Boston Celtics notch season-best eighth straight victory،
NEW YORK — After the Celtics earned their season-best eighth straight victory Saturday night by beating the New York Knicks 116-102 at Madison Square Garden, Boston now has an eight-game lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers, second in the Eastern Conference. .
This is a larger gap than that between the Minnesota Timberwolves, leaders of the West, and the Phoenix Suns, eighth (7 games). But rather than applaud their league-leading performance through the first two-thirds of the season, the Celtics instead said they had higher levels to reach.
“That’s how the season went,” Celtics center Al Horford said. “We kind of held on, kept working on things. Obviously the Sixers have injuries, different teams have different things, so it's all taken into account.
“But I can just say we continue to play good basketball. We really try to play the right way. I feel like [Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla] it really challenges us to continue to improve. This is the part of the season where we can really take it to another level, and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
When asked what another level would look like for a Celtics team that has the best record in the league (45-12), a huge lead over the rest of the conference and is one of only six teams Since 1996-97 with a net rating north of 10. points per 100 possessions for the season (10.5, to be exact), according to ESPN Stats & Information, Horford smiled.
“That’s a really good question,” he said, “but I feel like we’re not where we need to be yet, and that’s a good thing.”
Most of the time, the Celtics just kept winning. In an Eastern Conference that, as Horford mentioned, was plagued by injuries to virtually every team behind them, Boston continued to come away with wins no matter who was available. Saturday's win over the Knicks was not only the Celtics' eighth in a row, but also their ninth in 11 games and 13th in their last 15 meetings.
The Celtics shot a blistering 80% from 2-point range (24 for 30) through three quarters against a Knicks team that, speaking of injuries, is still missing its entire starting frontcourt consisting of OG Anunoby (elbow), Julius Randle (shoulder). ) and Mitchell Robinson (ankle).
New York hung on in the game behind Jalen Brunson's 34 points and nine assists at halftime, before Boston made strategic adjustments in the third quarter, changing matchups to put Kristaps Porzingis on smaller defenders in order to make Brunson's life more difficult in the pick-and-roll. .
This, coupled with the Celtics making nine 3s in the third quarter alone, allowed Boston to blow open what had been a competitive game and pull out a relatively easy victory.
“The guys know how to have a positive impact on each other,” Mazzulla said. “They understand that going for something at one point in the game is going to open it up for someone else later in the game. And we have different combinations, and the guys trust those combinations, and that helps us. puts you in a better position to win.
“At the end of the day, it's about winning, and the guys understand that. They understand how they influence each other.”
Boston is also keenly aware of the bigger picture. Including Saturday night's win, the Celtics have won more regular season games (394) than any NBA team since the start of the 2016-17 season, Jaylen Brown's rookie year, and counting of playoff games (61) than anyone except the Golden State Warriors. (68 years old), who won several NBA championships during this period.
The Celtics, on the other hand, are still waiting to hang Banner 18 in the rafters of TD Garden. From Brown to Horford to Porzingis, the consistent message after the game was that this group, while happy with the way they are currently playing, is focused on getting ready for the playoffs.
“When it comes to the playoffs, none of that really matters,” Brown said, when asked if he had paid attention to how well Boston placed in head of the pack. “I feel like it's going to be about matchups, it's going to be about playing hard. Obviously home court is important so that's the key, but when you get into it you have to win basketball games no matter what. your seed is.
“If anything, it puts more pressure on you. But I think we are an experienced team. We have been in these situations before and I think we are ready.”