20151227-NYKBOS

Taylor Snow

BOSTON -- Injuries opened the door for the entire roster to be asked to contribute as the Boston Celtics navigate their way through the early NBA schedule.

Twelve players saw time Friday night in Boston's win at Philadelphia, and that is likely to be the case again when the Celtics host the New York Knicks on Tuesday night.

"Every one of them should think there's a good chance that (they) get an opportunity to impact the game on Tuesday night," Boston coach Brad Stevens said Sunday. "There's not a guy on this roster who shouldn't think that right now. It may or not be their night. But we're in a situation where we need everybody."

Boston started the season without newly acquired Marcus Morris, who has been out with a knee injury and has targeted Oct. 30 for his Celtics debut. Then, less than six minutes into the first game, major free agent signee Gordon Hayward was lost, probably for the season, with a horrific ankle/leg injury.

Marcus Smart missed the game in Philly with an ankle injury.

The Celtics won that night, improving to 1-2 while playing three games in the first four nights of the season.

In addition to heavy reliance on rookie Jayson Tatum and second-year man Jaylen Brown, names such as Aron Baynes, Jabari Bird, Abdel Nader, Semi Ojeleye and Daniel Theis have been asked to step in. All have contributed in their own way.

The Celtics, hoping to get back to .500 on Tuesday night, face a team that seems to be Kristaps Porzingis and little else. Porzingis has scored 31 and 33 points in the first two games of the season, becoming the first Knick with back-to-back 30-point games to start a season since Patrick Ewing did it in 1993-94.

"Patrick Ewing is a legend," Porzingis said. "I wish I could have a career like him. It's an honor."

The Knicks reached the NBA Finals in 1994, but that is not going to happen to this season's team.

Jeff Hornacek's team exploded to a 21-point first-half lead in the home opener against the Detroit Pistons on Saturday night -- and then fell to 0-2.

New York failed to play defense or rebound down the stretch Saturday. Defense remains a focus for Hornacek.

"We want them to be at least 90 percent," Hornacek said, regarding a player's defensive efficiency. "That's the goal. You can do things nine out of 10 times right and we get the whole team to do that, we'll be OK."

The Celtics have taken each of the past three season series between the old rivals 3-1, but the Knicks did split two games in Boston last season.

Boston guard Kyrie Irving, who was fined $25,000 for a lewd comment directed at a heckler in Philadelphia on Friday, struggled with his shot the past two games.

Irving, who has to lead the young team, shot 8-for-17 in the opener, including 4-for-9 from 3-point range. However, he is 14-for-42 from the floor and 3-for-11 from downtown in the past two games combined.

Smart is still considered day-to-day, but he didn't practice on Monday.

Enes Kanter, who had 17 points and 10 rebounds in New York's loss Saturday, could present a problem for the Celtics inside. He averaged 13.4 points and 5.9 rebounds in 11 games against Boston while with the Utah Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder.

10-24-game-preview-knicks-at-celtics

10/24 Game Preview: Knicks at Celtics

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BOSTON – Lucky the Leprechaun has long been the top acrobat within the Boston Celtics’ organization, but Evan Turner has been giving the C’s mascot a run for his money lately.

The 27-year-old swingman has been raising eyebrows at TD Garden recently with his high-flying, circus-like layup attempts that more often than not seem to miraculously find their way through the net.

Turner brought out all of his rim-running tricks Sunday night with a 19-point effort off the bench, which helped spark Boston to a 100-91 win against the New York Knicks at TD Garden.

ET was extremely efficient shooting the ball during the winning effort, hitting 8-of-11 shots from the field, including 5-of-6 from within the restricted area. He continuously weaved his way to the basket like a nimble crocheter, drawing multiple Knicks his way, which enabled Boston to space the floor and open up scoring opportunities.

“Any time you get inside the other team’s paint it always makes them move around and it kind of causes a little bit of panic,” Turner said after the game. “I think that helps a lot and from there we can make a lot of things happen, whether it be kick-out, wide-open 3s and things like that.”

Turner’s kick-out passes are often on display when he’s on the court, but he only dished out two assists Sunday night. That's because he was riding an incredibly hot hand in the paint during his 30 minutes of play.

Two of Turner’s drives against the Knicks were particularly impressive, even by his standards.

The first was a flawless up-and-under layup during the second quarter, which he made look easy. He drove along the baseline, leapt for the lay-in, and adjusted mid-air to avoid Langston Galloway’s block attempt, before completing the stylish reverse.

