Tag: Knicks basketball

The Knicks outlast the Celtics 138-134 in a 2OT opening-night thriller

The Celtics mount a furious comeback, but fall short in New York on opening night

While the Madison Square Garden environment felt more like a May matchup than an October meeting, both the Celtics (0-1) and Knicks (1-0) showed their early-season legs late in a frantic double-OT finish. Ultimately, Julius Randle and Evan Fournier outlasted the Celtics in a 138-134 thriller after Boston mounted a furious comeback to force overtime.

Following a Fournier three with 58 seconds left, the Celtics trailed 112-106 in a game that felt over following a Knicks third-quarter surge. After a Grant Williams layup cut the lead to four, the Celtics came up with a steal and Robert Williams III converted on a pair of free throws.

Jaylen Brown had three of his game-high 46 points from the parking lot to put the pressure on New York late.

A wild sequence and inexplicably poor defense from the Knicks gave Marcus Smart a wide open three-point look at the buzzer which he drained to force overtime.

The overtime session began with both teams connecting on their first four shots from the field. Brown scored four of the first five Celtics points to begin the extra period, while Fournier poured in three straight threes for the Knicks. After trading blows, it was Jayson Tatum with the final look. The Celtics star could not connect on a difficult 15-footer as Boston headed to a second overtime on opening night.

Tatum struggled with his shot all night long, finishing 7-30 from the field and just 2-15 from three-point range. He would end the night with 20 points and 11 rebounds.

The second overtime saw Fournier with yet another answer for New York, as his sixth three gave the Knicks a 136-134 lead with under a minute remaining. The Frenchman finished with 32 points in his Knick debut.

Before there was double-overtime craziness at Madison Square Garden, the Celtics built a six-point first-quarter lead behind hot shooting early. Late in the third-quarter, a scoring flurry from RJ Barrett and Obi Toppin turned a seven-point Celtics lead into a four-point Knicks lead by the end of the period.

In the end, both teams were playing on tired legs in the overtime sessions as the Knicks were able to knock down a few more late jumpers.

It was an incredible Boston comeback to force the overtime session, but the Knicks showed the resilience that defined them a year ago in the opening win.

The Celtics will have to fight

The NBA world and his Knicks teammates react to Julius Randle dropping 44 in win over Atlanta

The Knicks PF is making a strong All-Star case.

Sitting right on the cusp of his first NBA All-Star selection, New York Knicks forward Julius Randle may have tipped the scale in his favor tonight at the world’s most famous arena. The Knicks (14-15) continued to surprise the league as their offense clicked in a 123-112 home win over Atlanta that elevated them to 6th in the Eastern Conference.

Randle continued to play the best basketball of his career, finishing with 44 points on 7 made threes including a clutch dagger down the stretch. The lefty was oozing with confidence, elevating the Knicks when it mattered most. Arguably his toughest make of the night was the one that sealed an important win in the Eastern Conference playoff race:

How did his teammates react to his massive night? They bombarded his postgame interview. Here is a look at that scene and more reaction from around the NBA landscape after the Kentucky product went off at Madison Square Garden: