66.7% from the field and 42.9 percent beyond the 3-point line in the first half.
UP NEXT
Celtics: Host the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night.