Celtics 114, Knicks 107: Scenes from one good quarter, at least

In a game where both teams had just 10 players each, the Knicks dropped a close one to the Boston Celtics, 114-107. The game started ugly as the Celtics jumped out to a 32-18 lead at home to end the first quarter. While Boston got some great looks from 3, the Knicks offense looked atrocious to start the game. Kemba Walker was very clearly looking for his shot early, but failed to get in a groove. Julius Randle was off again and offensively, looked like a shell of the former Most Improved Player that torched the Celtics for 35 points to start the season. Alec Burks and Nerlens Noel were both quiet offensively as well.

It looked like it was going to be another ugly game, but the Knicks were able to claw back in large part due to a very aggressive Evan Fournier. The Frenchman was hitting from downtown, but was also looking to get to the rack, turning the corner more often that he had been recently. The Knicks still went into halftime down 15, but Walker found his footing and led a big 23-5 run in the third quarter to take the lead before a Celtics timeout. The rest of the quarter was a physical back-and-forth affair with multiple technical fouls. For the Knicks, it was the continuation of the Fournier and Walker show.

But in true Knicks fashion, they found a way to lose control in the fourth quarter. Fournier finished with 32 and Walker finished with 29, and Burks chipped in an efficient 19 points on 9 shots. Randle on the other hand finished with 20 himself but shot 6/19, including 1/7 from 3. His body language was bad at times yet again and his defense was also inconsistent. But possibly more costly than that was the fact that the Knicks gave up 16 to Payton Pritchard and 27 to Josh Richardson. In a season where the Knicks bench has been one of the few positives, they managed just three points outside of the starters tonight, and it was a big reason they lost the game.

There will be no recap. Enjoy the rest of your weekend, folks!