The New York Knicks had a strong all-around performance against the Boston Celtics at home on Thursday to secure a 112-106 victory.
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The Knicks hit the ground running and jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. But Boston responded swiftly with their own scoring run and took control. Without Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum struggled to make his shots, but impacted the game in other ways.
He facilitated the offense and Payton Pritchard got going early. After an exciting first quarter, the Celtics led by three.
In the second quarter, Jalen Brunson and the Knicks responded well and played much better defense. While the Celtics also played well on defense, the Knicks were able to outscore them 28-24 in the second frame.
The first portion of the third quarter went exactly how the Knicks wanted it to. They pulled together a scoring run to take a 13-point lead midway through the quarter.
That’s when the Celtics caught fire on offense while forcing the Knicks into a cold spell. They stormed back into the game with a 24-9 run and regained control. After three quarters, Boston had retaken a two-point lead.
As the fourth quarter rolled along, both teams turned ice cold on offense. With just over three minutes to play, the game was tied at 101.
Both teams caught fire late and exchanged buckets as time ticked away, but the Knicks got a timely stop on defense with one minute to play.
That’s when Josh Hart sank two dagger threes to extend New York’s lead to six and secure the win.
Hart led the way for the Knicks with 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the floor while Brunson finished with 25 points and 10 assists.
For the Celtics, Jayson Tatum had 24 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists while Pritchard put up 23 points on 10-of-20 shooting.
James Parker contributed to this story.
