Some news: As some of you likely have gathered by now, I'm officially joining the @bostonherald sports staff. I'll continue to contribute to the Herald's Patriots coverage, but my primary role will be covering the Celtics as they go for Banner 19. More: bostonherald.com/2024/08/05/…

No Devin Carter again tomorrow for the Celtics. He remains sidelined with mono. All other players are available vs. Chicago.

"What we focus on now is Jayson. Jayson is our best player. Jayson is our highest-character guy. He's our guy. We focus on that and we move forward.” After several days of Tatum vs. Brown discourse, Joe Mazzulla made his stance on the matter clear this morning. wp.me/panY8T-11Xkj

Joe Mazzulla on the comments from Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown: “I didn’t see exactly happened, but those two guys, they were together for 10 years, and they had great, great moments together. And at the end of the day, nobody is perfect. We all can be better. We all did great things. We all did things that we want to be better at. “So I think it's more just focusing on the greatness that those two were able to achieve and the fact that they're both great people. They're different in how they play the game. They're different in how they handle things. They're just — they're different. It doesn't mean that it's good or bad. They're just different. So you focus on the high character. “We're focused on Jayson because he's with us, he plays for us, he’s our guy. We're grateful for what Jaylen did in the past, but our focus goes to Jayson, who he is as a player, who he is as a person, and then we just move on from there. But you never forget the gratitude and the perspective of a former Celtic who has left this place in a better place. You can't forget that. “But what we focus on now is Jayson. Jayson is our best player. Jayson is our highest-character guy. He's our guy. We focus on that and we move forward.”

"There’s no beef, but there might be a little lamb chops and some gravy. He should stay ready at all times." Two weeks out from their first meeting as opponents, Jaylen Brown escalated his feud with Jayson Tatum. wp.me/panY8T-11Xj6

Derrick Henry numbers

"This ain't no (expletive) Shaq and Kobe. There's no beef. It's not about that." In a raw postgame news conference, Jayson Tatum insisted he has no "beef" with former Celtics co-star Jaylen Brown and called the discourse about their relationship "frustrating." He also said he called and texted Brown after the trade and would "welcome" a conversation with his former co-star. wp.me/panY8T-11Xan

Tatum: "This ain't no fucking Shaq and Kobe. There's no beef. It's not about that. There should be more praise."

Jayson Tatum: "That was my favorite part of the game. Kicking it out to (Neemias Queta) in a big moment, seeing him shoot it with confidence, I was so fucking happy."

Jayson Tatum on Jaylen Brown’s “cap” response: “I don’t have any animosity or beef or ill will towards him.” Said he called and texted Brown the day the trade went down. It’s “frustrating,” he said, that talk about their relationship has “turned into this drama type of thing.”

Reaction from the Celtics' locker room to Jayson Tatum's big night: Paul George: "JT was special. He was special from start to finish. He got to wherever he wanted. He put the team on his back." Mitchell Robinson: "I mean, I've seen JT do that when we played against him a couple times -- take over some games like that. To be on the same side of it and just witness that being on his team, it was mind-blowing."

After scuffling in Tuesday's opener, Jayson Tatum poured in 36 points tonight, including seven in the final 90 seconds, to lead the Celtics past the reigning champion Knicks. Boston 107, New York 103: wp.me/panY8T-11X5m

Big-time bounce-back game from Jayson Tatum (27-9-6 through three quarters).

Neemias Queta corner three alert

After a successful challenge, Jayson Tatum just became only the second Celtic to shoot free throws tonight. Neemias Queta was the only one to do so for the first 2 1/2 quarters.

Celtics are outscoring the Knicks 15-4 in points off turnovers.

Celtics 50, Knicks 49 after a Paul George buzzer-beater capped a competitive first half. Better offensive showing from Jayson Tatum thus far. Only 1-for-5 from three, but 4-for-6 on twos with six rebounds and three assists. C's bench is 5-for-10 from deep, helping offset a 2-for-10 showing by the starters.

Big cheer for these two guys: