Boston Celtics: 3 studs in team’s revenge victory over Knicks

The Boston Celtics stretched their winning streak to four games with a 128-100 victory over the New York Knicks Thursday night at TD Garden.

The Boston Celtics has a lot of time off and a lot of time to think about the last time they faced the New York Knicks.

Back on Thanksgiving Eve, the Celtics were on the verge of getting blown out at home by the Knicks before rallying late in the game to come up just short.  The loss dropped their record to 9-9 and inserted some panic into the team and fans.

That panic woke up the Celtics.  Since that loss, the team is 4-1 and has found their groove offensively and has placed some cohesive team defense as well.

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With Marcus Smart and Marcus Morris now in the starting lineup and Gordon Hayward and Jaylen Brown coming off the bench, Brad Stevens has seemed to have found the combinations that work.

That was on display on Thursday night as Kyrie Irving and the Boston Celtics came out of the gate flying.  Irving vowed revenge and he did his part with some Uncle Drew type moves to start the game.

Despite the team’s offensive proficiency, the Knicks didn’t go away easily until early in the fourth quarter when the Celtics put their foot on the pedal.  Despite New York sticking within striking distance, the game really didn’t seem in jeopardy, as every time they drew within six or five points, the Celtics answered with a counterpunch.

That is the type of urgency and aggressiveness Boston needs to play with to take care of the teams they should beat and compete with the best teams in the NBA.  Most importantly, the team just needs to keep having fun on the basketball court.

"“I think the important thing to take (off) our shoulders early on was just how much of the fun we weren’t having,” Irving said following the game, as transcribed by NESN.  “It just wasn’t fun.  It just wasn’t good basketball.  We weren’t cheering for one another.  We weren’t doing the little things.  I know certain guys would probably be fearful to talk about it, but it goes on in every NBA locker room.  Those guys have egos or guys think they have the best way of winning.  The coaches have their best way, you have the GM and president, and everybody feels like they have an ego in this.”"

With the adjustments Brad Stevens has made and players buying into whatever role they are given, it looks like the Celtics have finally awakened and the Eastern Conference should now be on notice.

Here are three studs in the Boston Celtics 128-100 blowout victory over the New York Knicks.

Al Horford

One of the flaws in the 128-100 victory over the New York Knicks were the Celtics inability to keep big man Enes Kanter under control under the basket.

However, after Aron Baynes went down with a sprained ankle, Al Horford seemed to step up with above average play both offensively and defensively.

In all, Horford scored 19 points and was a force down low using his full array of offensive moves, including a couple of alley op dunks.  When Horford scores that way, the Celtics offense tends to flow more smoothly.  And when he is making this shot, things very run smoothly.

That was certainly evident on Thursday night, but Horford made his greatest contributions on the defensive end.

With 12 rebounds and a season-high four blocked shots, Al Horford provided a spark defensively every time it seemed the Knicks were on the verge of changing momentum.  In his best all-around game of the season, it looks like the veteran big man is finding his stride and looking a little healthier on the court.

Kyrie Irving

That Thanksgiving Eve loss to the New York Knicks didn’t sit well with Kyrie Irving and the All-Star guard set the tone early against the Atlantic Division rivals with his aggressive play on both ends of the court.

Etching his name into MVP talks with each game, Irving had the Knicks on their heels from the opening tip.

If you don’t believe me, take a look at this play that led to an open three from Jayson Tatum:

https://twitter.com/celtics/status/1070861819097403392

As great as Kyrie Irving has been scoring the basketball during this four-game winning streak, his greatest contribution has been in setting up his teammates.  In scoring 22 points, Irving dished out eight assists.  With the hustle he showed defensively, it was clear vengeance was on his mind.

"“You know I was thinking about it,” Irving reflected.  “Since we lost to them, there are a few teams that we owe.  I still remember certain players on other teams asking us what’s going on, you know, when we were 10-10.  So yeah, keep that same energy.”"

It sounds like Irving and the Celtics have some games circled on their calendar now that they are at least close to figuring things out.

The only concerning new regarding Kyrie is that he appeared to have tweaked his shoulder late in the game.  Following the game, he did say it was no big concern, but definitely something to keep an eye on.

Jaylen Brown

After missing the last three games, Jaylen Brown was back and ready to take on any role Brad Stevens gave him.

That role was coming off the bench and Brown answered the call with 21 points on 7-for-10 shooting and overall aggressiveness.

He asserted his effort right away in the game by completing a three-point play against Knicks big man Enes Kanter.  The play set the tone for the rest of the game for Brown.  He continued to drive to the hoop, which is when he is at his strongest.

https://twitter.com/celtics/status/1070853304609996800

Accepting his role off the bench, this version of Jaylen Brown makes the Boston Celtics very tough.  It was just one game, but his contribution in helping the team win may have been the spark of confidence he needed.

Brad Stevens was certainly upbeat about the performance.

"“I thought he was really good,” Stevens said following the game.  “I thought he played with great pace and purpose and made really good decisions.  I didn’t think anything was forced, which sometimes, when you come off the bench, that’s one of the things you try to catch up to the game quickly.  He just played the right way and (the way) we needed.”"

More impressive was how well he and Gordon Hayward played together.  With both players accepting roles off the bench, the second unit of the Boston Celtics is going to be a force to be reckoned with no matter who is coming off the bench on any given game.