Celtics defeat Knicks 108-104 in Opening Night nailbiter 

The Celtics squeezed out an exhilarating win in opposition to the New York Knicks of their season debut regardless of struggling for a lot of the second half, largely due to a powerful efficiency from Kristaps Porzingis, who scored 9 consecutive factors for the Celtics down the stretch and completed with 30 factors on the night time. It was probably the most ever scored by a Celtics of their debut recreation.

Regardless of main for many of the recreation, the Celtics fell down by six with 3:39 to go after a sequence of turnovers and defensive errors, however a Jrue Vacation layup, and 4 Porzingis free throws tied up the sport with two minutes to go. Then, with slightly below a minute and half to play, Porzingis hit a deep three and the Cs took a 104-101 lead.

A Julius Randle free throw and Isiah Hartenstein offensive board gave the Celtics a two-point lead with ten seconds left, when Payton Pritchard, checking in for Porzingis after spending a lot of the fourth on the bench, hit two clutch free throws that sealed the win.

After a profitable preseason and high-energy coaching camp through which gamers and coaches expressed power and pleasure for the 12 months forward, the Celtics stormed out to an early lead. Tatum was dominant, notably early on, and completed the night time with 34 factors (13-22 from the sector), 11 rebounds, and 4 assists. 19 of these factors got here within the first half.

Porzingis scored 30 factors on simply 8-15 subject objectives, hit 9 of 10 free throws, and 5 of 9 threes. Defensively, his imprint was all around the recreation, and he completed with 4 blocks. Taking part in in opposition to the staff the drafted him, Porzingis handled a refrain of boos all through the night time however got here out swinging with a 15-point first quarter.

For a lot of the sport, the ball was stagnant and the staff resorted to the kind of isolation ball this new-look group wish to keep away from. The Celtics shot 30.8% from three, a determine that usually resulted in a loss final season. However, 42 factors within the paint and 18 quick break factors allowed them to beat these taking pictures struggles.

Jrue Vacation, Derrick White, and Jaylen Brown completed with 12, 9, and 11 factors, respectively. Payton Pritchard scored 4 factors in 11 minutes – together with the 2 big free throws down the stretch.

Horford comes off the bench

For under the thirteenth time in his 16-year profession, Al Horford got here off the bench. He had beforehand expressed a need to begin, however modified his tune within the preseason when requested in regards to the matter.

“The kind of staff we’ve, we’ve a variety of depth. Now we have a variety of proficient gamers,” Horford stated earlier within the preseason. “One in all our strengths is our versatility as a staff. So there’s going to be instances that we’re going to must go a sure approach. There’s different instances that we bought to play huge, play small, issues like that. That’s simply the way in which it’s.”

Teammates lauded Horford for his willingness to exit the beginning line-up. “A variety of guys say they’ll do something to assist the staff win, however Al is the epitome of that,” Tatum stated at shootaround this morning. “We bought six starters, basically.”

Horford ended up ending with 8 factors on 3-4 taking pictures and seven rebounds in 26 minutes of motion.

Knicks stars battle

On the Knicks aspect, the celebrities struggled of their dwelling debut. Julius Randle, coming off of an All Star season however robust playoff run, completed with 14 factors on 5-22 taking pictures. Jalen Brunson, who had a breakout 12 months for the Knicks final 12 months, scored 15 on 6-21 taking pictures. Immanuel Quickley was a vibrant spot off the bench; the had 24 factors, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. RJ Barrett additionally completed with 24 factors.

The Celtics’ subsequent recreation is on Friday at 7:30pm, at TD Backyard in opposition to the Miami Warmth. They’ll look to avenge final season’s disappointing Recreation 7 loss with a win of their dwelling debut.