Scenes from third-quarter torture

On Saturday night, the New York Knicks (34-23) hosted the Boston Celtics (45-12) at the Madison Square Garden. The Celts had won seven consecutive games, and the Knicks had snapped a four-game losing streak with a victory in Philly on Thursday. Boston is tops in the league; New York, fourth in the Eastern Conference. The stage was set for an exciting primetime game on ABC.

The shooting was sweet through the first half, with the Celts and the Knicks combining to hit 48-of-82 from the field. Boston attacked the paint, but the Knicks won the glass and were down only 62-58 at intermission. After halftime, the Knicks tied the score, but a barrage of Boston threes soon set our heroes back by 20, and that proved too much to overcome. Ultimately, New York lost the points in the paint, 58-38, and coughed up 14 turnovers en route to a 116-102 loss.

Jaylen Brown led the winners with 30 points, Kristaps Porziņģis added 22, and Jayson Tatum scored a tidy 19. For the Knicks, Jalen Brunson scored 34 on 12-of-25 shooting and dished nine dimes. Deuce McBride was a +2 and the only Knick with a positive rating (besides the end-of-bench guys in garbage time). Josh Hart had a fine 16 point, eigth rebound, six assist statline, and Donte DiVincenzo shot 4-of-8 from downtown on his way to 12 points. Miss Julius Randle and OG Anunoby? You betcha.

First Half

The national audience enjoyed expert shooting from the start of this contest. The teams combined to make 21 of their first 38 shots and 10-of-21 from downtown. New York went up by four points, lost ground, regained it, fell back, etc. By the end of the first quarter, the Celtics were ahead 30-26, thanks to 10 points scored by Jaylen Brown.

The better Jalen (of the family Brunson) had scored 13 points.

The visitors opened up an eight-point advantage just two and a half minutes into the second period. After a timeout, New York’s bench unit tightened up their waistbands. Bojan Bogdanović redeemed a few clunky minutes with a timely three-pointer. Miles McBride, so important down the stretch in Thursday’s win, contributed nippy defense and scored nine points in the second quarter. Here he catches Brown napping.

Although the Knicks did their best to hound him, Brown continued to sink difficult shots on his way to 20 first-half points. New York had shot well (51%) and won the rebounding battle 19-15 through two frames. Still nursing a sore Achilles, Isaiah Hartenstein played only 11 minutes on Thursday but logged 13 first-half minutes tonight. He, Josh Hart, Precious Achiuwa grabbed a total of 12 rebounds.

As for Hart, he played 22 of 24 possible minutes. His two hard-earned buckets helped New York close Boston’s lead at halftime, 62-58.

Seven turnovers didn’t help the Knicks’ cause, nor did losing the points in the paint, 36-22. Their bench had outscored their Beantown counterparts 20-11, however. If New York could prevent a Celtics surge in the third, keep getting those boards, and maintain their shooting pace, the short-handed Knicks just might steal a win. . . . Here’s your first-half shot chart.

Second Half

New York’s 6-2 run to start the third evened the score at 64, but Boston’s elite long-range shooting enables them to quickly turn around a score or stack up a lead. The Celtics responded to the Knicks’ promising start with a 12-2 tear of their own. The visitors converted six of their first seven three-point attempts in the third quarter and in a blink, New York found themselves down by 13 midway through the period. And then 20. Thanks to a push at the end and two free throws by Jalen Brunson, the Knicks had closed the score to 97-84 heading into the fourth.

Here’s one of the bright spots:

In the final frame, the Knicks quickley narrowed the differential to nine, but multiple blown defensive rebounds and multiple turnovers shot them squarely in the foot. They went five minutes without scoring, and by then it was too late. A Kristaps Porzingis dunk from Derrick White put Boston up by 20 with just over three minutes left.

Worth noting: Alec Burks shot 1-of-7 from deep tonight, and is 10-27 since joining the Knicks on February 8. Not exactly the sharp-shooting we hoped for.

Up Next

Julius Randle worked out before the game, which was an encouraging sign. According to the ABC broadcast, he could return around mid-March. OG Anunoby is expected back within 1-2 weeks. All will be well. Next up for the Knicks, the Detroit Pistons will visit MSG on Monday. Sleep well, Knickerbockers.

Box Score