Knicks Star Criticizes ‘Unacceptable’ Performance
The New York Knicks have struggled against top-tier competition this season, and their challenges were evident again on Saturday night.
The Knicks faced a tough defeat at the hands of the Boston Celtics, falling 131-104 in a nationally televised game. Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 40 points, marking their sixth win in the last seven matchups against New York.
“We played fast, we were getting stops, making some key shots… and somehow let our foot off the gas,” said point guard and team captain Jalen Brunson after the game, reflecting on the team’s disappointing performance. “Today as a whole was just unacceptable.”
“We didn’t come out great, we were stagnant,” added Josh Hart in a separate interview. “Kornet and Horford were clogging up the paint, and we just didn’t execute.”
This was the Knicks’ first meeting with the defending champions since their 23-point loss on opening night in October. Although New York has made improvements since then, their progress seemed fleeting during this latest matchup.
Outside of a brief 18-6 run early in the third quarter that cut a large deficit down to three points, the Knicks had little answer for the Celtics’ dominant play. While fans might point to the absences of OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson as factors, Boston showed that they didn’t need any excuses to secure the win.
Boston earned the victory without Jrue Holiday and had Kristaps Porzingis sit out due to illness. Another former Knick, Luke Kornet, stepped up in his place, contributing a 14-point, 12-rebound double-double along with three blocks. Kornet also limited Karl-Anthony Towns to just nine points and rebounds each.
Despite the loss, the Knicks (34-18) remain in third place in the Eastern Conference. However, this defeat highlighted a troubling trend: they are now 0-5 against the top three teams in the NBA this season (Boston, Cleveland, Oklahoma City).
“We’ve got a lot of work to do. Simple as that. There’s no sugarcoating it. There are no moral wins,” said Towns. “If we’ve got aspirations, which I know we do, then we’ve got to find ways to win games like tonight. Great teams, championship teams, they test your discipline. We’ve got to work on keeping our discipline for all 48 minutes.”
The Knicks will have another chance to prove themselves against Boston and Cleveland after the All-Star break. Before that, they’ll travel to face the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night.
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