Celtics Win as Brown Lights up the Knicks for a Season High 42 Points

The energy inside TD Garden felt familiar, thick with the tension of a playoff atmosphere between the Celtics and Knicks in early December. It wasn’t just a Tuesday night game; it was a rematch of last season’s Eastern Conference semifinals, and the New York Knicks arrived in Boston looking to settle a score. But despite a furious fourth-quarter rally from the visitors and a shooting clinic put on by Mikal Bridges, the Celtics held their ground, securing a gritty 123-117 victory behind a season-best performance from Jaylen Brown.

This wasn’t a wire-to-wire cruise. It was a fight that required Boston to dig out of an early hole, weather a storm, and execute precisely when the lights were brightest.

Jaylen Brown makes a statement for the Celtics

If there were any lingering questions about Jaylen Brown’s ability to carry the offensive load, he answered them emphatically. Brown didn’t just score; he dominated, pouring in a season-high 42 points. He was the engine that drove the Celtics all night, particularly in the middle two quarters, where he seemed to score at will.

His performance was punctuated in the final seconds. With the Knicks scrambling and the outcome still feeling precariously close, Brown cut through the lane for a thunderous dunk that finally let the Garden exhale. It was the exclamation point on a “statement season” for the star wing, proving he can be the primary catalyst against elite competition. He finished the night filling the stat sheet with 4 rebounds and 4 assists, but it was his scoring efficiency that kept Boston afloat when the offense stagnated elsewhere.

A furious rally by the Knicks

For a significant stretch of the second half, it looked like the Celtics might run away with it. They held an 18-point lead after three quarters, and the momentum was firmly in green. But the Knicks, led by a scorching-hot Mikal Bridges, refused to go quietly.

Bridges was simply unconscious from deep, becoming just the seventh visiting player in NBA history to drain eight 3-pointers at TD Garden. He dropped 17 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter alone, single-handedly dragging New York back into contention. A 12-0 Knicks run turned what looked like a blowout into a nail-biter, slicing the Boston lead to a mere three points at 102-99. Karl-Anthony Towns chipped in with a quiet but effective 29 points, helping the Knicks punish the Celtics in the paint and on the glass, where New York held a slight rebounding edge.

Unsung heroes step up in the clutch

When the lead shrank to one possession, the game could have easily slipped away. In the past, Boston has struggled to close out games where they surrendered massive leads. This time, however, help arrived from unexpected places.

After the Knicks cut the deficit to three, the Celtics responded not just with their stars, but with their depth. Josh Minott buried a massive 3-pointer out of a timeout—a gut-check shot that stabilized the offense. But the real surprise was Jordan Walsh. In a game filled with All-Stars, it was Walsh who provided the grit in the fourth quarter. He tallied six points and pulled down five rebounds in the final frame alone, including back-to-back putbacks that kept possessions alive and demoralized the Knicks’ defense.

Head Coach Joe Mazzulla highlighted Walsh’s contribution post-game, noting, “To me, the last six minutes of the game, he was just a great playmaker.”

Derrick White closes the door

While Brown provided the volume scoring and Walsh provided the hustle, Derrick White provided the composure. As the clock ticked under four minutes, White took control. He scored seven of his 22 points in the closing stretch, hitting tough shots and making the right reads to keep the Knicks at arm’s length.

White’s ability to facilitate (5 assists) and score in critical moments was the difference maker. When Bridges hit a late three to make it a four-point game with 46 seconds left, the tension was palpable. But the Celtics didn’t panic. They moved the ball, found the open man, and trusted their execution.

Resilience defines this Celtics victory

This win was about more than just moving to 12-9 on the season. It was a testament to resilience. The Celtics started the game flat, falling into a quick 17-4 hole that silenced the home crowd early. In previous stretches, trailing by double digits early might have spelled doom; coming into this game, Boston had lost 16 of its last 17 when trailing by 14 or more.

Tonight, they flipped that script. They answered the early deficit with a 12-0 run of their own to take the lead, and they withstood the late barrage from New York to secure the win. Currently 4-1 in the first five games of a brutal eight-game gauntlet, the Celtics are finding ways to win ugly, win pretty, and most importantly, win against the best the East has to offer.