BOSTON -- — Jayson Tatum scored 25 points with 10 rebounds and nine assists to lead the Boston Celtics to a 118-105 victory over the New York Knicks on Sunday.
Tatum just missed getting a triple-double for the second straight game after earning one in a victory at Philadelphia on Thursday.
Jaylen Brown had 24 points and eight rebounds, and Derrick White finished with 19 points for Boston, which won its fifth straight and improved to 3-0 against the Knicks this season.
Karl-Anthony Towns led New York with 24 points and Jalen Brunson had 22.
The Knicks had whittled a 77-50 third-quarter deficit down to 95-89 on Mikal Bridges’ driving basket early in final quarter before the Celtics went on a 10-0 spree to take control. Brown had the last six points in the run.
Coming off a 37-point loss at the Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday, the Knicks fell behind by 27 points after Brown and Tatum hit consecutive 3s just 20 seconds apart early in third quarter.
Knicks: Josh Hart returned after missing the past two games with a sore right knee. Despite giving them solid defense and offense production (20 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists), it wasn’t nearly enough to overcome the gap between the teams.
Celtics: They beat the Knicks by 23 and 27 in their first two meetings this season.
With the Knicks climbing back, White threw an inbounds pass to Kristaps Porzingis, who had a one-handed slam that brought the crowd into it during Boston’s 10-0 spurt and ended New York’s threat for a big comeback.
Boston is averaging 127 points in its three wins versus New York.
The Knicks host the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday and the Celtics are at the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday.
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