Celtics-Knicks takeaways: Jaylen powers offensive surge in C’s win

Celtics-Knicks takeaways: Jaylen powers offensive surge in C’s win originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Three Key Storylines

The buzzsaw that is the Boston Celtics rolled through Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.

The Celtics shot nearly 60 percent from the field and hit 42.9 percent of their 3-pointers en route to a 116-102 road victory over the New York Knicks that extended their winning streak to eight games. They’ve won three consecutive games by double digits, are 16-3 in their last 19 contests and own an eight-game lead as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.

Jaylen Brown led Boston with 30 points, ex-Knick Kristaps Porzingis added 22 and Jayson Tatum racked up 19 points, six rebounds, six assists, two steals and a block.

Six Celtics scored in double figures, while Jalen Brunson (34 points) was the only player with more than 16 points for a Knicks team missing Julius Randle, OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson.

Next up for the Celtics (45-12) is a showdown with the East rival Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday at TD Garden. Before that matchup, here are three takeaways from Boston’s win over New York.

Shooting the lights out

The Knicks actually played well through three quarters, but it’s hard to win when your opponent is hitting nearly 70 percent of its shots.

The Celtics were on a historic pace for much of this game, shooting a ridiculous 68 percent through three quarters with an 81.6 effective field goal percentage that was the fifth-best in the NBA since 1996-97, per Celtics stat guru Dick Lipe.

Boston only led the Knicks by four at halftime but hit 9 of 13 3-pointers as part of a 35-point third quarter that ballooned its lead to 13 and all but put the game away entering the fourth.