Game ID: 22400748
Boston Celtics @ New York Knicks
Saturday, February 8, 2025 at 8:30 PM ET
Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
NYK 19 29 28 28 104BOS 30 31 35 35 131
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 1/29 · 1 day's restBACK Towns back 1/20 after 2, 34 min since (97% of 35)
BACK Shamet back 1/20 after 2, 10 min since (73% of 14)
BACK Sims back 1/25 after 2, 3 min since (29% of 11)
NYK availability going into 2/01 · 2 days' restBACK Towns back 1/20 after 2, 33 min since (95% of 35)
BACK Shamet back 1/20 after 2, 9 min since (65% of 14)
BACK Sims back 1/25 after 2, 3 min since (29% of 11)
NYK availability going into 2/03 · 1 day's restBACK Sims back 1/25 after 2, 3 min since (25% of 11)
NYK availability going into 2/04 · back-to-backBACK Sims back 1/25 after 2, 2 min since (19% of 11)
NEW Achiuwa 18 to 26 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 2/08 · 3 days' restOUT Anunoby missed 2 since 2/03, out tonight
NEW Achiuwa 18 to 29 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 2/11 · 2 days' restOUT Anunoby missed 3 since 2/03, out tonight
NEW Achiuwa 18 to 32 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 2/12 · back-to-backOUT Anunoby missed 4 since 2/03, out tonight
NEW Achiuwa 18 to 33 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 2/20 · 7 days' restOUT Anunoby missed 5 since 2/03, out tonight
OUT Wright missed 2 since 2/11, returns tonight: 0 min (4% of 14)
NEW Achiuwa 18 to 36 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 2/21 · back-to-backOUT Anunoby missed 6 since 2/03, returns tonight: 27 min (72% of 37)
BACK Wright back 2/20 after 2, 0 min since (4% of 14)
NEW Achiuwa 18 to 38 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 1/31 · 1 day's restOUT Horford missed 2 since 1/27, returns tonight: 26 min (90% of 28)
OUT Hauser missed 2 since 1/27, returns tonight: 14 min (69% of 21)
OUT Scheierman missed 3 since 1/25, out tonight
BOS availability going into 2/02 · 1 day's restOUT Scheierman missed 4 since 1/25, out tonight
BACK Horford back 1/31 after 2, 26 min since (90% of 28)
BACK Hauser back 1/31 after 2, 14 min since (69% of 21)
BOS availability going into 2/04 · 1 day's restOUT Queta missed 2 since 1/31, out tonight
OUT Scheierman missed 5 since 1/25, out tonight
BACK Horford back 1/31 after 2, 18 min since (65% of 28)
BACK Hauser back 1/31 after 2, 19 min since (92% of 21)
BOS availability going into 2/06 · 1 day's restOUT Queta missed 3 since 1/31, returns tonight: 10 min (72% of 13)
OUT Scheierman missed 6 since 1/25, out tonight
BACK Horford back 1/31 after 2, 21 min since (75% of 28)
BACK Hauser back 1/31 after 2, 17 min since (82% of 21)
BOS availability going into 2/08 · 1 day's restOUT Scheierman missed 7 since 1/25, returns tonight: 4 min (39% of 12)
BACK Horford back 1/31 after 2, 21 min since (74% of 28)
BACK Hauser back 1/31 after 2, 18 min since (86% of 21)
BACK Queta back 2/06 after 3, 10 min since (72% of 13)
BOS availability going into 2/10 · 1 day's restOUT Holiday missed 2 since 2/06, out tonight
BACK Horford back 1/31 after 2, 23 min since (82% of 28)
BACK Hauser back 1/31 after 2, 18 min since (86% of 21)
BACK Queta back 2/06 after 3, 18 min since (135% of 13)
BACK Scheierman back 2/08 after 7, 4 min since (39% of 12)
BOS availability going into 2/12 · 1 day's restOUT Holiday missed 3 since 2/06, out tonight
BACK Queta back 2/06 after 3, 14 min since (105% of 13)
BACK Scheierman back 2/08 after 7, 7 min since (63% of 12)
BOS availability going into 2/20 · 7 days' restOUT Brown missed 2 since 2/10, returns tonight: 27 min (78% of 35)
OUT Holiday missed 4 since 2/06, returns tonight: 20 min (64% of 31)
BACK Queta back 2/06 after 3, 11 min since (80% of 13)
BACK Scheierman back 2/08 after 7, 6 min since (56% of 12)
NEW Porziņģis 27 to 33 min over the last 4
BOS availability going into 2/23 · 2 days' restBACK Brown back 2/20 after 2, 27 min since (78% of 35)
BACK Holiday back 2/20 after 4, 20 min since (64% of 31)
BACK Queta back 2/06 after 3, 9 min since (71% of 13)
BACK Scheierman back 2/08 after 7, 5 min since (43% 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 4-1 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 116, shooting 50 percent and 35 from three, 22 free throws a game; Brunson at 27 and Towns at 20 a game. Without Anunoby (2 straight). 3 days' rest. Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 112, shooting 48 percent and 40 from three, 20 free throws a game; Brown at 24 and Tatum at 23 a game. One day's rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the arc, Boston at 40 percent from three to New York's 35. Call it New York 117, Boston 114, Boston keeping it close.
