Celtics dominate Knicks, whose struggles vs. top teams continue in 118-105 loss

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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

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).

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.

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.

The Knicks are winless against the Cavaliers and Celtics,…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/celtics-dominate-knicks-whose-struggles-203301795.html

Author : SNY

Publish date : 2025-02-23 20:33:00

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