Final: Celtics 101, Knicks 99- a hard-fought win

WHO: Celtics (25-26) vs. Knicks (25-26)
WHEN: 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: TD Garden
RADIO: 98.5 The Sports Hub
TV: NBC Sports Boston

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUPS

Celtics
G: Marcus Smart
G: Romeo Langford
SF: Jaylen Brown
PF: Jayson Tatum
C: Robert Williams III

Knicks
G: Elfrid Payton
G: Reggie Bullock
SF: RJ Barrett
PF: Julius Randle
C: Nerlens Noel

LIVE COVERAGE, by John Karalis

Fourth quarter

• The Celtics were scoreless in the quarter until a Romeo Langford 3 at the 9:17 mark


• New York opened the quarter on a 7-3 run to open up a 7 point lead


• Celtics get it down to 2 after a Jayson Tatum 3


• Tristan Thompson is playing amazingly well for guy coming off the COVID protocol. His defense has keyed a 7-0 run that has given the Celtics a lead


• Marcus Smart made two big offensive plays, hitting a wide open 3 and then catching a Tatum airball and putting it in


• The Celtics are attacking and most of their baskets late in this quarter are coming at the rim


• This is a fantastic win. This is a rare gut-check win for this team.

• New York is out to an 11-3 run to start the quarter and they go up 7. The Celtics are lethargic and sloppy.


• The Celtics countered with an 8-0 run in less than a minute. It extended out to 13-2 after a Jaylen Brown 3-point play


• The Knicks are a tough defensive team. They really make a lot of things tough.


• It has been 71-68 for almost two full minutes.


• Jayson Tatum has 7 turnovers, half of Boston's total

• Romeo Langford is very obviously rusty


• Immanuel Quickley came in and a pair of shots to give New York a brief lead, but Semi Ojeleye's 2 3-pointers helped keep the game tied


• The Celtics are getting good shots but they're still not hitting a good enough clip to build a lead.


• The Celtics are up 16-3 in second chance points and they've grabbed 13 offensive rebounds


• The Knicks closed the gap with a couple of 3-pointers, including a banked-in 3 by Julius Randle

• The Celtics are 3-12 from the field to start the game, including 0-4 from 3. Starting Langford has led to a couple of understandable mistakes. The Knicks are 4-8.


• Robert Williams has 4 offensive rebounds in the first 5 minutes of the game


• The Celtics have forced some Knicks turnovers and are getting out running. Jaylen Brown has had some great finishes, including a dunk on a backd0or cut


• Celtics pushed the lead to 6 thanks to a 12-2 run. The Knicks missed 5 shots in a row while Boston went 4-7 over the same stretch


• The Celtics gave up a late 3 to Derrick Rose when they relaxed. They can't give up shots like that.

• Celtics vs. Knicks spread: Celtics -3


• Celtics vs. Knicks over-under: 209 points


• Celtics vs. Knicks money line: Celtics -150, Knicks +130