New York did something that had never been seen in the Joe Mazzula era of the Celtics
On Sunday afternoon, New York Knicks hit the floor for the big test against the Boston Celticslooking to bounce back from Friday’s loss to the Detroit Pistons. The Knicks had Karl-Anthony Towns is back in the squad for this match after missing the last game due to injury.
To say the Knicks played well in this matchup would be an understatement, as New York ended up winning 111-89 over their division rivals to tie Boston for the second seed in the East.
The Knicks defense was dominant in this oneas the 89 points were the fewest total scored by the Celtics during their tenure Joe Mazzulla as head coach, according to Knicks Videos on X, formerly Twitter.
Of course, it helped that the Celtics had brutal play from behind the arc, with Peyton Pritchard, Jaylen Brown and Nikola Vucevic going a combined 2-16 from three-point range. However, the Knicks still did what they needed to do to make things difficult for the Celtics, who had the number one offensive rating in the NBA entering this matchup.
The Knicks are now 34-19 and are looking to regain control of the second seed in the East after a losing streak recently knocked them down the Eastern Conference standings.
New trade acquisition Jose Alvarado had a solid game Sunday in Boston, scoring 12 points and providing his signature pesky defense all afternoon. New York is also hoping to get OG Anunoby back soon, as the forward has missed another game due to injury.
Anyway, next up for the Knicks is a home game against the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night in a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference Finals. After that, New York will have just one more game before the All-Star break, on Wednesday against the Philadelphia 76ers.
2026-02-08 23:22:00
