Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) lines up a shot against New York Knicks guard Josh Hart during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Nov. 13, 2023, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Celtics were missing a lot of 3-point shots on Monday night against the Knicks. They missed a bunch of layups, too.
Coach Joe Mazzulla would have been happy to make adjustments, but his options were limited.
“If I could come up with another shot besides a 3 or a layup, I’ll do it,” Mazzulla said after the Celtics snapped out of a shooting funk to beat New York 114-98. ”You can’t kick it in. I mean, we couldn’t throw it in the ocean.”
Jayson Tatum scored 17 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter, when the Celtics turned a 91-88 lead into a runaway. After missing seven of his first eight 3-point attempts, he hit four straight down the stretch — including a contested one that led to a four-point play after the Knicks cut the deficit to three points.
“I’ve played enough games, had enough tough shooting nights,” said Tatum, who finished 13 for 23 in the game after going 6 for 8 in the fourth quarter. ”All really, really good scorers know it just takes one to change your momentum, change how you feel about yourself shooting the ball. And once you see one go in, you just feel a lot better about yourself.”
Jaylen Brown added 22 points and Kristaps Porzingis had 21 against the team that drafted him.
Jalen Brunson scored 26 points and Julius Randle had 25 points and nine rebounds for New York, which was without RJ Barrett, who missed the second night of a back-to-back with a migraine headache. The Knicks had won three in a row since opening the season 2-4, including a loss to Boston in their opener.
Mazzulla said of trading punches against a longtime rival: “It’s the best.”
“I love games like this, because it’s going to reveal who we are, what we’ve been doing and where we need to get better,” he…
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