Celtics Face Setback at Madison Square Garden Against the Knicks

The Boston Celtics, with a record of 44-18, faced a challenging game against the New York Knicks, who now stand at 36-27. The final score read 109-94 in favor of the home team at Madison Square Garden.

The Celtics started off slow in the first quarter, trailing with just 15 points to the Knicks' 27. However, they picked up momentum in the second quarter by adding an impressive 31 points to their tally. Despite this effort and leading for a brief time span of one minute and eleven seconds during the game, it was not enough to secure victory. The third quarter saw them add another solid performance with 29 points but fell short again in the fourth quarter scoring only 19.

Boston's shooting from beyond the arc was less effective than usual as they made nine out of forty-two three-point attempts which is a mere twenty-one percent success rate. Their two-point field goal percentage was significantly better at sixty-seven percent with twenty-eight makes out of forty-two attempts. Inside paint proved to be fruitful for them as they scored fifty-two points from such plays.

Defensively, Boston managed eight blocks and five steals but could not contain New York's offense effectively enough throughout all four quarters. They also drew eleven fouls while committing twenty-two themselves; however, no players were fouled out during this encounter.

Offensively speaking for Boston, their bench contributed twenty-nine points to their total scoreline. They had an efficiency game score of sixty-eight and maintained an assists turnover ratio close to two (1.91). The team grabbed forty-one rebounds in total—thirty-five personal rebounds plus six credited as team rebounds—with seven being on offensive glass giving them second-chance opportunities that resulted in eleven additional points.

On New York's side, they demonstrated strong play by leading for over forty-six minutes and establishing a commanding biggest lead of twenty points during gameplay. Their bench outscored Boston's with forty-four points contributing significantly towards their victory margin.

As both teams look ahead after this matchup—the Celtics will return home to face off against Cleveland Cavaliers at TD Garden on March first at seven-thirty PM Eastern Time where fans can catch all action live on ESPN channel two hundred six or NBCS-BOS channel six hundred thirty or BSOH channel six hundred sixty depending on location preferences.