Derrick White's 30 points carries Celtics past Knicks 133-123
By KEN POWTAK Associated Press
BOSTON - Derrick White scored 30 points and Kristaps Porzingis had 21 in his return to the lineup after missing four games with a strained left calf to lead the Boston Celtics to a 133-123 victory over the New York Knicks on Friday night.
Jayson Tatum added 25 points, six rebounds and five assists for Boston, which improved to 10-0 at home. Celtics' forward Jaylen Brown scored 17 points before he was ejected after getting two technical fouls midway into the final quarter.
RJ Barrett and Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 23 points apiece. Julius Randle added 20 and Immanuel Quickley had 17 for New York, which dropped its second straight.
Porzingis wasted little time getting going offensively, scoring Boston's first eight points with a dunk and consecutive 3-pointers.
The Celtics and TD Garden crowd had a brief scare late in the second quarter when Tatum made a breakaway dunk, landed awkwardly and went to the floor on the baseline. But he got up quickly.
The Celtics shot 58.3% and led 74-65 at halftime. The Knicks shot 53.5% in the first half.
Boston started hot in the third quarter, connecting on nine of its initial 13 attempts - including five 3-pointers - and pushing the lead to 99-79 on Brown's 3 from the top of the key.
Criticized by coach Tom Thibodeau for their weak defense after a blowout loss to Milwaukee in the NBA's In-Season Tournament quarterfinals earlier in the week, the Knicks gave up 109 points through three quarters on Friday.
Boston's strong ball movement led to numerous open looks on 3s and when it wanted to get the ball inside, New York offered little resistance.
After Brown was tossed, the Knicks sliced their deficit to 119-112 before Boston went back up by 11 points on a basket and two free throws by White.
UP NEXT
Knicks: Host the Toronto Raptors on Monday night.
Celtics: Host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday.
