The Boston Celtics used a barrage of baskets late in the second quarter to pull ahead of the New York Knicks 59-50 at the half.
The strong first half capped off a solid start by Boston’s starters who did not have one of their better games in Thursday’s win at Brooklyn.
But on Saturday, it was Boston’s longest-tenured player (Avery Bradley) and its new star (Al Horford) setting the tone at both ends of the floor.
Bradley had 15 points, two of which came on a lay-up after picking Brandon Jennings’ pocket near half court.
Horford wasn’t too far behind with 12 first-half points. He also had a pair of blocks, one of which came moments after turning the ball over.
New York’s most promising talent, Kristaps Porzingis, got off to a strong start with nine points – all coming in the first quarter.
Boston Celtics
What we liked: Boston was able to get into a nice rhythm shooting the ball, especially from 3-point range. In fact, the Celtics closed out the half with four consecutive 3-pointers. For the half, Boston shot 7-for-16 (43.8 percent) from 3-point range and 22-for-40 (55 percent) from the field.
What we didn’t like: The Celtics shot well from 3-point range, but their 3-point defense left a lot to be desired. Boston has been the best team defensively against the 3-point shot in the preseason, but that didn’t stop the Knicks from connecting on 5-of-10 from 3-point range.
Second half needs: Boston was at its best when they got out in transition and picked up the tempo which led to a good number of wide open or lightly contested shots from the perimeter. Continuing to do that as well as forcing New York to commit turnovers (they had 11 in the first half) will go far in Boston notching yet another preseason win under its belt.