RJ Barrett hit a game-winning 3-pointer as the clock expired to give the New York Knicks a thrilling 108-105 comeback victory over the Boston Celtics on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks, who improved to 19-20 after the win, trailed by as many as 25 points in the game.
Leading the way for New York was Evan Fournier, who poured in 41 points while hitting 10 3-pointers, both career-high marks. Julius Randle scored 21 points of his own, while Immanuel Quickley contributed 16. Barrett finished with 13.
For the Celtics, this loss, their fifth in the last seven games, drops them to 18-21. It marked the fourth time Boston has given up a comeback of at least 19 points and lost the game this season. No other team has done that more than twice.
Coach Ime Udoka was critical of his team after the game, saying, "it's a lack of mental toughness to fight through those adverse times."
"I feel like he's 100 percent right, to be honest," Celtics big man Robert Williams said when asked about Udoka's comments. "We get rattled a lot, especially when we're facing adversity. We've got to find in ourselves the fight to just come together."
Jayson Tatum led the way for Boston on Thursday with 36 points, nine assists and six rebounds.
"In the grand scheme of things, I look back to those years when we were going to the conference finals and it makes you really appreciate those moments, because it's hard, it's not easy," Tatum said after the game. "Early on in my rookie year, I thought it was normal."
(Photo: Nathaniel S. Butler / NBAE via Getty Images)
Where did Fournier's big performance come from?
Fred Katz, Knicks beat writer: Even he wasn’t fully able to answer this one postgame. Sometimes, guys just get hot. Fournier has always been a streaky scorer, but Thursday’s performance was a new level. He had just scored zero points in the previous game against the Pacers, then turned around for a career game right away. More points than ever. More 3s than ever. And the Knicks needed every one of them. It was quite the recovery.
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How important is Barrett to Knicks?
Katz: Barrett isn’t just important for the Knicks’ chances this year. He’s crucial for their future. The Knicks drafted him with the No. 3 pick in 2019 believing he could be a centerpiece. So far, he’s shown flashes.
He caught fire during the second half of last year with his jumper but has dropped off this season when he’s had a similar story to Fournier. Every once in a while, he’ll go off for an efficient 25-plus, but he’s also prone to the long shooting slump.
Is there any beef between Randle and Knicks fans?
Katz: There wasn’t until recently. Now, it’s difficult to ignore. Randle insisted Wednesday that he wasn’t listening to the outside noise, that the criticism didn’t bother him. That proclamation lasted one day.
The TV cameras caught him showing a thumbs down to the fans after a fourth-quarter layup, an all too familiar tribute after Javy Baez flashed the same at Mets fans, who had booed the infielder this season. Knicks fans had sprayed loud boos at the team earlier Thursday night. Randle didn’t leave any confusion on the table when asked postgame what he was trying to convey with the thumbs down to the crowd: “Shut the fuck up.”
What does Boston need to address most moving forward?
Jay King, Celtics beat writer: The Celtics have frustrated Ime Udoka to no end by folding repeatedly down the stretch this season. He said they get rattled down the stretch, a damning remark. Even more damning, Robert Williams actually agreed with the assessment.
The Celtics have plenty of basketball issues. They don’t put enough shooting on the court. They don’t always make the right reads regarding when to pass the ball. They can be far too sloppy with their execution, especially offensively. They would still have a much better record if they could just avoid puking all over themselves during fourth quarters.
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