One night after Heat center Kelly Olynyk scored a career best 32 points, Knicks journeymen forward Michael Beasley, a former #2 overall pick out of Kansas State, rose up to the occasion for the underwhelming Knickerbockers, dropping a season best 32 point 12 rebound stat line to help New York sweep out the Celtics 102-93, handing them their second straight loss.
A back to back sequence, Boston had trouble trying to defend the 6’10 all around forward, as he went on to have his best game arguably this year. The most impressing thing about Beasley’s 30+ point performance is that he scored everything in only 25 minutes, essentially a whole quarter less time to score than Olynyk’s 38 minute tenure in the starting role. With the bench rolling, New York had difficulties with their star forward Kristaps Porzingis, who did not make a single field goal (0-11) but sank his lone point of the game on free throws. Center Enes Kanter had a double double at halftime (10 points 10 rebounds) and finished with 14 points. Both Jarrett Jack and Courtney Lee totaled off the players in double digits with 12 a piece.
Second loss in two nights, Boston has hit a small slump, but every team faces these throughout the NBA. The continual progress of guard Kyrie Irving, the heavy workload he has immersed into, showcased once again with a 32 point effort to go with 3 boards and 4 assists. Jayson Tatum took in for 17 points to be the second guy in points, Al Horford flirted with triple double numbers (10 pts 6 rbs 5 assists) and Coach Stevens called up the young guns to see what they got in times of hope. Forward Abdel Nader and guard Kadeem Allen saw some playing time tonight, looking to boost the bench game as Nader hit two three’s. Allen played for less than a minute and did not accumulate any stats.
A 26-9 record, Boston still can control the destiny of the East, showcasing a strong first impression and seeing a small decline in play, but isn’t that normal with teams?
Next game for Boston- 12/23 vs Chicago
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