As the final seconds ticked away in Tuesday night's primetime matchup between the Boston Celtics and the New York Knicks , Jaylen Brown snuck free behind the defense and threw down a slam, which gave him a season-high 42 points and cemented the Celtics' 123-117 victory.

The Celtics have now knocked off the Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers -- the clear preseason favorites in the Eastern Conference this season -- in consecutive games, and have won seven of their last 10 contests to improve to 12-9. During that stretch they've also beaten the East-leading Detroit Pistons , and are now in eighth place, just 2.5 games back of the No. 2 seed.

This was supposed to be a gap year for the Celtics, who are still without Jayson Tatum while he rehabs from a torn Achilles tendon, and lost Kr

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