Jaylen: C’s ‘not overlooking anybody’ after dominating Knicks originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Celtics are playoff-tested enough to know not to overvalue regular-season results.
On Sunday, they led the No. 3 seed New York Knicks by as many as 27 points en route to a lopsided 118-105 victory. They’re now 3-0 vs. the new-look Knicks this season with all three wins coming in convincing fashion.
New York beefed up its roster during the offseason to compete with the reigning NBA champions, but those moves haven’t worked in its favor to this point. What kind of message does Boston’s recent dominance send to its Eastern Conference rival?
“No message,” Brown told NBC Sports Boston’s Abby Chin after Sunday’s win. “I think we just have been playing some good ball, and maybe we caught them on a bad day. Anything can happen in the playoffs, so we’re not overlooking anybody. So we’ve just got to get ready for the playoffs.”
Brown and C’s coach Joe Mazzulla share the same mindset. Mazzulla was asked after Sunday’s game what being 3-0 against the Knicks — with all three wins by double-digits — means.
“It means absolutely nothing,” he answered.
Although he isn’t underestimating the Knicks or anyone else, Brown admitted New York’s active offseason and other big moves in the East have given him extra motivation.
“Absolutely,” he said. “I don’t think I need to explain why, but it does. So we’ll be ready. Just the playoffs, just wanna be healthy. The Cavs and Knicks, they’re good teams, so anything can happen. We gotta focus on the details, but I’m looking forward to it.”
The Celtics’ fiery mindset has matched their performance over their last 10 games as they’ve won nine of them, including five straight heading into Tuesday’s game in Toronto. Jaylen Brown (24 points, 8 rebounds on Sunday) and the rest of the group will look to keep it rolling and catch the first-place Cleveland Cavaliers in the East standings.
Tuesday’s Celtics-Raptors matchup is set for a 7 p.m. ET tip-off on NBC Sports Boston.
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