SPANISH HARLEM – What a game! It doesn’t get any better than that to start a season. The New York Knicks beat the Boston Celtics in double overtime by the score of 138-134. It was a nerve wrecking first game, with the Knicks leading by 10 points late in the 4th quarter, when the Celtics mounted their comeback. Lead by Jaylen Brown, who had 46 points in the game, they chipped away and tied the game with a buzzer-beater by Marcus Smart.
I can sit here and write about the whole game, the slow start by RJ Barrett but that doesn’t matter. What you should know about is quarters 4 through 6. That is when that game really mattered because for every haymaker the Knicks threw at Boston, the Celtics countered right back with a haymaker of their own. To start overtime, it was a 3 fest, with Evan Fournier getting hot and hitting 3 threes in a row for only to have them match it on the other end.
It was only late in the 2nd overtime that the Knicks truly put the game away (if you can call it that). The comebacks were plentiful and when you thought that the Knicks would lose the game, they would make a winning play. With both teams playing their starters the majority of the minutes from the 4th quarter on, the Celtics couldn’t make a shot to get back into the game. The winning margin was only 4 points but that’s still 1 more than 3 and with the way the game was going, you needed to make two possessions.
Julius Randle was amazing, showing that last season wasn’t a fluke. He is still be one of the best players in the NBA. Barrett after a slow start, contributed on both ends of the court, while keeping Jason Tatum in check most of the game. Finally, the reason we won this game, Evan Fournier shook off a terrible preseason to show Knicks fan what he is capable of when his game is right (32 points). Let’s not forget the impressive night for Obi Toppin, who scored a career high 14 points, while giving the team energy in transition.
All in all, it was a great first night in MSG. The fans were rocking, there is just a different vibe with the fans in stands and they definitely got a show. It was only one win but it was a big win.
That’s it for now, come back tomorrow for Cam James.
Until next time…
