Key Moment
The Celtics had a chance to win it at the buzzer on the final shot of a wild, double-overtime matchup with the Knicks Sunday at TD Garden. The man who fired up the shot had been on fire all night long. He just didn’t have one more make in him.
With New York leading 131-129 during the final seconds of double-OT, Al Horford caught a kick-out pass from Jayson Tatum and let loose on a triple from the right corner with no hesitation. To that point, he had canned six of his nine 3-pointers on the night, including two from that very corner. This one was just off the mark and missed off the rim at the buzzer.
That misfire sealed New York’s victory in dramatic fashion, and this came after a shocking push by the Celtics to get to the first overtime. Jaylen Brown forced the first OT with an and-one bucket with 12.9 seconds left in regulation, before stealing the ball away at the other end to dribble the clock out.
The teams went back and forth from there, with neither roster pulling ahead by more than five points before that final shot attempt by Horford.
Key Player
Al Horford put together his best all-around performance of the season Sunday night. He did so while logging a new season high of 56 minutes, which will almost certainly grant him a night off tomorrow in Cleveland on the second night of a back-to-back.
The big man tied or set new season highs in three different categories, including minutes played, while providing a significant boost defensively. Horford’s 14 rebounds tied for the game high while also setting a new individual season high. His six made 3-pointers and his six assists also tied his season highs in those categories. That hot shooting led to Horford scoring 20 points on the night.
At the other end of the court, Horford was solid from start to finish. He led the team with two blocked shots and also grabbed a steal during the defeat.
Box Score Nuggets
- Seven players logged 44 or more minutes of playing time during the contest, led by Immanuel Quickley's 55.
- Jayson Tatum led the game with 40 points, and he also grabbed 11 rebounds while dishing out six assists.
- Two Knicks, Immanuel Quickley with 38 and Julius Randle with 31, scored at least 30 points.
- Jaylen Brown scored 29 points for Boston on 12-for-25 shooting.
- Al Horford and Mitchell Robinson tied for the game high in rebounds with 14 apiece.
- Boston outscored New York 29-7 in second-chance points and 19-6 in fast break points.
- Both teams made 22 free throws.
- Horford and Tatum led the game with six made 3-pointers apiece.
- Brown and Quickley led the game in steals with four apiece.
- Despite the game going to double-overtime, the teams combined to record only 31 total bench points.
Quote of the Night
"In a game like this, with two great teams playing against each other, they made a couple more plays than we did and those plays get magnified, and you just have to move on."
- Joe Mazzulla on his reaction to the defeat