Celtics earn prime-time win over Knicks, 123-117

After a first quarter that was as ugly as the weather outside the TD Garden, the Boston Celtics -- led by Jaylen Brown’s 42 points -- turned it around to knock off the New York Knicks 123-117 on Tuesday night. 

In just over a week, the Celtics have suddenly knocked off some of the top teams in the Eastern Conference in Orlando, Detroit, Cleveland and New York to move to 12-9.

The Celtics erased an early 14-point deficit thanks to Brown and some inspired defense by Hugo Gonzalez, and kept the pressure on to build an 18-point fourth quarter lead, which was just enough to hold on for the win. 

It wasn’t smooth sailing as in classic Knicks fashion, they came storming back in the fourth in part due to a monster performance by Mikal Bridges (35 points, 8-for-13 on 3-pointers). Jordan Walsh (8 points, 6 rebounds) did step up with some clutch offensive rebounds and defense to push Boston over the finish line. 

The first quarter performance for the Celtics was just about as ugly as the weather outside the TD Garden. The Knicks were able to jump out to a quick 17-4 lead thanks to some red-hot shooting from beyond the arc, going 4 of 7 on their attempts. 

It didn’t help that Brown played like the ball was lathered in grease, turning the ball over four times in his nine first quarter minutes. 

Offensively, Boston couldn’t get much going, going cold from deep, hitting just one triple in the opening frame. The Cs did have some success inside, pouring in 9 of 13 attempts from inside. Neemias Queta was strong when rolling to the basket, scoring six points in the quarter.

The second didn’t look to be trending in Boston’s direction, either, as Karl-Anthony Towns got whatever look he wanted against Queta, adding in seven quick points to build New York’s lead to 16.

It seemed Joe Mazzulla went searching for some energy on his bench as the Celtics trailed big, and he found it in rookie Hugo Gonzalez. The guard was an instant spark as Boston stormed all the way back in just six minutes. Gonzalez was a plus-17 in the first half, as the Celtics scored 12 points off six Knicks’ turnovers in the second quarter. 

With Gonzalez locking down the defensive end, Brown woke up on the offensive side, taking over Tuesday’s game. After scoring just four in the first, Brown poured it on in the second with 18 points in the second frame. 

The performance marks the third time this season that Brown has scored 18 in a quarter, which is good for third in the league. Only Luka Dončić and Nikola Jokić have done it more times this year.

The forward brought Boston all the way back, sparking a 10-0 run all by himself, and slammed home an emphatic dunk to retake the lead for the Cs. 

Brown’s hot second quarter carried right over to the third, as the Celtics really started to roll. He added in another 15 to bring his total up to 37 through three quarters. 

Brown’s 33 points in the second and third was good for the second most points in his career in the middle two quarters. 

With Brown on fire, the Celtics threw their best haymaker in the closing minutes of the third. The Cs closed the quarter on a 12-0 run, backed by electric defense and back-to–back triples by Derrick White and Sam Hauser. 

The haymaker didn’t keep the Knicks down for good, though, as an 18-point fourth quarter lead evaporated in just 79 seconds as New York went on a 12-0 run to get right back into the game. Mikal Bridges continued to be a “Celtics killer,” scoring 35 and nailing eight triples to keep the Knicks within reach. 

As it felt like a serious case of déjà vu with New York erasing a big deficit in the fourth quarter, it was Boston’s secondary players who stepped up in the big moments. Josh Minott delivered with a big three to push the lead back to two possessions, and Jordan Walsh came through by putting back up two-straight offensive rebounds for easy buckets. 

In the closing minutes, White and Brown both stepped up at the line to hold off the Knicks. 

Next up for the Celtics is a road matchup with the Wizards on Thursday at 4 p.m. EST in the nation’s capital.