In a nationally televised matinee, the Knicks (34*-19) handled business in Boston, methodically burying the Celtics (34-19). With an All-Star performance by Jalen Brunson, terrific play by rookie Mohamed
Diawara, and a stellar debut by newly acquired guard Jose Alvarado, New York outshot Boston from deep (40% to 17%) and turned the ball over just eight times against one of the league’s better defenses.
Nearly a wire-to-wire win! Quoth ClydeWingo, “Our defense. Without OG. Damn.” Boston came into today with the second-highest offensive rating and was held to 89 points today and shot 7-of-41 from deep. Damn is right. According to Stefan Bondy, “Mo Diawara is the Defensive Player of the Game after holding down Jaylen Brown.” Hell yeah, he did!
Both teams were slow to wake up for the early matinee. New York whiffed on five of its first nine shots and Boston missed six of its first 10. Gradually, the visitors found some rhythm. With OG Anunoby sidelined by toe trouble, Landry Shamet (3 PTS, 1-4 3PT) was in the starting lineup. ShamWow didn’t score, but his passing-lane steal sparked a push that carried the Knicks to a 17–13 lead midway through the quarter.
Around the seven-minute mark, rookie Mohamed Diawara (10 PTS, 4-4 FG, a team high +22) checked in to relieve Josh Hart (19 PTS, 7-14 FG), playing on a sore ankle. Mo made an immediate impact, knocking down two quick baskets (including a triple). Out of one timeout, the rook played the role of point-of-attack defender, picking up Derrick White (19 PTS, 7-14 FG) and delivering a solid impersonation of Anunoby. More encouraging stuff from Leon’s French find!
As the Celtics missed repeatedly from deep—shooting just 15% in the period—the Knicks burst forth on an 11–4 run. Jose Alvarado (12 PTS, 5-12 FG, 2 ST, 1 BK) made his first appearance in orange and blue near the three-minute mark and quickly contributed a rebound and an assist, helping to sustain the momentum. Alvarado demonstrated all the qualities we hoped to see in him—dogged defense, a bit of shooting (2-of-6 3PT), and back-up ball-handling. Great debut from GTA!
By the end of the period, powered by Brunson’s 15 points, New York carried a 35-24 lead into the second quarter.
Notably, Tyler Kolek did not play in the first three quarters.
New York built upon their lead through Karl-Anthony Towns’ (clad in a pair of Stat’s eyewear) interior efforts, Diawara’s steady contributions, and contributions from Hart and Alvarado. Gang Green continued to brick from deep, though, allowing New York to advance by 17. Gradually, though, Boston chipped away at the deficit by tightening defensively and converting more shots from close range. Baylor Scheierman (10 PTS, 13 RB, 5 AS) dished out a few assists to White and Jaylen Brown (26 PTS, 11-of-25 FG), and Neemias Queta (4 PTS, 5 RB) added interior scoring and rebounding. The Knicks missed their shots on one-and-dones that allowed the Celtics creep back within eight.
After a timeout, New York responded by locking down the glass (esp. rebounding from KAT) and playmaking (e.g., nice assist from Diawara to Brunson for a three) for a 7-2 stretch. During that period, Brunson—who had stepped on somebody’s foot while shooting in the first quarter—showed signs that his ankle was giving him pain. Something to keep an eye on.
Benefiting from a friendly whistle, Boston rode a 10-4 stretch that narrowed New York’s halftime lead to 60-53. Our heroes had 60% from the field and 43% from deep, outscored the Shamrocks 11-4 in fast-break points, and committed just five turnovers. Boston had a 30-26 edge in paint scoring, but shot 5-for-22 from three. By intermission, Brunson led the Knicks with 19 points and six assists, and White had 17 for Beantown.
Fresh from the locker room, Boston cut into the lead by attacking the paint. They leaned on Brown, who scored on drives, free throws, and a turnaround jumper, while Queta added an alley-oop and enabled second chances by crashing the boards. Meanwhile, the Knicks went cold from the perimeter, missing several threes and watching their advantage dwindle to four.
From there, New York extended their lead by dominating the glass and getting timely threes from Hart and Shamet, a jumper from Brunson, and more rebounding by Towns (11 PTS, 10 RB) and Mitchell Robinson (5 PTS, 9 RB, 3-8 FT). With Brown, Payton Pritchard (6 PTS, 7 AS), and Nikola Vučević (11 PTS, 6 RB) all missing from deep, and Alvarado playing possessed defense, the Knicks raced ahead to an 85-68 lead at the break.
In the fourth, Boston opened the stretch with interior scoring from Vučević and a Pritchard three that briefly trimmed the deficit, but Alvarado quickly answered with a layup and a pull-up three, plus more steals. Mikal Bridges (14 PTS, 5-10 FG) added free throws, and Brunson then took control offensively, scoring on a floater, a midrange jumper, and back-to-back threes to push the lead back above 20. With Boston turning the ball over and still missing from deep, New York kept their foot on the gas. Late in the quarter, Coach Brown emptied the bench, sending in Kolek (6 PTS, 2-2 3PT, 3 MIN), McCullar, Hukporti, Clarkson, and Jemison to finish off the job.
Up Next
New York heads back to New York to face the Hoosiers of Indiana on Tuesday. Safe travels, Knickerbockers, and enjoy the Super Bowl, folks.
* Should be one more, but the NBA Cup Final doesn’t count.
