Final: Celtics 103, Knicks 73

GAME: No. 52 of 82:
WHO: Celtics (36-15) vs. Knicks (23-28)
WHEN:  8:00 EST
WHERE:  TD Garden
RADIO: 98.5 the Sports Hub
TV: NBC SPORTS BOSTON, ESPN
BOX SCORE: NBA.COM

Projected starters

Celtics
PG: Terry Rozier
SG: Jaylen Brown
SF: Jayson Tatum
PF: Al Horford
C: Aron Baynes

Inactive: Marcus Smart (hand) and Kyrie Irving (quad) are out. Shane Larkin (knee) is questionable.

Knicks
PG: Ramon Sessions
SG: Courtney Lee 
F: Tim Hardaway Jr. 
F: Kristaps Porzingis
C: Enes Kanter

Inactive: Joakim Noah (personal) and Ron Baker (shoulder) are out.

Third Quarter Notes

• The backcourt did the heavy lifting for the offense in the first half, but it was the frontcourt's turn in third quarter. Tatum, Baynes and Horford combined to score 13 of Boston's 15 points in the opening five minutes of the frame.


• Horford was particularly hot, knocking down a jumper and taking Porzingis twice to the rack with strong drives to his right.


• The best offense the Knicks have going right now is on the offensive glass with Kanter. They really can't keep the seven footer out of the paint.

• Offense came to a bit of a standstill for both sides as they went to heavy bench units in the second quarter.


• Marcus Morris remained the only reliable source of offense for the C's second unit, scoring 11 first half points. He's now scored in double-digits in a career-high nine straight games.


• Porzingis (13 points) and Kanter (1o points) are getting theirs, but C's doing a nice job of preventing the Knicks wings from getting anything going.


• C's did a nice job of keeping Kanter taking over offensive glass despite only playing Baynes 11 minutes. That was a huge issue during first two games.


• Rozier cooled down big time after his hot start, missing six straight shots in second quarter.

• What a start by the Celtics backcourt. Jaylen Brown and Terry Rozier combined to score the first 14 points of the game for Boston.


• Rozier particularly was red-hot early, starting 4-of-4 from the field and 3-of-3 from 3-point range.


• Porzingis has had a history of struggling again against the Celtics this year but he came out firing on Wednesday night, scoring seven early points, many of them coming in transition.


• Enes Kanter has killed the C's on the offensive glass all year and that trend continued (five first quarter rebounds) Aron Baynes had some nice defense against him down low.


• With Terry Rozier as the team's only healthy point guard besides Kadeem Allen, Al Horford got a chance to run point for a few minutes this quarter. He tallied four assists in the first quarter


• Abdel Nader handled defensive point guard duties while Horford ran point.

• Tonight's game will be the start of a three-game homestand for the Celtics against some inferior competition (Hawks, Blazers). With the Raptors trailing the top seed by just one game in the East, the C's will need to take advantage of the softer slate of games to stay atop the East.


• The Celtics are in the midst of a three-game home losing streak.


• The Knicks have played 14 of their last 18 games on the road. They've gone a 6-12 over that stretch, pushing them out of the East playoff picture for the time being.


• Shane Larkin is expected to be a game-time decision after being a late scratch for the Nuggets game with a sore knee.


• The Celtics have split the season series 1-1 so far.


• Full analysis on Kyrie's injury and the implications on the rotation for the Celtics