Boston Celtics
In the fourth quarter, Mitchell Robinson — who had an otherwise relatively quiet game — made two of the loudest plays you’ll see.
Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) reacts after draining a three point shot from the corner in front of the New York Knicks bench late in the 4th quarter Barry Chin/The Boston Globe
After a disappointing season opener against the Pistons, Jayson Tatum bounced back in a big way as the Celtics improved to 1-1 with a win over the Knicks.
Here are the takeaways.
Jayson Tatum played the role the Celtics need.
If the Celtics are going to succeed — this season, next season, for the next several years — it will be on the shoulders of Jayson Tatum.
That’s not to say Tatum has to score 36 points on 14-for-26 shooting every night (although it certainly wouldn’t hurt to see it as often as possible), nor is it to say that Tatum can never have an off night when facing a defender like Ausar Thompson.
But Tatum has been entrusted with enormous responsibility by the Celtics’ franchise, and on Friday, he lived up to the billing.
The stakes were as high as they could be for the second game of the regular season. The Celtics lost their opener in embarrassing fashion, blowing a 20-point lead against the Pistons while Tatum shot just 6-for-23 from the floor.
Meanwhile, the defending champion Knicks also lost their opener against the 76ers, which meant Friday’s showdown was between two Eastern Conference contenders, both of whom very much wanted to avoid the ignominy of starting their season 0-2.
Down the stretch, it was Tatum whose twisting layup put the Celtics up five, and it was Tatum who whipped a pass to Paul George in the corner, whose 3-pointer put the Celtics up six. When the Knicks surged and drew within one again, it was Tatum who hit a tough turnaround jumper over Josh Hart on one side of the floor, and then did it again on the other side of the floor.
Then with 30 seconds left, it was Tatum who stuck a 3-point dagger in the Knicks. New York hung around for the final 30 seconds but ultimately succumbed.
Tatum answered a number of questions with aplomb on Friday. His biggest shots were difficult makes over tough contests by Josh Hart, which could be cause for some concern, but he also found ways to pirouette to the basket for layups and dunks on multiple occasions. He defended well (three steals). He flirted with a triple double (nine rebounds and seven assists). He looked like himself physically.
Friday’s game doesn’t erase Tuesday’s struggles, and in the same way that Tuesday’s game was too early to panic, Friday’s contest is too early to celebrate.
Still, Celtics fans had reason to breathe easier and sleep better after seeing how Tatum responded to his first bad game of the year.
Tatum addressed the Jaylen Brown drama.
During a recent interview, Tatum said he was blindsided by the Jaylen Brown trade and was surprised the Celtics would trade him to an Atlantic Division rival.
Under the video, Brown commented the blue “cap” emoji, expressing his skepticism in the most direct way that we’ve seen publicly so far.
You can read Tatum’s comments in full here, but to draw out an important part, Tatum said: “There’s no animosity. There’s no beef. I just hate the way that — the conversation or the narrative around it, when there’s not enough communication, and I think a conversation would solve, or put out a lot of fires. And again, people process and handle things at their own time, and whenever that happens, it’ll happen.”
As he spoke, Tatum sounded more emotional than usual when talking with the media — a welcome shift from a player who can at times sound like a spoken word press release. Tatum called attention to the myriad successes he and Brown accomplished together. He also noted the media’s role in the drama — and to his credit, he acknowledged both the entertainment aspect of the league and that the media had little choice but to ask him about his relationship with Brown — but he did his best to clear the air while adding that he would like to speak to Brown, whenever Brown is ready to talk.
“I reached out to him the day he got traded,” Tatum said. “Like, I called him, I texted him.”
Tatum was diplomatic and open about a raw, and potentially awkward, situation. He laid the situation out as baldly as he could without fanning the flames.
He was, in short, a leader off the floor on Friday in addition to being a leader on the floor. The former is less important than the latter which — in a way — was partly what he was trying to say.
Paul George slots in well in his normal role
George’s monstrous debut was nice, but he also looked very comfortable in what will likely prove to be his role far more often this season as a secondary option to Tatum.
George finished with 15 points, made three 3-pointers and pulled down seven rebounds. He’s a reliable option with the ball in his hands, and he can do more off the bounce than one would expect from a 37-year-old in the NBA.
Maybe the biggest eye-opener has been George’s defense — he grabbed a pair of steals on Friday, and he consistently looks big and overwhelming against excellent offensive players.
On a team that is self-evidently built around Tatum, George looks like a great fit.
Neemias Queta hit a real-life 3-pointer
Queta also had a bounce-back performance after the Celtics’ bigs were a major letdown against the Pistons.
His biggest moment, of course, was a rhythm 3-pointer from the corner, created by a winding pick-and-roll for Jayson Tatum.
NEEMIAS QUETA 3 BALL
Celtics go to the Angle PnR + High ball screen set up
Baylor parked in the mid range to screen for JT – Tatum draws OG on the drive and kicks out to the big fella pic.twitter.com/X5ZTsC4NFy
— Nik Land | NikNBA (@NIKNBAYT) October 24, 2026
However, Queta did quite a bit more — he tossed in a couple of floaters, he snagged four offensive rebounds, and he swatted away three big blocked shots. At one point midway through the third quarter, he whipped a pass between multiple defenders, going high-low with George for a big slam.
Queta finished with 15 points and six rebounds to go with his three blocks. The occasional 3-pointer is nice, certainly, but what the Celtics really need from him is rim protection, a big presence in the paint and offensive rebounds. He provided all of that on Friday (and a 3-pointer).
Mitchell Robinson plays huge sometimes
In the fourth quarter, Mitchell Robinson — who had an otherwise relatively quiet game — made two of the loudest plays you’ll see.
The first was a massive block against Karl-Anthony Towns, after which Robinson turned to stare and bark at the crowd.
The second was an absurd alley-oop dunk from Derrick White, which Robinson mashed home with enthusiasm.
The ease and flourish with which Robinson caught and powered down the one-handed slam is not something every NBA player — or even every NBA big — can do. After the game, Robinson greeted his former teammates with smiles and hugs, but he looked pretty pleased to remind them how high he can get.
Jordan Walsh makes some sense as a starter
Walsh got another start and played 20 minutes after a 13-minute stint against the Pistons, and he is starting to make sense on the floor with some of these lineups.
Walsh is not going to demand the ball, but he will make runs to give you the opportunity to throw him the ball.
He won’t try to do too much offensively — at least, not often — but he isn’t afraid to take a 3-pointer or drive a close out.
Most importantly, he is an absolutely dogged defender who seems to relish when he can speed the opposing team up. That aligns nicely with how the Celtics appear to want to play this year — a little faster, a little more chaotic, and very athletic.
Notably, Baylor Scheierman played just 11 minutes, while Hugo Gonzáles played just over three. At least for now, Walsh seems to be Joe Mazzulla’s pick among candidates from that group.
Luka Garza played a very short, very solid stint
Garza played just 3:30, but he went 3-for-3 from the floor, 2-for-2 from deep and made a put-back layup during a stint in the first quarter. He never returned, but he helped the Celtics keep pace during the first 12 minutes and looked significantly better than he did in Tuesday’s tough matchup against the Pistons.
What’s next
The Celtics stay at home for their next two games — a back-to-back on Monday and Tuesday against the Bulls and Nets respectively before the NBA’s group stage begins next Friday.
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