The New York Knicks didn’t know that hit them Tuesday night when they got demolished by the Boston Celtics at TD Garden, 132-109. Although they shot well from the field, the Knicks still were no match against the reigning NBA champions, and New York big man Karl-Anthony Towns knew what the problem was.
Via Tim Bontemps of ESPN:
“We can talk about offense all y’all want,” said Towns, who had 12 points and 7 rebounds in 23 minutes. “I’ll leave that to y’all when y’all go home and write the stories. But I know for us we got to play defense.”
The New York Knicks’ defense got roasted by the Boston Celtics
The Knicks shot 55.1 percent from the field against Boston. In any other game, that was more than enough to win a game, but their defense simply was too porous against the Celtics’ high-powered attack. Perimeter defense was a big headache for New York, with the Celtics draining 29 3-pointers on 61 attempts. Boston also outrebounded the Knicks, 40-34.
By no means should the Knicks push the panic button over a brutal loss to the defending NBA champions, but they surely can’t afford to make that lackluster defensive effort a trend if they are to seriously contend for a championship.
In his first regular-season game for the Knicks, Towns scored just 12 points on 5-for-9 shooting from the floor to go with seven rebounds and three assists in 24 minutes of action.
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