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BOSTON – It was the miracle of the eve of Thanksgiving, and the Celtics – not the Knicks – were the turkeys of change.
David Fizdale's Knicks baby grew up Wednesday, turned TD Garden into a cauldron of holiday jokes and hung on to defeat the Celtics, 117-109, to break a six-game losing streak.
Maybe Kyrie Irving will keep her free agent options after all. It was a pitiful performance for the busy Celtics (9-9), who underperformed this season after being prohibitive favorites of the Eastern Conference.
The Knicks went 5-14 away from their most cherished win of the season, though they nearly spoiled it after leading 26 in the first half. Boston reduced it to four with 1:05 left after an Irving float and a 3-pointer Gordon Hayward.
Boston kept going up until, once and for all, Trey Burke, a stud all night, immediately lost 3 points. There remained only the final dagger with 12 seconds to go.
"There was a key. It was Trey, "said coach David Fizdale. "He brought us home."
Burke, after not playing three out of four games this month, had a spectacular performance for the fourth time in a row, scoring 18 of his 29 points in the first period. He scored 4 out of 4 passes and 11 assists against Irving (22 points, 9 of 24, 13 assists).
Burke seemed to seal it with a mid-range jumper at 49 seconds, making it a six-point match. But Boston would not leave.
Tim Hardaway Jr. was stripped at half-time and Jaylen Brown was fouled in a quick break-up with 34 seconds to go, the Celtics to four.
Brown picked up a technique after the game, but Hardaway replayed the technical free throw. Brown managed one of two free throws, now the deficit to three. The local crowd had insulted the Celtics from the second quarter. The Boston fans had not seemed so angry since the curse of the Bambino.
The Knicks defeated Boston at 39% of the game as the Celtics offensive was surprisingly slow this season, averaging only 105 points per 100 possessions, bringing it closer to the bottom of the league.
Kevin Knox (11 points), rookie of Struggling Knicks, managed a consecutive double to raise the score to 90-70 with a time remaining at 10:20. After Frank Ntilikina's 9:50 rider put the Knicks at 21, Celtics fans let out more boos.
The Knicks, who looked like an expansion team lately, led to double digits in the second half of the second period, until the final two minutes when the Celtics took the lead. With a time out with 4:51 and the Knicks up to 15, many Celtics fans have invaded the exits.
After a slow start, Hardaway scored 21 points.
In a breathtaking first half, the Knicks rose to 26 in the middle of the second period and were leading 65-49 in intermission.
Fizdale started the same rookie course that gave Portland a bitter fight on Tuesday.
The Celtics reduced the deficit to three in ten in the third, but they could not get closer. Irving sent a pass to Alley-oop to Brown to bring him to 79-69. Burke then made an offensive foul on the half-court defense, but the Celtics fizzled.
Rookie Allonzo Trier gave the Knicks a 15-point lead by qualifying for the fourth after dropping a 3-pointer to the third quarter strike.
The Celtics were booed several times in the second quarter while the Knicks opened the game with the blast of a burning Burke, who scored 18 points in the first half. He made 7 baskets out of 11, sneaking half way and burying rider after rider. He also climbed into the hole for a few baskets, including a shot from the bank in the race in which he was knocked down in court and still made the bucket while shooting a foul.
A 3-pointer from Noah Vonleh gave the Knicks a 24-point lead, then Enes Kanter scored inside, drawing the biggest gaffes of a crush from Celtics.
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