New York Knicks beat the Boston Celtics 111-89: Tough day for Boston fans

The New York Knicks defeated the Boston Celtics in a blowout that foreshadowed the Super Bowl, 111-89. The Knicks took the lead in the first quarter and never relinquished it.

New York seemed determined to put Friday night’s loss behind it, rolling on offense and getting back to the defensive play that sparked an 8-game win streak. Boston made things interesting with a run at the end of the second quarter, but the Knicks slammed the door shut with a shutdown third quarter.

The Knicks led for nearly the entire game. Jose Alvarado made his debut and fit seamlessly into a backup role. The rookie Mohamed Diawara got the timbs for DPOG after a stellar performance. This win was beautiful.

Let’s revisit the Knicks’ success through player contributions.

The Captain did exactly what we’ve come to expect from him after losses. Jalen Brunson dominated to lead New York back into the win column. He came out and dropped 15 points in the first quarter, then provided a steady scoring hand for the offense to fall back on during struggles. As soon as the Knicks took the lead, it seemed as if Brunson would never let it slip.

At least while he was healthy. Boston’s best run of the game came after Brunson came up limping from a bad closeout. But the injury didn’t linger, as the Captain came back with a great second half to seal the deal.

Karl-Anthony Towns pulled up in Amare Stoudemire’s goggles and played good, tough basketball for most of the action. But he had a stretch of forced plays off the dribble that led to turnovers, highlighting that he still hasn’t found his comfort zone in the offense.

It’s a testament to KAT stepping up that he didn’t get many clean looks but never let it sap his effort. Towns fought for boards and moved well defensively. He also chased Nikola Vucevic off the floor by drawing fouls.

The refs showed no love to Josh Hart, but he didn’t need it. Hart came crashing through the lane for three quick field goals early, setting the tone for a big scoring night for the Knicks’ energizer. Hart had ankle problems, and the Celtics beat him up, but nothing could slow him down.

The rest of Hart’s game was more or less what you’d expect. He worked hard and contributed across the board.

It would be unfair to expect Mikal Bridges to keep pace with Jaylen Brown. But Bridges’ scoring aside, Bridges gave Brown hell. He defended the Celtics’ star well and attacked Brown’s defense on the other side.

So, the statline is a little light. But that’s because Bridges spent most of his energy keeping Boston’s best player from ever getting comfortable.

I’m buying all the Mohamed Diawara stock I can. The rookie made acrobatic layups and knocked down open looks from distance. But his defense was even better.

Diawara got stuck on Jaylen Brown and didn’t back down at all. He picked Brown up full court at times and played effective defense on an All-Star.

Jose Alvarado quickly used his debut to show everything he’ll bring to the table for the Knicks. He hit shots, drove into the paint, and found the open man. He briefly played alongside Brunson, and the pair worked well despite their diminutive stature on defense.

Speaking of defense, we got a glimpse of Alvarado sneaking behind backcourt ball handlers for steals. He also played the passing lanes aggressively. His gambles left the defense susceptible at times, but they also paid off in steals and deflections.

That’s exactly the sort of response to a bad loss that I was expecting. The Knicks came out firing on all cylinders and put the Celtics away early on the road. That’s a big statement.

More importantly, Jose Alvarado already looks like a steal. The Knicks’ depth is miles ahead of last year. If the team is healthy when the playoffs roll around, they’ll have the flexibility to beat teams in a myriad of ways.

New York has one more doubleheader before the All-Star break. We’ll see how they handle those games, then discuss them here. See you next time, Knicks’ fam!