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The Knicks’ five-game losing streak is over. All it took was a showdown with the best team in the Eastern Conference.
The Celtics were missing Jayson Tatum and looking shabby, and the Knicks took the opportunity and brought the energy to get away with a dominant 105-75 win on Sunday afternoon at TD Garden.
The Knicks (6-8) have never lagged behind, leading up to 37 points to break out of their funk and give coach Tom Thibodeau a gift for his 63rd birthday. The defense led the way, holding the Celtics (8-4) to a season low in points.
Despite their recent struggles, the Knicks now have resounding victories over the Celtics and Bucks, two of the best teams in the Eastern Conference.
Julius Randle (20 points, 12 rebounds), RJ Barrett (19 points, 11 rebounds) and Immanuel Quickley (17 points, eight assists) fed the Knicks while Obi Toppin notched a career-high 12 points in the winning effort.
Amid questions about how to shake up the lineup, Thibodeau stayed with the same starting five, and they came out strong from the point to establish an early lead. Randle and Barrett combined for 19 points and 10 rebounds in the first quarter as the Knicks worked their way to a 28-17 lead after the first 12 minutes.
Jaylen Brown kept the Celtics in the game early, scoring 11 points in the first quarter, but they otherwise looked sloppy early after playing just one game last week due to COVID-19 issues.
Mitchell Robinson, after supporting a bruised right heel on Friday against the Cavaliers, remained in the Knicks’ starting lineup but was quickly put back in place. In the middle of the first quarter, Robinson blocked a 3 point by Jeff Teague but landed hard with nothing to prepare for his fall. He returned in the second quarter but still seemed to be moving cautiously.
The Celtics had six points, 35-29, midway through the second quarter, but Quickley gave another jerk off the bench to fuel a Knicks push. The rookie point guard set up an alley-oop for Toppin, then injured the Celtics with three floats over the next five possessions to take a 44-29 lead as Quickley racked up 11 points in just the second quarter.
The Knicks took a 48-35 halftime lead, with 35 points marking a season-low points allowed in a half.
Thibodeau’s crew offered no disappointment to start the second half, starting a 10-0 run to start the third quarter and removing any chance of the Celtics returning.
Kemba Walker, the Bronx native who the Knicks missed in the summer of 2019, made his season debut after sustaining a knee injury. He looked very rusty, however, contributing to the Celtics’ difficult afternoon.
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