The Boston Celtics can extend their winning streak to five games when they face the visiting New York Knicks on Sunday afternoon.
Boston won seven of eight games leading up to the NBA All-Star break and then beat the Philadelphia 76ers 124-104 on Thursday night. It was Boston’s 15th victory by at least 20 points this season.
“It just says what we’re capable of when we’re at our best,” Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said. “We gotta fight to stay that way. That’s who they are. If there’s a group of people that I trust, it’s the guys in the locker room to continue to get better and focus on the things that are important to winning. They’ve been doing that the entire year even when it hasn’t been going our way. We just gotta keep that up, regardless of the result.”
Jayson Tatum had 15 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists during the win against the 76ers. It was the fourth triple-double of his career. Tatum will enter Sunday’s matchup averaging 26.8 points per game, which is seventh best in the league.
“It’s encouraging because coming out of the break can be really tough,” Boston’s Al Horford said. “You’re off for so many days. We’re not together. Guys came in pretty determined. Starters, second unit, we just tried to continue to play with the pace and the way that Joe wants us to play.”
New York is coming off Friday’s 142-105 loss to Cleveland. It was the most points the Knicks have allowed during regulation in any game this season.
“Just can’t give in, and that’s the biggest thing,” New York coach Tom Thibodeau said. “You can’t allow anything to break you. You got to have the mental toughness to get through things. And so there’s got to be a lot more resolve, particularly on the road against the team that is this good, you know?”
The Knicks didn’t have swingman Josh Hart, who missed his second straight game because of a sore right knee. Hart is averaging 14.7 points, 9.6 rebounds and 5.7 assists this season.
“I mean, obviously, he’s — no pun intended — he’s the heart of our team, really,” New York’s Jalen Brunson said. “We can’t just say, ‘Oh we don’t have him tonight. Let’s chalk it up as an L.’ That’s not how stuff should go.”
OG Anunoby played against Cleveland after missing New York’s previous five games because of a sprained foot. Anunoby finished the game with five points in 27 minutes and appeared to reinjure his foot in the third quarter.
“It’s about what I thought it would be,” Thibodeau said. “There was some good minutes early. … There’s some rust he’s got to work through, but I thought he had good energy.”
New York has an 0-6 record this season against the NBA’s top three teams — Cleveland, Oklahoma City and Boston. The Knicks are 0-2 against the Celtics, who earned a 132-109 home victory on opening night, and prevailed 131-104 at New York on Feb. 8.
Thibodeau said playing Sunday afternoon following a Friday night game will make the challenge of beating Boston on the road even tougher.
“That’s part of this league, and you got to have the toughness to get through those things,” he said. “That’s what the schedule says, just be ready to play.”
