Knicks 96, Celtics 92: “Pretty good to me”
The New York Knicks closed out their regular season with a home court-clinching victory over the Boston Celtics, 96-92.
Nothing worth having comes easy.
…I guess?
There are games that are too close for comfort, and then there is the New York Knicks not putting away the Boston Celtics’ C-Team with home court advantage in the playoffs on the line.
It took a monster block from Nerlens Noel with 37 seconds remaining, and a pair of free throws from Julius Randle to seal this one.
At some point the Knicks aren’t going to be able to rely on their defense to save them from these offensive dry spells in the fourth quarter. It’s increasingly annoying in games like this one, particularly based on how they started the game.
New York jumped out to a 9-3 lead within the first two minutes, thanks to six points from Randle.
But two turnovers from Elfrid Payton within a 30 second span helped Boston close the gap, 9-8, behind a couple of transition buckets.
Randle, seemingly on a mission to make history, was increasingly aggressive early on. He had 10 of the team’s first 13 points in just five minutes.
Games like this one are almost designed for stars, given the lack of credible defenders and overall talent disparity. It didn’t hold.
Randle and New York walked into the second quarter trailing, 24-23, with the Celtics’ divide and conquer approach on offense keeping them in it.
Derrick Rose put the Knicks on the board to open the second quarter, with this completed and-1 play over 7-foot-5 Tacko Fall:
As has been the case since his arrival, the point guard’s presence has made waves in Obi Toppin’s development. The rookie had one of his best stretches this season in the second quarter, starting off with this movement jumper:
Then sixth man Alec Burks got going, seemingly still hot after his 30-point outing against San Antonio on Friday:
His back-to-back 3-point baskets gave New York a 45-39 lead with three minutes to go. Then RJ Barrett got active on both ends, and fueled the Knicks to a double-digit first half lead.
They walked into halftime with a 54-39 lead, and for a moment, it seemed that the New York Knicks were going to put away Boston handily.
It wasn’t meant to be.
The third quarter wasn’t too exciting, with all of RJ/Julius/Reggie getting going.
Randle collected his sixth assist with five minutes to go in the period, which was all he needed to finish the season with averages of 24 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists. He’s just the sixth player in NBA history to do so, joining some extremely lofty company: Oscar Robertson, Wilt Chamberlain, Russell Westbrook, Larry Bird, and probable MVP Nikola Jokic this season.
It’s unclear how many of them would struggle with this Celtics team, but I digress.
The Knicks went into the final period with a 77-65 lead and home court advantage on the line — they didn’t play like it.
Baskets from Burks and Rose extended New York’s lead to 15 with 10 minutes remaining, but by the six minute mark Boston was facing just an 11-point deficit, thanks to misses, not turnovers, from the Knicks.
A 3-pointer from Tremont Waters and layup by Romeo Langford (he lives!) brought the Celtics to within six, and New York fans everywhere to the brink of insanity.
It was Bullock and Randle who revived the team’s offense. Their two-man game can reach uncanny levels of cohesion at times.
Noel had his block, Jabari Parker missed a three, and the New York Knicks are set to host a first-round playoff series, starting this weekend.
We made it, folks.
Notes
It was nice to see RJ Barrett have a solid game after his recent shooting stretch. He averaged 16.5 points on 35 percent shooting over the team’s six-game road trip. His 22 points against the Celtics came on 7-12 shooting.
New York held Boston to 92 points. They finished the regular season with a 21-5 record when they held teams to less than 100 points in regulation.
It bears repeating, but so does everything from this miraculous season: Julius Randle became the SIXTH player in NBA history to average 24 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists in a season. Most Improved Player, no debate.
Rose didn’t have a great game, but sometimes his presence is enough. He finished with seven points, five rebounds, and two assists in 23 minutes played.
New York’s other point guard, Elfrid Payton, also did not have a good game. He went 0-4 from the field and recorded two turnovers in 13 minutes. Hopefully Marc Berman’s recent reporting holds actual weight, and his minutes dwindle down to dust in the playoffs.
Shoutout to Reggie Bullock. He closed out what has been as solid a season as a role player could have with a strong performance: 16 points on 4-7 shooting from three. He’s truly the unsung hero of the season. Read more here.
I get more excited about Obi Toppin every game now. It’s been nice watching his natural progressions on both ends. I’ve been preaching patience since day one, and I’d be upset to see him not get a chance at an offseason and training camp with Kenny Payne and company.
The Knicks aren’t in the play-in tournament. That’s an additional win in itself. New York’s got the Atlanta Hawks on tap for what I anticipate will be a six-game series in our favor. Giddy up.
Nerlens Noel had three blocks and three steals today. I’m not saying he’s made Mitchell Robinson expendable, but…
It holds very little relevance to this game specifically, but goddamn it if Tom Thibodeau isn’t Coach of the Year. Give him Chris Paul, and New York would have won 50 games, too.
The New York Knicks finish their regular season 41-31. That’s 19 wins above their Las Vegas projection, and 20 more than they won last year.
It’s also a 46.6 win pace over 82 games.
There’s nothing fluky about it.
There was no 3-point regression (on offense or defense). Tom Thibodeau hasn’t burned through the knees of Julius Randle or RJ Barrett, and they went 21-13 after the All-Star break over what was deemed one of the toughest schedules in the NBA.
We’re here, we’ve been here, and now we’re going to the playoffs.
In the words of Julius Randle, team MVP:
“Sounds pretty good to me.”
P.S.
Knicks in six.