1/29 vs DEN 122-112 — NYK notes
NYK won 122-112. NYK shot 52% (48 of 93) to DEN's 49%, 14 of 34 from three. NYK turned it over 5 times to DEN's 14. The glass went 35-47 against them. Brunson led with 30 (10 of 16, 3 of 6 from three, 7 of 7 at the line); Anunoby added 23, Hart 15. The hinge was Q1, 31-27: from level to 4 ahead. Brunson was the night's best plus/minus at +16.
2/01 vs LAL 112-128 — NYK notes
NYK lost 112-128. NYK took 14 more shots (95 to 81), fed by 16 offensive rebounds, but shot 46% to LAL's 58%, 10 of 28 from three. Hart led with 26 (11 of 16, 1 of 5 from three); Brunson added 17, Bridges 16. Q3 was theirs, 35-32, the deficit cut from 5 to 2, but the other 3 periods went 96-77 against them. Hart's -20 in 38 minutes was the worst on the floor.
2/03 vs HOU 124-118 — NYK notes
NYK won 124-118. NYK shot 51% (47 of 93) to HOU's 46%, 6 of 26 from three, and went to the line 30 times to HOU's 15 — 24 points from the stripe to their 14. The glass went 40-50 against them. Brunson led with 42 (14 of 27, 1 of 4 from three, 13 of 14 at the line); Bridges added 22, Towns 22. The hinge was Q4, 46-29: NYK came in trailing by 11 and left it ahead by 6. NYK trailed 52-57 at the half and won the second half 72-61. Bridges was the night's best plus/minus at +29.
2/04 @ TOR 121-115 — NYK notes
NYK won 121-115. NYK shot 50% (47 of 94) to TOR's 52%, 8 of 25 from three. Brunson led with 28 (10 of 21, 2 of 7 from three, 6 of 8 at the line); Towns added 27, Bridges 17. The hinge was Q2, 38-17: NYK came in trailing by 4 and left it ahead by 17, and the lead reached 23. Bridges was the night's best plus/minus at +14.
2/08 vs BOS 104-131 — NYK notes
NYK lost 104-131. NYK shot 42% (35 of 83) to BOS's 54%, 9 of 24 from three. The glass went 30-48 against them. Brunson led with 36 (10 of 18, 3 of 7 from three, 13 of 13 at the line); Hart added 17, Payne 14. Q2 was theirs, 29-31, but the other 3 periods went 100-75 against them. Achiuwa's -37 in 33 minutes was the worst on the floor.
2/11 @ IND — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 117, shooting 46 percent and 30 from three, 24 free throws a game; Siakam at 23 and Mathurin at 16 a game. It has lost the glass by 10 a night. Without Isa. Jackson (45 straight). 2 days' rest. New York comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 121, shooting 48 percent and 34 from three, 24 free throws a game; Brunson at 31 and Hart at 18 a game. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. Without Anunoby (3 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Indiana wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been minus-5 a night and Indiana minus-10 and the arc, New York at 34 percent from three to Indiana's 30. Call it Indiana 117, New York 115, New York keeping it close.
