Everything you need to know about the Knicks beating the Celtics 117-109 in BSJ Quickie Form.
Box Score
HEADLINES
Rock bottom arrives: The Celtics entered Wednesday’s matchup favored by 13 points against a Knicks team that had lost six straight and was going off a back-to-back game in New York on Tuesday night. After stumbling in six of their last nine games, the C’s had plenty of motivation to come out with fire but they ended up getting run off the floor for the majority of the first half, falling behind by as many as 26 points in the second quarter thanks to stellar performances from former castoffs such as Trey Burke (29 points, 11 assists) and Noah Vonleh (16 points, 10 rebounds). The boo birds were out in full force before the half, but the hosts put up a fight after intermission.
The C's trailed by double digits for most of the final 24 minutes but trimmed the deficit all the way down to three points in the closing minute but Burke’s final basket of the night, a 3-point shot over Jayson Tatum in an isolation switch, sealed the deal for the visitors and dropped Boston to a woeful 9-9 amid their worst loss of the year. Kyrie Irving had a team-high 22 points and 13 assists for Boston in the setback while Marcus Morris (21 points) and Gordon Hayward (19 points) were integral parts of the late rally off the bench.
Offensive woes continue: Another day, another miserable shooting night from the field for Boston, who managed to hit just 39 percent of their shots against the 29th ranked defense in the NBA. The youngsters were the biggest culprit in this one as Terry Rozier (0-of-4), Marcus Smart (0-of-4) and Tatum (4-of-12) kept the C’s offense floundering during their stints before a 40-point fourth quarter. The Celtics also shot just 30.3 percent from 3-point range after missing their first 10 3-point shots on the night.
TURNING POINT
The Knicks went on a 27-10 run midway through the second quarter, pushing an early nine-point edge to 26 points behind the stellar play of Trey Burke and Noah Vonleh who torched the Celtics’ defense to the tune of 39 points in the second quarter. The Celtics recovered a little bit before halftime, but they were never able to dig out such a deep hole from the offense floundering.
TWO UP
Kyrie Irving: The point guard finished with 22 points and 13 assists (both team-highs), marking the first time in his NBA career he’s recorded 20-plus points and 10-plus assists in consecutive games. His 13 assists fell just one shy of his career and represent the most he’s had since being a member of the Celtics.
Al Horford: The All-Star big man found his offensive rhythm for the first time in seemingly weeks, scoring 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including a pair of makes from downtown. The output matches his season-high and he also added seven rebounds, five assists and three blocks in 35 minutes.
TWO DOWN
Terry Rozier: One day after getting Twitter all worked up with a cryptic tweet, the point guard delivered his worst performance of the year, going scoreless in 15 minutes with a team-high minus 15. He also grabbed just one rebound and has now missed two of his last 17 attempts from 3-point range.
Pick-and-roll defense: It doesn’t matter if it’s Jamal Murray, Kemba Walker or a castoff like Trey Burke: If you are running a pick-and-roll right now against the Celtics’ defense as a speedy guard right now, you have a chance of having a field day. Burke got whatever he wanted against the C’s in the second quarter, attacking holes, abusing mismatches and dishing out easy looks for his teammates. The C’s look slow and are in the wrong spots when defending these matchups time and time again and they are paying for it.
TOP PLAY
The lob: ✅
THE JAM: ✅#SunLifeDunk4Diabetes pic.twitter.com/X7oz9in7Ke
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) November 22, 2018