NEW YORK — Jayson Tatum scored 30 points, Jaylen Brown added 28 and the Boston Celtics rallied past the New York Knicks 113-104 on Sunday.
That was the good news. The bad news is Marcus Smart had to leave the game after a collision trying to take a charge on Kevin Knox. Smart was grabbing his oblique as he lay on the ground, a concern because last season he missed about a month with an injury to that area. There is no update yet on his status going forward.
Caught Marcus Smart walking out of MSG. Said he got hit in the same, exact spot where he tore his left oblique last season. Was still in pain. Plans to get more info tomorrow. His eye was fine.
— Abby Chin (@tvabby) December 1, 2019
Kemba Walker had 15 points and 10 assists, Enes Kanter contributed 11 points and 11 rebounds, and Brad Wanamaker also scored 11 points for Boston.
Julius Randle led the Knicks with 26 points. Dennis Smith Jr. scored 17 and R.J. Barrett had 16 for New York, which has lost six straight.
The Celtics trailed by as many as nine points in the third quarter. Kevin Knox’s long jumper put the Knicks ahead 72-63 with 7:20 left in the period, their biggest lead of the game.
The Celtics responded with an 8-1 run and pulled within 73-71 on Walker’s 3-pointer with 5:16 left.
📈 Jayson Tatum today: tied season-high 30pts + career-high 7 assists pic.twitter.com/XN3C7AXvRo
— 𝕂𝕨𝕒𝕟𝕚 𝔸. 𝕃𝕦𝕟𝕚𝕤 (@KwaniALunis) December 1, 2019
The Knicks were still up 93-87 in the fourth, but the Celtics went on a 17-2 run to take the lead for good. Semi Ojeleye’s 3-pointer tied the score at 95-95, Brown followed with a steal and layup, Tatum hit a free throw, and Walker and Tatum hit consecutive 3-pointers to cap the run.
Brown’s bucket with 1:39 left gave Boston its biggest lead of the game, 110-99.
The score was tied 58-58 at halftime after a back-and-forth first two quarters.
Knox finished with 11 points and Damyean Dotson added 10 for the Knicks.