Final: Celtics 113, Knicks 99 -- C's pull away in fourth quarter for third straight win

Kyrie Irving showed no signs of rust in his return from a hip injury, lead the Celtics with a team-high 23 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists to help the visitors pull away in the fourth quarter with a 113-99 win over the shorthanded Knicks.

The game was surprisingly competitive throughout the first three quarters despite the fact New York traded away their starting backcourt on Thursday in a blockbuster deal with the Dallas Mavericks. Still, the Celtics did enough to keep the young hosts at bay, thanks to balanced scoring that included six different Celtics scoring in double figures. Marcus Morris (four made 3s), Al Horford (12 of 14 points in the third quarter) and Gordon Hayward (14 points off the bench) looked solid in stretches but it was Irving who was the main attraction after a day of speculation about his future. The Garden crowd chanted "We want Kyrie" on multiple occasions and cheered the All-Star most times he touched the ball. 

It was the third straight win for the Celtics who are now 7-1 in their last eight games. The Knicks have now lost 12 straight games and have dropped 19 of 20 overall. Boston gets tested next on Super Bowl Sunday against the hottest team in the NBA, as Oklahoma City has won seven straight.

First Half Notes

• Kyrie Irving hearing cheers every time he touches the ball in front of the Garden crowd in wake of his noteworthy comments on Friday morning.


•  Knicks open up the game on a 13-4 run thanks to some hot shooting (5-of-7 from field) and hot 3-point shooting from Knox and and Kornet.


• C's answer with a 13-2 run once the starters offense gets going. Tatum, Morris and Irving all providing early sources of offense after an ugly shooting start for the team.


• Ball movement not as pretty early on as it was earlier this week against Hornets and Nets. C's haven't been able to bottle this up much all year long.


• Some promising minutes for Gordon Hayward, who threw down an alley oop in transition and finished strong on a second drive as well and had a big block. He leads the bench with eight points.


• Irving (13 points) and Tatum (12 points) started to break things open the second half of the second quarter, breaking open a 39-39 tie, with a 19-10 run.


• Boston with a 9-2 edge in the turnover category in the first half. C's aren't stopping Knicks much when they shoot (47 percent) but the turnovers are leading to easy offense.


• C's need to locate Dotson more on the perimeter (13 points) in the second half.

• The Celtics will have Kyrie Irving back in the lineup after a two-game absence to rest a strained hip.


• The Knicks will be incredibly shorthanded after trading away their starting backcourt on Thursday to the Dallas Mavericks (Tim Hardaway Jr., Trey Burke) as part of the Kristaps Porzingis blockbuster deal. Without them, the top point guard on the Knicks roster is former Celtics two-way player Kadeem Allen, as the Knicks will be missing Emmanuel Mudiay and Frank Ntilikina due to injury.


• New York is in the midst of an incredible tanking stretch, having lost 11 straight games and 19 of their last 20 to secure (for the moment) the worst record in the NBA.


• The Celtics will be looking to pull themselves out of a road funk after starting the season 11-13 on the road. Boston went 11-4 in January but only 1-3 on the road.