Coming into Friday (Oct. 23) night's game at TD Garden between the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics, one team was bound to end the contest in a 0-2 record with both ball clubs having dropped their season opener. But as we know now, it would be the Celtics emerging from the game with a win and a .500 record, the current NBA champions starting their defense in a notable hole.
"They played great," said Brunson of an especially physical outing from Boston in the win. "They played great on both sides of the ball. They made some touch shots at the end as well. You have to give them credit. I just think there’s a lot of things that we can do better as a team as well." A return to form for star Celtics forward Jayson Tatum played a significant role
in helping Boston secure the win after an inefficient debut game against the Detroit Pistons.
"He hit the (shot) in the corner, even the post-up one in front of our bench was a decent defense, and the one off the pick-and-roll when (Karl-Anthony Towns) defended, he was right there too," said Brunson of Tatum. "You've just got to tip your hat. It was three big time shots."
"I thought they matched our physicality, maybe exceeded it, but we've got to do a better job all around. We've got to be able to go out there and find a way," said Towns of Boston's play, who seemed understandably irked by the loss.
"It’s disappointing. You always want to win every game, especially, and we did a lot of good things today. But that’s a great team over there, and they got that win fair and square. So we've just got to be better next time."
Listen to "Havlicek Stole the Pod" on:
Blue Wire: https://tiny.ee/CdKp
iTunes: https://tiny.ee/RK47
YouTube: https://tiny.ee/cOW3
This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Brunson, Towns on how Boston Celtics put New York Knicks in 0-2 title defense hole