Then, during the third quarter, Turner made one of his most astonishing layup attempts to date when he zigzagged his way from the left wing, through the paint to the right side of the hoop, before slipping past Robin Lopez for an awkward right-handed reverse finish on the left side of the rim.

Celtics fans were blown away by both baskets; his teammates, on the other hand, have come to expect these circus shots, as they see them on a regular basis.

“I see a lot of it in practice; I know exactly what he can do,” said an unphased Jae Crowder after the game. “I watched him in college as well, so I don’t get surprised at all.”

Turner’s teammates may no longer be shocked by his unique finishing tendencies, but they certainly cherish those driving abilities. Having a guy that can cut to the hoop is extremely valuable, especially for a Celtics team that does not have a lot of lane-driving threats.

“We try to get him going on that end of the court because he’s such a great scorer and such a great distributor,” said Crowder. “I think guys play off of him well and he finds guys well and he can score the ball well, and he proved that tonight.”

Turner also proved it Saturday night during a 13-point effort in Detroit. And during both contests he has limited his errors, which is difficult to do when driving to the hoop in such a herky-jerky manner.

“Evan had a couple of mistakes [Saturday night], a couple tonight, but two pretty darn good games in a row,” said C’s coach Brad Stevens. “Tonight I thought he was really solid for us. I couldn’t take him out of the game.”

That issue may continue for Stevens if Turner keeps capitalizing at the rim the way he has been. The combination of his awareness and athleticism is enabling him to convert these unconventional, acrobatic layups at a high rate, and the rest of the Celtics are benefiting as a result.

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ET's Acrobatics Drive C's to Fourth Straight Win

Marc D'Amico

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Some believed that Jonas Jerebko would lose his spot in the rotation now that Marcus Smart is back in the lineup.

Those beliefs were wrong, as Jerebko teamed up with Isaiah Thomas and Amir Johnson for the most important stretch of Sunday night’s win over the Knicks at TD Garden.

Thomas connected with Jerebko for what may have been the highlight of the night.  The 5-foot-9 point guard crossed up Jose Calderon with a behind-the-back move, from right to left, and attacked the basket down the left side of the lane.  When the defense collapsed on him, he went back-to-back with the behind-the-back, this time whipping a pass with his left hand to Jerebko, who stood behind the 3-point line on the right wing.  Jerebko caught the dish and connected from long distance to give Boston a 14-point lead at the 1:58 mark of the second quarter.

Jerebko’s 3 capped an 18-6 run by Boston during which he, Thomas and Johnson scored 16 of their team’s points.  Thomas scored seven of those points and assisted on four more.  Meanwhile, Jerebko scored five and Johnson contributed four.  Evan Turner accounted for the other two points of the run with a pullup jumper.

From the 6:27 mark of the quarter to the 1:58 mark, when Jerebko canned his 3, the Celtics shot 8-of-10 from the field.  They missed only one more shot than New York made during the span of the run.

Boston was never truly able to turn this one into a blowout, but it controlled the remainder of the game.  Its lead never dropped below five as it easily won its fourth straight, 100-91.

Carmelo Anthony scored a game-high 29 points Sunday night at the Garden.  Jae Crowder scored 18.  Who do you think won that battle?

If you guessed ‘Melo, you’d better guess again.

There is no doubt that Crowder was the most efficient and effective small forward on the court during Boston’s 100-91 win over New York.  The numbers are clear evidence.

Crowder needed only 11 shots to score his 18 points.  That fact is due in large part to his efficient performance from long distance, where he converted on three of his five attempts.  Three other players in the game attempted more shots than Crowder did against New York.

Anthony, meanwhile, fired up way more shots than anyone on the court.  He needed to shoot in bulk to reach his 29-point total.  He attempted a game-high 26 field goals, eight more than any other player in the game, and connected on only 11 of them.

Crowder, who has been on a rebounding tear of late, also provided six boards, which tied for third on the team.  He also dished out two assists and grabbed a steal.

Here’s the most telling stat of all when it comes to the Anthony-Crowder matchup: Boston outscored New York by 14 points while Crowder was on the floor, and by 12 points while Anthony was on the floor.

Like we said, if you guessed ‘Melo, you’d better guess again.  Jae Crowder was the top small forward on the court tonight.

Brad Stevens on Boston's perimeter defense against New York.

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Keys to the Game: Celtics 100, Knicks 91

Boston Celtics

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Photos: Knicks vs. Celtics - Dec. 27, 2015

Pregame - Smart Set to Return to Lineup vs. Knicks

BOSTON – Celtics guard Marcus Smart has not seen game action since Nov. 20 when he suffered a subluxation of the proximal tibiofibular joint in his left knee against the Brooklyn Nets.

