Celtics-Knicks Player Grades and Stats: Scheierman's 20 Nearly Saves Celtics in Loss

The Celtics were without Jaylen Brown but they still had a chance late in the game to beat the Knicks and cinch the second seed, but their earlier shooting struggles were too much to overcome. So was Josh Hart, who blasted the Celtics late in the game, giving the Knicks a 112-106 win and the season series.

Box Score

Game Flow

The Knicks started the game on a 7-0 run but Boston answered with a 21-7 explosion, fueled by Jayson Tatum, Neemias Queta, and a bunch of second chances. The Knicks recovered behind Jalen Brunson to head into the second quarter down by just three.

They put together a 10-0 run to retake the lead. The Celtics took it back after a couple of Payton Pritchard buckets and the teams went back-and-forth after that. The Celtics shot just 6-20 in the quarter while the Knicks shot 12-24, but the Celtics were +9 at the free throw line, which helped them keep it to 54-53 Knicks at halftime.

The Knicks opened the quarter on a 12-4 run to take their biggest lead of the game. The run extended to 18-6 as the Celtics continued to brick their shots and Karl-Anthony Towns continued to dominate the game. Tatum finally got them going and a 10-0 run cut it to three. Pritchard caught fire to lead the comeback, extending the run to 24-9 and flip the lead to 83-81 Boston after three.

Baylor Scheierman got cooking, scoring 11 in the quarter and giving the Celtics a lead with 2:19 left, but Josh Hart scored eight of his 15 fourth-quarter points after that to close the game out and send Boston home with a six-point loss.

Player Grades

Baylor Scheierman: A- (20 points, 4 rebounds)

He shot 7-8 from the field, 6-7 from three, and he was loving every minute of it. You won’t find a more confident player around.

“Obviously the shot making is the easiest thing to see and it helps us on the scoreboard. but he just does a lot for us,” Joe Mazzulla said after the game. “Whether it's his crashing or his defense, but his instincts on both ends of the floor is just continuing to get better and better. That's what we need heading down the stretch.”

The Celtics needed someone to step up with Brown sitting out, and Scheierman did the job.

Payton Pritchard: A- (23 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists)

He was a huge reason why the Celtics were able to win the third quarter. His work in the paint is always impressive, especially him getting into the mix for offensive rebounds. His performance went from A+ to A- in the fourth when he went 0-3 with a turnover.

Jayson Tatum: B+ (24 points 13 rebounds, 8 assists)

That's an amazing raw stat line, but the 7-22 shooting, 2-10 from three, and the six turnovers (three in the fourth quarter) and -16 tell a more complete story. I’m giving Tatum somewhat of a pass on this particular game because of the moment he was dealing with. He wasn’t at his best in this game, but at the same time, he was just okay and put up 24/13/8. As I’ve written many times, you have to be pretty damn good to have that be an “okay” stat line.

Neemias Queta: B- (10 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 5 fouls)

On the plus side, he had six offensive rebounds and was a big reason why the Celtics stayed in it early. On the negative side, he was in foul trouble for a lot of the game and he was very effectively targeted as a pick-and-roll defender in the fourth quarter.

I think the Celtics held back on their defensive game plan to avoid tipping anything to a potential second-round opponent, so there's something Joe Mazzulla could have done to help. Still, it didn’t look good watching Queta get twisted around like that down the stretch

Sam Hauser: C+ (6 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists)

He was one of three Celtics with a positive +/- but the Celtics need him to be automatic on open three-pointers. I’m happy to see him do other things, but he also has to do the main thing.

Jordan Walsh: C+ (5 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist)

He needs to fix his fouling issues, mainly because they tend to be avoidable fouls. I think a more in-control Walsh can be an asset guarding Jalen Brunson. He could be a weapon to unleash in a fourth quarter playoff lineup. But he HAS to play under control.

Nikola Vucevic: C+ (10 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists)

I saved the reveal of the three players with the positive +/- for this section because Vucevic was one of them! Pritchard was +4, Hauser +1, and Vucevic +1. That was entirely because he was on the floor for a big third quarter run that kept the game close.

Queta’s foul trouble showed the exact reason why getting Vucevic up to speed is imperative for the Celtics. At his best, Vucevic can give Boston some quality minutes and a change of pace at the center spot. The have to give him a chance to get there.

Derrick White: C- (8 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal)

The 0-6 from three really hurt. His 32.6% shooting from three is the lowest for a season since coming to Boston. Hitting two of them would have been a great help in this six-point loss.