The Boston Celtics beat the New York Knicks 107-103 on Friday night at TD Garden. Jayson Tatum scored 36 points and closed the game with a flurry of clutch buckets. It was his night. The headlines belonged to him.
But for Mitchell Robinson, the game carried a different kind of significance. Forty-eight hours earlier, he had called his Celtics debut one of the worst performances of his career. On Thursday morning, he told reporters he did not show up the way he needed to. He did not respond to his coach’s encouraging text messages because he was still stuck in his own head.
Then he walked into TD Garden on Friday and looked across the court at the teammates he had won a championship with four months ago.
Robinson Against His Former Team
Robinson said before the game that facing the Knicks was not the storyline he was focused on.
“It don’t really matter that I’m playing my former team,” Robinson said. “It’s more so just trying to bounce back from what happened two nights ago. At the end of the day, basketball is a business. And you got to play the team just like you play any other team.”
His play told a different story. Robinson blocked Karl-Anthony Towns at the rim in a fourth-quarter sequence that shifted the energy in the building. On the next possession, he finished a lob dunk off a pass from Derrick White that brought the crowd to its feet.
Foul trouble limited his minutes again. He picked up two quick fouls early and his fifth in the fourth quarter forced him to the bench at a critical moment. The discipline is still a work in progress. But when he was on the floor, his presence was felt in ways it had not been versus Detroit.
The rebounding was more engaged. The defensive activity was sharper. The energy that was missing on Tuesday showed up when it counted.
Robinson on Watching Tatum Take Over
After the game, Robinson spoke about what it was like to witness Tatum’s closing stretch from the same bench rather than the opposing one.
“I’ve seen JT do that when we played against him a couple times, take over some games like that,” Robinson said. “To be on the same side of it and just witness that being on his team, it was mind-blowing.”
“I’ve seen JT do that (before). To be on the same side as that is…mind-blowing.”
The comment also reflected something about Robinson’s own investment in this group. He wants to be part of what makes those moments possible. The defensive stops, the rebounds, the rim protection that gives the offense a chance to close games.
Final Word for the Celtics
Robinson called himself out after the Pistons loss. He took full ownership and refused to hide behind excuses. Two days later, he answered with a performance that showed flashes of why the Celtics signed him.
The foul trouble needs to be cleaned up. The minutes need to grow. But the bounce-back was real. Robinson blocked his former teammate, threw down a lob against his old squad, and watched his new franchise player close a game against the defending champions.
Four months ago, he was celebrating a championship in New York. Friday night, he helped beat the team he won it with. The chapter has turned.
Celtics’ Mitchell Robinson Gives Telling Jayson Tatum Verdict After Knicks Game