Expect his absence to end tonight when the C’s hit the TD Garden court to host the New York Knicks.

Celtics’ coach Brad Stevens said during tonight’s pregame press conference that Smart will be available off the bench when Boston tips off against the Knicks at 7 p.m. However, he expects that it may take time for the sophomore guard to return to tip-top shape because of his lack of play over the last month.

“There’s nothing like basketball shape as far as running up and down the court, as far as playing to get into it,” Stevens said before tip-off. “It hasn’t been easy early on to do what [Smart] needs to do because he wasn’t able to be on his feet very much. But in the last couple of weeks he’s been progressively doing more and more and more and culminating in every drill that we’ve done, plus some 2-on-2 and 3-on-3 in the last few days.”

He has not, however, played 5-on-5 basketball for more than a month, so he will be playing limited minutes for now. But those limitations do not lower Stevens’ expectations for Smart in the meantime.

“He’s gonna have to impact the team the best way he can by defending and being tough and by being an energy player for the time being,” said Stevens.

Since the injury took place, Smart’s teammates have done an excellent job filling his defensive void, so he will not be overloaded with pressure when he makes his return.

“[The rest of the guys] have done a great job holding the fort down and defending, especially while he was out,” said Stevens,” which is very encouraging because he’s clearly one of our better defenders.”

The C’s will look to continue to hold down that fort tonight when Smart makes his much-anticipated return to action.

draftkings-post-ups-smart-set-to-return-vs-knicks

DraftKings Post-Ups: Smart Set to Return vs. Knicks

The Boston Celtics are on the verge of their first four-game win streak thanks to balanced scoring.

They figure to represent a major challenge for a visiting New York Knicks team that has struggled against winning teams, yet is unbeaten against Atlantic Division rivals heading into Sunday night's first matchup of the season.

Boston (17-13) has won three straight for the second time, showcasing its depth of talent on each occasion. Six Celtics scored in double digits in Monday's 113-99 win over Minnesota, five reached that plateau two nights later in a 102-89 victory at Charlotte and six more scored at least 10 in Saturday's 99-93 win at Detroit.

The Celtics seemed on course for a third straight double-digit win as they led by as many as 16 points against the Pistons, who used a 32-point fourth quarter to make a late push.

"We were lucky to hold on in some ways, but we put ourselves in a great position," coach Brad Stevens said.

Avery Bradley has turned in back-to-back 18-point performances with Isaiah Thomas totaling 35 points in those games. Jae Crowder had 11 points and seven rebounds Saturday after posting three straight double-doubles.

The Celtics' rotation could go deeper Sunday since Marcus Smart might return from an 18-game absence due to a left leg injury. Former Knicks forward David Lee sat out Saturday due to back spasms.

Boston is one of the league's most unselfish teams with 24.3 assists per game.

New York, in contrast, is in the bottom third of the league in that department with an average of 20.3. The Knicks (14-17) had 19 assists and scored 63 points to lead by three at halftime Saturday before managing six assists and shooting 30.0 percent the rest of the way in a 117-98 defeat at Atlanta.

"I think we're still having some growing pains with understanding that the game is easier for us when we have 19 assists in a half, not six," coach Derek Fisher said. "So we just have to continue to trust that even when games aren't going well, it's actually still ball movement and the player movement and selflessness that will get you back into a game."

The Knicks fell to 5-13 against teams with winning records. They are 4-0 against Atlantic foes, with three wins against lowly Brooklyn and Philadelphia.

"Our record is what it says we are at this point," Fisher said.

Carmelo Anthony returned to the lineup with 18 points and 12 rebounds after missing one game with a sprained right ankle. No other New York player scored more than 12.

Rookie Kristaps Porzingis has sandwiched nine-point performances around a 23-point, 13-rebound effort in his last three games.

Starting center Robin Lopez, who had nine points and four rebounds Saturday, didn't return after leaving in the third quarter with blood coming from a cut above his right eye.

"Robin was available to come back in if we needed him so we'll hopefully have him tomorrow night as we get ready to play Boston," Fisher said.

The Knicks lost the final three of four meetings with the Celtics last season. Boston is 4-2 in the second half of back-to-back sets and New York is 2-4.

20151227‑NYKBOS

10/24 Game Preview: Knicks at Celtics

ET's Acrobatics Drive C's to Fourth Straight Win

Keys to the Game: Celtics 100, Knicks 91

Photos: Knicks vs. Celtics - Dec. 27, 2015

DraftKings Post-Ups: Smart Set to Return vs. Knicks

12/27 Game Preview: Knicks at Celtics