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Jaylen Brown is the first person to record a triple-double.
Jaylen Brown scored 22 points, had 11 assists and 11 digs as the Celtics defeated the Knicks 99-75. (1:03)
11:03 PM.
Jaylen Brown produced the first triple-double of his career in Boston's 99-75 victory over the New York Knicks here at the Garden on Saturday night, but he shot down the idea that he and his partner in crime can't have an effective long-term partnership.
"I think we can play together," Brown said after finishing with 22 points, 11 rebound and 11 assists against the Knicks, who had stunned the Celtics two days earlier at Madison Square Garden thanks to a buzzer-beating 3-pointer. For the majority of our career, we have played well together. The last year or so has not gone as expected, but I think a lot of the adversity we are going through will help us grow and get better in the future.
There's a lot of good basketball on the other side of this if we get over this slump. I only have the power to control what I can. I understand that everyone has to do their job, but me and JT talk. We talked after the game and communicated with each other. We're on the same page. I understand where the other frustration comes from, but as long as I'm on the same page with him and he's on the same page with me, that's where we're most focused on. We wanted to get a win tonight.
The Celtics will officially end the first half of their season on Monday when they play the Pacers. Since the start of last season, the Celtics have made three trips to the Eastern Conference finals.
When Brown and Tatum share the court for Boston this season, the Celtics are able to score more points per 100 possessions than their opponents. The Celtics have fallen into the middle of the pack in recent seasons, due to the shoulders of the team's two young stars.
Brown said that he and Tatum chatted about the season despite the Celtics' success, after the ugly loss in New York in which Boston blew a 25-point lead.
It hurts when you blow a lead like that. You're not going to forget. We learned from that experience. It's all that's left. A lot of learning and growth is still taking place even though people are tired of hearing that. I'm getting better at basketball. The basketball player is trying to put his teammates in a good position to make them look good. It is tougher than it looks. We have to keep getting better, trust ourselves, trust our teammates, and let the chips fall where they may.
The chips fell the right way for Boston in the second game against the Knicks, who were without several players due to injuries. The Celtics took control of the game after the Knicks cooled off in the second quarter, holding New York to its lowest point total in four years, and ensuring the two teams would split their season series.
"I liked the way we played in the first half, then I thought in the first five or six minutes of the third, we got back on our heels and then they went on a run," said Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau.
The margin of error is small when you're shorthanded.
The Celtics held New York to under 20 points in each of the final three quarters, but it was Brown who led the way at the other end.
It was a breakthrough for Brown to set a new career high for assists in a game, as the Celtics were able to get a victory in a season in which they have been the focus of scrutiny over their passing ability.
When the Celtics couldn't get practice time on the court, coach Ime Udoka began to spend a lot of time on individual film sessions. He's been great as far as wanting to learn and grow, and really get better in that area, because we dug into that aspect of the individual sessions more than the team sessions.
He's starting to figure out a rhythm of simplicity and trusting his teammates and not playing to the crowd, which is something we preached all year.
It's a balance when you're a natural scorer and you want to shift your focus to how teams are defending you.
