How It Happened: After a back-and-forth first half, the visiting Celtics opened the game up in the third quarter by expanding the lead to 17 points. However, the Knicks second unit flourished in the fourth quarter and even cut the advantage to just one point when Sasha Vujacic nailed a 3-pointer with less than seven minutes to play. R.J. Hunter hit clutch buckets as part of his 17-point outing to push Boston back to a double-digit advantage and eventual 119-107 road preseason victory. Carmelo Anthony was productive early, finishing with 15 points in the defeat. Kristaps Porzingis caught fire early in the contest by scoring all nine of his points in the first quarter. The loss dropped New York to 2-2 in the preseason.
Knick of the Night: Mindaugas Kuzminskas enjoyed a break out night with 18 points and 10 boards in just 19 minutes of action. The home crowd had the opportunity to watch Kuzminskas run the floor, finish around the tin, and hit from the perimeter. The rookie hit 7-of-16 shots from the floor in his best outing of the preseason.
News and Notes: Derrick Rose did not play tonight at MSG. Due to a sore groin, Porzingis did not start the second half and rested for the remainder of the contest. Willy Hernangomez started in place of Porzingis to begin the second half of action.
Next Up: The Knicks return to Madison Square Garden on Sunday morning for an open practice in front of the New York fans. Make sure to tune to Facebook for the LIVE stream of the practice, scheduled from 10:30 AM – 1:00 PM.