Jayson Tatum came to play. The Boston Celtics star forward had a fantastic first half versus the Knicks at the Madison Square Garden Wednesday night, having already poured 19 points on 8-for-14 shooting from the field in only the game's first two quarters.

One of his best buckets in the contest thus far came late in the second quarter, where he rewarded Al Horford's offensive rebound by penetrating the Knicks' interior defense and completely embarrassing it by finishing with a two-handed slam.

That's just what happens when a great offensive player such as Tatum gets an opportunity against a lousy defensive stance, just like what the Knicks have during that particular play. Not only did the Knicks give up an easy offensive rebound to an aging Horford, but they also looked so lackadaisical in trying to prevent Tatum from invading the painted area. No wonder the Celtics had the lead at the half.

As great as Tatum has been playing in this game, the Celtics expect more from him. The good news for Boston is that Tatum is capable of being much better. Last season, Tatum averaged a career-high of 30.1 points per game on 46.6 percent shooting from the field and 54.3 effective field goal percentage.

The Celtics, who reached the Eastern Conference Finals last season, are looking to kick off their 2023-24 campaign with a win against an Atlantic division rival before traveling home for a matchup against another East rival in the form of Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat on Friday.