New York Knicks Post Game: Knicks Fall To Boston Celtics

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New York Knicks Post Game: Defensive Struggles Lead To Loss Against Boston Celtics

Tuesday night was a tough one for the New York Knicks, as they started slow against the Boston Celtics and were never able to pick it back up. After leading wire-to-wire Sunday against the Los Angeles Lakers, the Knicks lost a wire-to-wire game to their Atlantic Division rivals as the Celtics took the lead right from the opening tip and held the Knicks at bay the remainder of the game.

It was a sluggish game at times for the Knicks, who didn’t seem to be fully engaged on both ends of the court when they needed to be. The loss tonight ended a four-game home winning streak, knocking their record down to 10-39 on the season.

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Player of the Game: Shane Larkin

Larkin didn’t get a ton of minutes tonight, but he made the most of the ones that he did. Larkin was inserted into the game to start the fourth quarter and that is when he had his biggest impact. As mentioned earlier, the Knicks were sluggish for much of the game, but when Larkin was on the court his speed was evident and woke them up a little bit. He got the Knicks off to a strong start in the fourth quarter,

Larkin scored four of his eight points in the fourth quarter, adding an assist as well to help the Knicks cut their deficit to four, the closest they would get. He finished the game with eight points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals. It wasn’t an eye-popping stat line, but he helped get the Knicks back in the game.

-Defensive Struggles

The one thing that had been solid during the Knicks turnaround recently was the defense. Against the Celtics, the Knicks struggled defensively as the Celtics shot 54.5 percent overall from the field. The Knicks were unable to get stops when they needed them most, as Avery Bradley and Jared Sullinger were virtually unstoppable all night.

Sullinger scored 22 on 11-19 from the field, mostly dominating inside while Bradley did most of his damage from the perimeter, scoring a game-high 26 on 11-14 from the field. His only two misses were a dunk attempt and two of his five attempts from behind the three-point arc.

The Knicks also struggled with Brandon Bass and Jae Crowder, as they scored 12 and 13 respectively.

-Rookie Struggles

Langston Galloway has been solid for the Knicks, but for the second time in three games he was taken to school in the words of Knicks announcer Walt Frazier. He struggled with his shot, making only 2-8 from the field, but mostly had his struggles on the defensive end.

Galloway was tasked with slowing down Bradley and he had a hard time at it, as Bradley got going early and never slowed down.

While his offense and defense were down tonight, Galloway was able to contribute in other ways, as he added five rebounds and five assists with one block.

-Offense Not A Problem

New York Knicks Post Game: Defensive Struggles Lead To Loss To Boston Celtics

By Kenneth Teape | Feb 3, 2015

New York Knicks Post Game: Defensive Struggles Lead To Loss Against Boston Celtics

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