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The Boston Celtics fell rock-hard against the New York Knicks, 109-94, Monday night at Madison Square Garden.
The Celtics dropped to 44-18 on their season while the Knicks improved to 36-27 with their sixth consecutive victory.
Check out the full box score here.
ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
The C's couldn't buy an outside shot in the first half and it came back to haunt them.
Boston's outside game was atrocious to open up the night, shooting just 2-of-19 from beyond the arc in the first half. As one could imagine, this dug the Celtics a pretty hefty divot, trailing the Knicks by as many as 20 points in the second quarter. In fact, Boston was 0-9 when trailing by eight or more points before their road trip finale in the Big Apple.
This positioned the Celtics with a picture-perfect opportunity to spark a come-from-behind run, which never came. Boston continued its repulsive 3-point struggles, finishing 9-of-42 by the final buzzer. And despite some gritty efforts such as Marcus Smart's third-quarter block on Isaiah Hartenstein or Jayson Tatum's behind-the-back feed to Malcolm Brogdon right after, Boston couldn't a second loss to New York on the campaign.
Now 1-2 against the Knicks this season, the Celtics have one final redemption shot set on March 5.
STARS OF THE GAME
-- Immanuel Quickley supported New York's lineup with a more than solid 27 minutes off the bench. Quickley scored 23 points with three rebounds, knocking down 4-of-7 3-point attempts.
-- Brogdon was both the highest and most efficient scorer for the Celtics, finishing with 22 points on 10-of-15 shooting with two assists and a block off the bench.
-- Smart contributed 19 points and four rebounds, getting involved on both ends to try to bridge the scoreboard gap. He added two blocks and a steal.
WAGER WATCH
DraftKings Sportsbook set the over/under on Tatum's assist total at 4.5 with +100 odds on the Over. The young All-Star cleared those odds easily, collecting a game-leading nine assists before his fourth-quarter ejection. A $100 wager placed on Tatum would've resulted in a $200 total payout.
UP NEXT
The Celtics return home next, facing off against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday. Tip off from TD Garden is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.
