The Knicks spent huge this offseason to shut the hole between themselves and the defending champion Celtics.
Nicely, they’ve now met thrice through the 2024-25 marketing campaign, and that hole stays as extensive as ever.
Boston improved to 3-0 towards its Atlantic Division rivals with a 118-105 win Sunday afternoon at TD Backyard. The 13-point margin of victory was the slimmest of the season series, underscoring simply how dominant the Celtics have been towards a group anticipated to problem them for Japanese Convention supremacy.
Jayson Tatum fell simply in need of what would have been his second straight triple-double, ending with 25 factors, 10 rebounds and 9 assists. Jaylen Brown scored 11 of his 24 factors within the fourth quarter, serving to Boston draw back after New York trimmed a 27-point deficit to 4. Derrick White (19 factors) went 5-for-6 from 3-point vary. Kristaps Porzingis had three blocks and a steal; Jrue Vacation three steals and a block.
Karl-Anthony Cities registered 24 factors and 18 rebounds for New York earlier than a part of the fourth quarter with an harm. Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart scored 22 and 20, respectively, for the Knicks, who misplaced by 37 to the East-leading Cavaliers two nights earlier.
It was the fifth consecutive win for the Celtics, who improved to 9-1 of their final 10 video games, and ensured Boston would win a tiebreaker over New York in the event that they completed with equivalent data.
The Celtics outscored the Knicks by 19 factors throughout a dominant first quarter, doubling up New York in each field-goal share (60.8% to 30.9%) and 3-point share (44.4% to 22.2%). Porzingis and Vacation went a mixed 7-for-7 from the ground — together with three makes on the rim in transition — and have been defensive difference-makers, with the previous loudly rejecting a Josh Hart shot on the rim and the latter choosing Brunson’s pocket simply earlier than the first-quarter buzzer.
Regardless of being the ultimate Celtics starter to attain within the sport, Tatum racked up 10 factors, 5 rebounds and three assists within the first quarter alone. He gained his defensive battles towards Cities and drew two early capturing fouls on OG Anunoby, one in every of New York’s high defenders. Anunoby and Hart each returned from accidents to play Sunday, permitting the Knicks to subject their most popular beginning 5 for the primary time since Feb. 1.
Boston led 22-10 when Mazzulla made his first spherical of subs, sending in Al Horford, Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser and Luke Kornet en masse to affix Tatum. New York fared no higher towards that second unit, and the Celtics took a 38-19 lead into the second quarter.
Knicks reserves Landry Shamet and Cameron Payne spurred a quick rally early within the second, slicing the Celtics’ result in 11 whereas Tatum watched from the bench. However back-to-back makes by Jaylen Brown (turnaround jumper over Shamet) and Porzingis (straightaway three off a dish from White) swung momentum again towards Boston.
The Celtics outscored the Knicks 23-11 over the ultimate seven minutes of the primary half, culminating in a Tatum 3-pointer with two seconds remaining that made it 64-43. Tatum was a plus-27 in his 18 first-half minutes; each New York starter was a minus-15 or worse.
Cities and Mikal Bridges — the Knicks’ two marquee offseason additions — mixed for simply seven first-half factors on 3-of-15 capturing, with neither getting on the board till greater than midway by means of the second quarter. Bridges, whom New York traded 5 first-round picks to amass, has been a nonfactor in all three Celtics matchups this season. Eight of his 14 factors Sunday got here in rubbish time, the Knicks have been outscored by 23 factors with him on the court docket, and he completed with no rebounds, one help and one steal.
Consecutive threes by Brown and Tatum put the Celtics up by 27 early within the third quarter. However the Knicks rallied, ripping off a 23-5 run to chop the deficit to single digits. A lot of that got here towards Boston’s Tatum-and-the-subs lineup, which wasn’t practically as efficient in its second shift.
A 3 from Pritchard and robust work on the offensive glass from Kornet revived the Celtics’ offense late within the quarter, however Boston struggled to comprise a all of the sudden scorching Brunson, who scored 15 factors within the last six minutes of the third. Cities additionally turned rather more assertive offensively. The large man scored 12 factors within the third quarter, then opened the fourth with a 3 that made it a four-point sport.
That, although, was as shut as New York acquired.
“They made their run,” Porzingis mentioned. “We needed to make our run and never give them any hope that this sport might slip out of our arms.”
White sank back-to-back threes to cease the bleeding, then lofted an inbounds cross that Porzingis threw down for a thunderous alley-oop. Whereas the gang was nonetheless buzzing from his slam, Porzingis then denied a Cities dunk try, sparking a quick break and a Brown layup. Brown proceeded to attain 9 straight Celtics factors to assist Boston draw back.
Cities landed awkwardly after Porzingis’ rejection and limped to the locker room. He later returned, however not till the Celtics had rebuilt an 18-point benefit. They led by 21 with lower than two minutes remaining earlier than three late Bridges buckets made the ultimate scoreline a bit extra respectable.
The Celtics will head out on a fast two-game highway journey (at Toronto on Tuesday, at Detroit on Wednesday) earlier than starting a blockbuster seven-game homestand that options matchups with a number of of the NBA’s high groups. Cleveland, Denver, the Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma Metropolis all will go to Causeway Avenue between March 2 and March 12.
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