Celtics-Knicks takeaways: Tatum, Brown lead historic 3-point barrage originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Celtics put on a show at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.
Playing on the second night of a back-to-back after defeating the Chicago Bulls in Boston on Friday, the Celtics set a season-high for points scored and set a franchise record for 3-pointers made to roll to a 133-118 win over the New York Knicks.
Jaylen Brown (30 points) and Jayson Tatum (26 points) again led the way for Boston, which held off the Knicks’ trifecta of Julius Randle (29 points), R.J. Barrett (27 points) and Jalen Brunson (22 points) to improve to 6-3 on the season.
The Celtics will be back in action Monday night against Ja Morant and the Grizzlies in Memphis. Here are three takeaways from Saturday’s victory:
Boston three party
When you set a franchise record for most 3-pointers made in one game, you have a good chance of winning.
That’s what the Celtics did Saturday night, hitting 27 of 51 deep balls (52.9 percent) to surpass their mark of 25 set in February 2022 against Philadelphia.
Tatum and Brown led the way with six 3-pointers apiece — several of which came at very opportune times. Brown hit a pair of big threes to stop a Knicks surge in the third quarter, while Tatum broke the record with a clutch triple that put Boston up 10 late in the fourth.
Many of the Celtics’ threes came off strong ball movement, as the team recorded a season-high 30 assists on 47 made field goals. The C’s aren’t going to shoot like this from distance every night, but that level of passing is a recipe for winning basketball.
Sam Hauser leads another bench barrage
Hauser did his part and then some to help the Celtics make history.
The second-year sharpshooter hit 5 of 8 3-point attempts — four of which came in the first half — to finish with a career-high 17 points along with three rebounds and two assists.
Hauser’s effort was part of another excellent showing from Boston’s bench, which scored 50 of the team’s 133 points. Malcolm Brogdon followed his season-high 25 points on Friday night with 14 points, five rebounds and five assists, while Grant Williams chipped in 12 points on 4 of 7 shooting.
Head coach Joe Mazzulla has taken to pairing Tatum with four Celtics reserves, and that combination has paid huge dividends, with Brogdon acting as an elite facilitator while Hauser and Grant Williams space the floor.
Hauser is now shooting 54.8 percent (17 for 31) from 3-point range, and if he and Williams continue to knock down open shots, the Celtics’ bench should continue to thrive.
Big challenge
The Celtics had their work cut out for them in the frontcourt Saturday with Al Horford sitting the second night of a back-to-back and Luke Kornet away from the team for personal reasons.
The results were mixed.
Blake Griffin held his own as the starting center with seven points on 3-of-4 shooting, while Noah Vonleh chipped in seven points and seven boards. New York dominated Boston down low, however, scoring 64 points in the paint to the Celtics’ 30 while big man Isaiah Hartenstein pulled down 14 rebounds.
The advantage of Boston’s small-ball lineups is that it can space the floor and pour in 3-pointers on offense. But the Celtics still struggled on the defensive end, allowing at least 115 points for the sixth time in nine games.
The C’s should be much better defensively once Robert Williams returns alongside Horford in the frontcourt, but until then, players will need to increase their effort to hold their own against bigger opponents.