2/12 vs ATL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 121, shooting 49 percent and 33 from three, 25 free throws a game; Brunson at 26 and Towns at 22 a game. Without Anunoby (4 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Atlanta comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 117, shooting 50 percent and 39 from three, 24 free throws a game; Young at 29 and Daniels at 15 a game. That is 3 straight wins. Without Johnson (10 straight), Capela (8 straight), Mathews (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the arc, Atlanta at 39 percent from three to New York's 33. Call it New York 119, Atlanta 118, Atlanta keeping it close.
2/20 vs CHI — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 125 a night and allowing 125, shooting 51 percent and 34 from three, 28 free throws a game; Brunson at 30 and Towns at 28 a game. Without Anunoby (5 straight). 7 days' rest. Chicago comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 129, shooting 44 percent and 33 from three, 25 free throws a game; Giddey at 16 and White at 16 a game. That is 4 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 12 a night. Without Ball (4 straight). 7 days' rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been minus-3 a night and Chicago minus-12. Call it New York 124, Chicago 115.
2/21 @ CLE — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 110, shooting 48 percent and 37 from three, 23 free throws a game; Mitchell at 26 and Mobley at 23 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 7 a night. Without Wade (11 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. New York comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 124, shooting 49 percent and 35 from three, 24 free throws a game; Towns at 30 and Brunson at 26 a game. That is 3 straight wins. Without Anunoby (6 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the defense, Cleveland allowing 110 a night to New York's 124 and the glass, where Cleveland has been plus-7 a night and New York minus-1. Call it Cleveland 122, New York 115.
1/31 @ NOP 118-116 — BOS notes
BOS won 118-116. BOS shot 50% (42 of 84) to NOP's 49%, 16 of 41 from three, and went to the line 26 times to NOP's 19 — 18 points from the stripe to their 13. BOS turned it over 13 times to NOP's 18. The glass went 35-48 against them. Brown led with 28 (11 of 18, 3 of 6 from three); Tatum added 27, White 16. The hinge was Q2, 28-19: BOS came in trailing by 3 and left it ahead by 6. Tatum was the night's best plus/minus at +4.
2/02 @ PHI 118-110 — BOS notes
BOS won 118-110. BOS shot 50% (42 of 84) to PHI's 45%, 21 of 49 from three, and got to the line 16 times to PHI's 28. Tatum led with 35 (13 of 20, 5 of 8 from three); Brown added 21, Porziņģis 18. The hinge was Q4, 38-16: BOS came in trailing by 14 and left it ahead by 8. BOS trailed 44-61 at the half and won the second half 74-49. Hauser was the night's best plus/minus at +18.
2/04 @ CLE 112-105 — BOS notes
BOS won 112-105. BOS shot 41% (40 of 98) to CLE's 40%, 17 of 48 from three, and got to the line 18 times to CLE's 26. Tatum led with 22 (7 of 23, 3 of 11 from three, 5 of 6 at the line); White added 20, Porziņģis 19. The hinge was Q1, 28-15: from level to 13 ahead, and the lead reached 20. Pritchard was the night's best plus/minus at +19.
2/06 vs DAL 120-127 — BOS notes
BOS lost 120-127. BOS shot 52% (46 of 89) to DAL's 56%, 16 of 37 from three. BOS turned it over 14 times to DAL's 8, and DAL turned those into 9 steals. Brown led with 25 (9 of 16, 3 of 4 from three); Pritchard added 21, Tatum 17. Q4 was theirs, 37-23, the deficit cut from 21 to 7, but the other 3 periods went 104-83 against them. Tatum's -22 in 29 minutes was the worst on the floor.
2/08 @ NYK 131-104 — BOS notes
BOS won 131-104. BOS shot 54% (46 of 85) to NYK's 42%, 19 of 39 from three. The glass went 48-30 for them. Tatum led with 40 (13 of 26, 7 of 14 from three, 7 of 9 at the line); Pritchard added 25, White 17. The hinge was Q1, 30-19: from level to 11 ahead, and the lead reached 35. Pritchard was the night's best plus/minus at +29.
