Thursday night provided another classic game at Madison Square Garden between the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks. It was the third time the teams faced off this NBA season and just like the first two, this one was competitive right to the end.
The first matchup was a back-and-forth affair that saw both teams take leads throughout. New York would win 138-134 in double overtime, kicking off the season with a 1-0 record. In the second matchup, Boston dominated for a majority of it.
The Celtics led by as many as 16 points in that game, controlling the first two quarters. Then, in rare fashion, the Knicks got going in the third quarter, outscoring the Celtics 41-27 to get the lead. They would be unable to hold onto it, as the Celtics took control in the fourth quarter and won 114-107.
The matchup Thursday was much of the same. Boston destroyed the Knicks throughout the first half, leading by as many as 25 points. But, the team went on a run at the end of the quarter that started to swing momentum in their favor.
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Again, they had a great third quarter, which has been a struggle for them throughout the season. New York won the third quarter by nine points and 10 in the fourth quarter, capping off their incredible comeback with an RJ Barrett banked-in 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Barrett had a tough shooting night, as Robert Williams blocked numerous attempts near the rim, but he made the one that mattered the most to send the Knicks home with a victory. It was their first buzzer-beating win since J.R. Smith beat the Phoenix Suns in 2012.
One player who didn’t have a tough shooting night was Evan Fournier. If there were a way for the New York Knicks to convince him that he was playing against the Celtics every time out, he would be in the MVP discussion.
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Fournier has torched his old team in all three matchups this season. He scored 32 points in each of the first two and poured in a career-high 41 against them on Thursday night. He knocked down 10 3-pointers, which tied Smith for the most in a single game in Knicks’ history as well.
What makes Thursday’s performance that much better for Fournier is that he went scoreless against the Indiana Pacers in the previous game. Can’t bounce back from a dud much better than that.
Julius Randle, who has drawn the ire of plenty of people throughout the season, has looked like a different player in the last two games. He has more closely resembled the player who fans fell in love with last season since he has made a return from the league’s health and safety protocols.
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He helped set the tone in the comeback, making some tough baskets around the rim to get the crowd going. Randle, however, was not having it. He was seen yelling at the crowd on multiple occasions and even gave a thumbs down.
Randle was asked about it after the game and didn’t mince his words.
“Randle didn’t deny it afterward and continued his profanity. When asked what it was for, Randle said, “To shut the f–k up.’’
When asked if it was in response to something, Randle said, “You saw that. You saw what was going on with that. Forget. Forget.’’ “
This seems to be bubbling up from Wednesday when Randle made it clear that he did not care what people had to say about the season he was having. Fournier said that Randle is an emotional guy and puts everything he has into performing at a high level and figures the boos were something he didn’t like.
Those boos changed to cheers very quickly, as Knicks fans are one of the most passionate fan bases in sports. When you are playing well, they will shower cheers down upon you. But, when you are playing poorly, they will let you hear it, just as they did in the first half of Thursday’s game.
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New York has a great chance to get their season back on track in this stretch of games. They will be playing a lot at home and against teams under the .500 mark, an excellent formula to rack up some victories.
The come-from-behind win on Thursday is the kind of game that can motivate a team to get them on track. With the roster getting healthier, as New York now has zero players in health and safety protocols, things are looking up for the New York Knicks who are now only one game under the .500 record.
