Jayson Tatum hits game winner, Celtics beat Knicks 104-102

The NBA released the official height and weight of all its players. The Celtics ranked as the second shortest, seventh youngest, and least experienced team in the league. In the off-season, the Knicks loaded up on power forwards signing veteran bigs like Taj Gibson, Bobby Portis, Julius Randle, and old friend Marcus Morris.

On Friday night, that advantage in size and experience didn’t matter.

After Marcus Morris (who hit a ton of big shots when he was with the Celtics) tied the game on a 3, Jayson Tatum (who Morris took under his wing when Tatum was a rookie) answered with a game winner.

It was another solid and well distributed performance by the starters. Kemba Walker put up a quiet 33 points, hitting all 14 of his free throws and dishing out a team high five assists. Jayson Tatum scored 24 points, inside and outside, hitting 4-of-8 from behind the arc and yes, a long-two to win it.

The team hit just 11 for 34 from behind the arc, but the offense was buoyed by their near perfect performance at the line, making 27 of 29. Shorthanded, the Celtics bench made up primarily of rookies, chipped in with ## points. Grant Williams had a solid, all-around game with 10 points and 4 rebounds.

Boston was without Jaylen Brown (sick), Enes Kanter (knee contusion), and Robert Williams (hip bursitis). The team will now have three-day layoff before heading out on a three-game road trip starting Tuesday in Cleveland.