2/10 @ MIA — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Miami comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 106 a night and allowing 113, shooting 45 percent and 35 from three, 18 free throws a game; Adebayo at 22 and Herro at 20 a game. Without Burks (2 straight). 2 days' rest. Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 112, shooting 49 percent and 42 from three, 20 free throws a game; Tatum at 28 and Brown at 20 a game. Without Holiday (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the arc, Boston at 42 percent from three to Miami's 35 and the turnovers, Miami giving it away 15 times a game to Boston's 12. Call it Boston 114, Miami 111, Miami keeping it close.
2/12 vs SAS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 106, shooting 48 percent and 40 from three, 16 free throws a game; Tatum at 29 and Brown at 18 a game. Without Holiday (3 straight). One day's rest. San Antonio comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 121, shooting 49 percent and 37 from three, 22 free throws a game; Wembanyama at 23 and Fox at 21 a game. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the defense, Boston allowing 106 a night to San Antonio's 121 and the glass, where Boston has been plus-4 a night and San Antonio minus-6. Call it Boston 119, San Antonio 110.
2/20 @ PHI — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Philadelphia comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 115, shooting 45 percent and 32 from three, 21 free throws a game; Embiid at 26 and Maxey at 26 a game. That is 5 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 12 a night. Without Okeke (3 straight), Lowry (2 straight). 7 days' rest. Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 105, shooting 48 percent and 38 from three, 17 free throws a game; Tatum at 29 and Porziņģis at 20 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 9 a night. Without Brown (2 straight), Holiday (4 straight). 7 days' rest.
So: Boston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-9 a night and Philadelphia minus-12 and the defense, Boston allowing 105 a night to Philadelphia's 115. Call it Boston 114, Philadelphia 109.
2/23 vs NYK — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 105, shooting 49 percent and 39 from three, 17 free throws a game; Tatum at 27 and Porziņģis at 20 a game. That is 4 straight wins. It has won the glass by 9 a night. 2 days' rest. New York comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 129, shooting 49 percent and 36 from three, 23 free throws a game; Towns at 30 and Brunson at 26 a game. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. Without Hart (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the defense, Boston allowing 105 a night to New York's 129 and the glass, where Boston has been plus-9 a night and New York minus-6. Call it Boston 121, New York 111, Boston by 10.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
BOSAH A. Horford
BS B. Scheierman
DW D. White
JB J. Brown
JT J. Tatum
JW J. Walsh
LK L. Kornet
NQ N. Queta
PP P. Pritchard
SH S. Hauser
XT X. Tillman
NYKAH A. Hukporti
CP C. Payne
JB J. Brunson
JH J. Hart
KT K. Towns
LS L. Shamet
MB M. Bridges
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
Tatum scores 40 points as the Celtics easily beat the Knicks for the 2nd time this season, 131-104
NEW YORK -- — Jayson Tatum scored 40 points and the Boston Celtics easily handled the New York Knicks for the second time this season, winning 131-104 on Saturday night.
Payton Pritchard added 25 points off the bench for the Celtics, who rebounded from their loss to Dallas on Thursday in an NBA Finals rematch to win for the fifth time in six games and move 2 1/2 games ahead of the Knicks for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Derrick White had 17 and combined with Tatum for all the points in a 19-3 spurt in the third quarter that broke open the only time all night it felt like a game. The Knicks, who trailed by double digits most of the night, had cut an 18-point deficit to 70-67, but by the time the run was over Boston led 89-70.
Jalen Brunson scored 36 points for the Knicks, who lost for the second time in nine games — both at home the last two Saturday nights on national TV. Josh Hart had 17.
Takeaways Celtics: With Jrue Holiday already out with a shoulder injury and Kristaps Porzingis scratched shortly before the game with an illness, the Celtics leaned heavily on Tatum, Pritchard and White, who combined for 17 of their 19 3-pointers.
Knicks: The Knicks hoped their offseason moves would help them close the gap with the Celtics. But the Celtics blew them away in a 132-109 romp on opening night after raising their championship banner and New York's largest lead against Boston this season is one point.
Key moment The Knicks missed their first 10 shots while the Celtics raced to a 12-2 lead.
Key stat Tatum had 19 points and White 14 in the third quarter. The Knicks had 28.
Up next The Celtics visit Miami on Monday night, and the Knicks are at Indiana on Tuesday night.