Game Keys: Celtics 116, Knicks 102

The third quarter woes appear to be a thing of the past for the Boston Celtics, as they came out of the All-Star break with two straight wins, both of which were fueled by big runs right after halftime.

Thursday night, a 37-21 third quarter advantage led to a 129-112 Chicago win. Then on Saturday night, a 33-13 third-quarter stretch was the culmination of a 116-102 New York win.

Now, let's dive into the latest show that just took place at Madison Square Garden.

It was a close game for most of the first half and both were tied at 64 points just over a minute into the third quarter. It took the C's just nine minutes to turn that tie into a 20-point lead.

Kristaps Porzingis, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown took over that stretch, as they combined for 24 of the team's 33 points. KP scored nine points, JT had eight, and JB contributed seven, while missing only two shots (they shot 9 of 11 during this outing).

Thanks to their combined efforts, the Celtics took a 97-77 lead with just over a minute left in the third quarter, a quarter in which the team made nine of its first 11 three-point attempts. From there, they achieved their eighth straight win.

While Rainn Wilson was sitting courtside on Saturday night, Jaylen Brown was raining down on Wilson on the court at Madison Square Garden.

Brown burst out of the gate with 20 first-half points on 9-of-12 shooting, mirroring his first-half scoring total of Thursday night's win in Chicago. It was the first time in his career he had scored 20 straight points in the first half, and he did it Saturday night in just 17 minutes.

Brown finished with 30 points and eight rebounds, both team highs. He also dished out three assists, had one steal, and tied Jayson Tatum for a game-high in plus/minus with plus-15.

For JB, it was just another day at the office.

“I prefer any kind of emotion to none. So, either cheers or boos, I want it.”

– Kristaps Porzingis talks about the booing in New York