It took more than Jaylen Brown’s 42 points for the Celtics to conquer the Knicks on Tuesday night.
Over five weeks since their last meeting, Boston and New York have taken drastically different paths, even though both teams won 11 games during that stretch. The Knicks emerged as one of the league’s top offenses, averaging 121.4 points per game — fourth-best in the NBA — while the Celtics endured a topsy-turvy learning curve, discovering their identity through a mix of pleasant-surprise wins and tough-to-swallow losses.
Riding wins over the Pistons — ending their bid for a franchise-record winning streak — and the Cavaliers during a 7–3 surge, the Celtics carried that momentum into yet another playoff-like atmosphere, this time leaning on a developing component of their team: its depth.
“I thought all those guys did a great job, at different points, of defending at the level that we need to try to be successful, and we left plenty on the table to get better,” Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said following Boston’s 123-117 win at TD Garden.
Mazzulla went 11 deep on Tuesday night, allowing Josh Minott, Anfernee Simons, Hugo González, and Sam Hauser all to log more than 18 minutes. Paired with Jordan Walsh’s ninth consecutive start, that group was as important as they’ve been all season in helping Boston edge out New York — even as Jaylen Brown bounced back in a major way from Sunday’s modest 19-point showing in Cleveland, shooting 66.7% against the Knicks.
Walsh, for starters, was especially impactful down the stretch — far more than his 8-point, 6-rebound stat line suggests. He grabbed three offensive boards in the fourth quarter, hit all three of his shots in the period, and forced a pivotal turnover on a Jalen Brunson pass in the final five minutes as Boston tried to protect a precarious 8-point lead.
“To me, the last six minutes of the game, he was just a great playmaker,” Mazzulla said. “He had the offensive rebounds, he made plays in the seam, and he was great at the point of attack offensively. They’re slowly chipping away at what it means to be really impactful in this league, and what they do matters for our team — having that role of going out there every night knowing they can change the game.”
Mazzulla continued: “It came from Hugo. It came from Jordan. It came from Josh. Sam, defensively, I thought was great. They’re just having an understanding of how they can impact the game, how important that is, and how it impacts winning. They just have to keep doing it.”
Boston’s reserves cornered New York — and a vibrantly dressed Spike Lee — in ways unimaginable back in October, taking a meaningful leap in Game No. 21 of the season.
In recent weeks, Walsh has drawn praise from both inside and outside Boston’s locker room, largely for the defensive intensity that convinced the Celtics to draft him in the second round out of Arkansas two years ago. And for Walsh, earning consistent rotation minutes hasn’t come easily. It’s been more of an uphill battle that left him reflective after Boston’s 12th victory.
Walsh, ironically enough, spoke with his agent before tipoff, sharing a conversation that now feels fitting in hindsight.
“Pregame tonight, I was talking to my agent,” Walsh revealed. “He was like, ‘Remember when we sat down earlier last month?’ and he said, ‘It’s gonna happen. It’s gonna happen.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, it’s gonna happen. You work hard, you’ll get rewarded.’ So yeah, I thought about it today, and coming in and being able to finish the game out is obviously a big step for me. I’m super glad I could affect the game.”
Minott and González combined for 11 rebounds. Hauser knocked down a few crucial threes, and with Simons, the group contributed 33 points. It was a balanced effort built on timely plays that kept the Knicks at bay and prevented any real comeback push.
“The unsung heroes are the guys who really impacted the game,” Knicks head coach Mike Brown admitted. “Josh Minott did a great job knocking down open threes when the ball got swung to him. He did a nice job defensively. Even Sam Hauser — his two threes were really big for them. Those guys were a combined 5-for-8 from the 3-point line… Jordan Walsh impacted the game at a high level with his four offensive rebounds. I thought he had a really good game. We just couldn’t get it done defensively in the fourth.”
Brown’s 40-point explosion and Derrick White’s efficient 22 points, surprisingly, were overshadowed by the contributions of those playing with a chip on their shoulders this season. It wasn’t flashy or eye-catching in the box score, but it was felt in real time, energizing both the team and the crowd through the game’s defining moments.
It was all about being ready to step in and contribute when called upon, and on Tuesday night, nearly everyone in a Celtics uniform did exactly that.
“They’re putting trust in me, putting trust in a lot of guys here, and being able to contribute to winning is truly a great feeling,” González said.
When the season began 42 days ago, depth was a major concern — one that Boston made it their mission to address. The roster had been torn down, with three starters traded away. Jayson Tatum was a no-go, potentially for the entire season, and many of the offseason additions were unproven with their previous teams, leaving plenty of room for doubt. But that’s starting to change, and the Celtics now sit just one game behind the No. 5-seeded Magic in the Eastern Conference standings.
Taking down the Knicks didn’t just humble New York, leave Spike seated and defeated, or give the Celtics their eighth win in 11 games — it revealed a side of themselves the team has long strived to unlock.
“Depth comes from just being able to impact the game in a positive way,” Mazzulla explained. “Whether it’s for one possession — Amari (Williams) goes in, fouls a guy, and saves us a point — that matters. Finishing the game with Josh and Jordan, using different lineups, it’s just a credit to the guys for understanding that anybody can impact a segment of the game. Every possession matters, and we just have to keep getting better at it.”
