Jayson Tatum Scores 40, Praised By NBA Fans as Celtics Blow Out Jalen Brunson, Knicks

Boston Celtics legend Kevin Garnett said last summer that Jalen Brunson's New York Knicks were "built to challenge this Celtics team."

The Knicks have yet to live up to that expectation.

Jayson Tatum scored 40 points to lead the Celtics to a blowout win over the Knicks for the second time this season Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.

Tatum made history during the win by passing Jo Jo White and Dave Cowens for ninth on the Celtics' all-time points leaderboard (h/t Celtics broadcaster Sean Grande.)

He also joined Larry Bird and Paul Pierce as one of three Celtics with multiple 40-point outings against the Knicks, per Celtics statistician Dick Lipe.

His historic outing helped the Celtics win despite missing Jrue Holiday to a shoulder injury and Kristaps Porziņģis to an illness.

Tatum's 40 points also helped convince fans the Knicks have yet to present a serious threat to the Celtics' hopes of repeating as champions.

The Knicks were seeking redemption after watching the Celtics challenge the single-game record for 3-pointers while opening the season with a blowout win over New York at TD Garden.

But the Celtics led from the jump Saturday, scoring 10 of the game's first 12 points and not slowing down from there.

Despite Brunson's 36-point effort, the visitors led by as many as 35 points. The Knicks trailed by 13 points at the half, 20 after the third quarter and 27 by the final buzzer.

The Celtics had one of their most efficient team shooting nights of the season, making 54.1 percent of their shots from the floor and 48.7 percent from deep. Meanwhile the Knicks' second leading scorer, Karl Anthony-Towns, finished the loss with nine points after going 3-for-8 from the field.

The Knicks and Celtics meet again in just over two weeks when Brunson's team returns to TD Garden, then once more at Madison Square Garden on April 8.

The final matchup between these two teams could come in the playoffs as both fight to make it past the Cleveland Cavaliers and out of the Eastern Conference. The Knicks will need to work on solving their matchup issues with the Celtics before that time comes.