It wasn't pretty for the Celtics, as they fell to the New York Knicks 109-94 Monday night at Madison Square Garden.
Malcolm Brogdon finished with 22 points off the bench, while Marcus Smart added 19 points and Jayson Tatum chipped in 14 points on 6-of-18 from the field and 1-of-9 from 3-point territory, along with seven rebounds and seven assists -- before being ejected for the first time in his career.
Derrick White started in place of Jaylen Brown (personal reasons) to net 13 points and Al Horford also had 13 points for the Celtics who fell to 44-18 and out of first place.
"It wasn't our best night shooting the ball," Horford said in his postgame presser. "They were the better team tonight."
Julius Randle (seven rebounds) and Immanuel Quickley (off the bench) each scored 23 points respectively to lead New York. Jalen Brunson had 17 points and Mitchell Robinson notched 10 points, 13 rebounds for the Knicks -- who have won six straight and now own the fifth best record in the East at 36-27.
Boston started off the game missing 20 of their first 22 attempts from behind the arc, including going 1-of-12 in the opening quarter, while Randle recorded 12 points to have the C's trail 27-15.
It didn't get better in the second for the visiting team, playing from behind by as much as 20 (the largest margin) and the deficit was 60-46 at the break. Despite Boston doubling their scoring output from the first 12 minutes, the Knicks still had a 33-point period.
The Celtics used a 8-0 spurt to get within single-digits (74-65) with 5:17 left in the third, which was the closest they'd get the rest of the second half.
Tatum picked up his first technical foul following a two-handed dunk with 44.0 seconds remaining in the quarter for arguing a non-foul call, before Boston trailed 88-75 heading into the final frame.
The All-Star MVP picked up his second technical after some choice words when it appeared Randle made contact on his last missed 3-pointer -- resulting in getting tossed with 3:46 left to play and the Celtics down 105-91.
"But all the great players get thrown out a few times in their career, so it's good for my rep," Tatum said in his postgame comments about his first ejection.
The Celtics hit 44.4% from long-distance in their win over the 76ers, but shot just 21.4% against New York. They return to TD Garden Wednesday night to host the Cleveland Cavaliers (39-25) on ESPN at 7:30 ET.
Game Notes:
Boston was 44% from the floor, including 9-of-42 from deep, while the Knicks were 47.4% from field and 38.7% (12-of-31) from 3. The Celtics were out-rebounded 44-35, but outscored New York in the paint 52-42. The C's handed out 21 assists on 37 baskets to the Knickerbockers' 20 dimes on 37 made shots.
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