The Knicks’ 118-105 defeat Sunday at the Boston Celtics kept New York winless against the Eastern Conference’s top two teams, following this past Friday’s 142-105 loss to the Cavaliers in Cleveland with another failed test.
Takeaways
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The Knicks (37-20) need more from Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby, especially against heightened competition, for their postseason to last beyond the second round. Bridges — acquired by New York in an early-July deal that sent five first-round picks to the Nets, was a nonfactor on both ends, including 14 points on 6-of-13 shooting across 28 minutes. Anunoby — in the first season of a five-year, $212.5 million contract — was quiet offensively, scoring 10 points on 2-of-7 shooting over 35 minutes, while struggling to contain Jayson Tatum (game-high 25 points). The Knicks invested far too much into Bridges and Anunoby for them to put up these types of games against teams like the second-seeded Celtics (41-16).
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Along those lines, New York needs more help around Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns if it wants to truly hang with Boston and Cleveland. Brunson and Towns came alive in the Knicks’ 39-25 third quarter, but that was short-lived. After New York cut the deficit to 89-85 with Towns’ triple at the fourth quarter’s 11:32 mark, the Celtics’ 16-4 run into the 7:26 point created enough breathing room for Boston to pull away. The Knicks just did not have enough to match the Celtics, whose entire starting five scored in double figures.
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To that point, Towns left the game for Precious Achiuwa with 8:28 left in the fourth quarter after an apparent left knee injury. Towns totaled 24 points on 9-of-20 shooting while adding 18 rebounds in 41 minutes, returning to the game at the fourth quarter’s 4:12 mark. Brunson, meanwhile, scored 22 points on 9-of-19 shooting through 37 minutes. Although Josh Hart nearly added a triple-double on 20 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists in 40 minutes, New York’s Brunson-Towns reliance and lack of contributions across the board come to light when the stakes are higher against deeper teams such as Boston.
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The Knicks are winless against the Cavaliers and Celtics, with four of the five losses coming by double digits. New York opened the season with a 132-109 loss in Boston Oct. 22, followed by a 110-104 defeat against the Cavaliers six days later. The Celtics crushed the Knicks, 131-104, Feb. 8 at MSG before Cleveland handed New York the aforementioned 37-point blowout. Time is running out for Tom Thibodeau and company to show that they can hang with their upper-echelon foes.
Who’s the MVP?
Towns, who followed a slow start by scoring 14 of his team-high 24 points in the third-quarter comeback.
What’s next
The Knicks return to The Garden for Wednesday’s 7 p.m. game with the Philadelphia 76ers, who are 20-36 and have lost seven straight games — including Saturday’s 105-103 defeat against Brooklyn.
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