It felt like deja vu on Friday night at TD Garden. The Boston Celtics had a fourth-quarter lead, but the New York Knicks were cutting into it and gunning for their first win. However, instead of a similar result to the 2025 Eastern Conference Semifinals occurring, the C's left the building with a 107-103 victory, as star forward Jayson Tatum came in clutch for the Green Team down the stretch.

The six-time All-Star outscored the Knicks 7-5 in the final 1:30 of the primetime contest. He was getting to the rim, connecting from deep, and putting a lot of pressure on the reigning NBA champions. Tatum's final 3-pointer gave the Celtics a 106-100 advantage with just 30 seconds remaining and virtually secured the wire-to-wire win. The 2024 NBA champion finished with 36 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, and just 2 turnovers in 37 minutes of play.

As for the rest of the Celtics, center Neemias Queta contributed 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks off the bench. He attempted a team-high 9 free throws (just 1 off his career-high of 10) and even hit a 3-pointer in the corner off an assist from Tatum during the third quarter. First-year Celtic Paul George also put together a solid outing with 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 assists.

The Knicks were scrappy as usual, but they couldn't overcome the rival Celtics, who led by as many as 12 points. Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns recorded a team-high 22 points to go along with 10 rebounds while Deuce McBride posted 20 points off the bench courtesy of 2 free throws and 6 triples.

Boston is now 1-1 to start the season — slightly better than its 0-2 record to begin the 2025-26 campaign. They'll remain home for their next three games, the first of which takes place on Monday night when the 1-1 Chicago Bulls come to Beantown.