4 takeaways as Boston Celtics lose to Knicks, rookie shows promise

The Celtics swung first, but the Knicks beat them in a 105-95 loss Friday in New York City. The C’s fell apart in the second quarter as they dropped their second straight game to open the season, falling to 0-2. The Knicks, coming into the season with real title hopes, improved to 2-0.

While the Celtics weren’t perfect, shots were falling as they took an early lead after the first quarter. But the Knicks dominated the second quarter, including the margins, outscoring the C’s 42-14 in the frame. It was a brutal quarter as the Celtics stared at a 20-point halftime deficit, one they weren’t able to come back from Friday.

The Celtics, to their credit, didn’t just quietly go down for the night. They got juice from some of their bench guys as their defense was much better in the second half, allowing 41 points in the second half. They kept chipping away and chipping away, but they didn’t have enough offensive firepower to complete the comeback.

Jaylen Brown had 23 points for the C’s on his 29th birthday, but he also had seven turnovers. Sam Hauser added 18 points on 6-for-10 3-point shooting. Jalen Brunson had 31 points while Karl-Anthony Towns posted 26 points and 13 rebounds. Hugo Gonzalez was also a bright spot for the Celtics (more on him below).

The Celtics continue their three-game road trip as they face the Pistons at 3:30 p.m. Sunday in Detroit next. Here are four takeaways from Boston’s loss to New York:

Dominated on the glass: The Celtics lost so much size this offseason, rebounding was going to be an issue all season. The Knicks know, so they punished the C’s on the glass. By halftime, New York had already grabbed 12 offensive rebounds and had a 14-2 edge on second-chance points. It was a 21-7 edge for the Knicks by the end of the game as New York finished with 21 offensive rebounds. As Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla says: a defensive possession only ends in either a turnover or a rebound. The C’s couldn’t come up with enough of those Friday.

Sub patterns: The Celtics were a bit shorthanded Friday as they were without Luka Garza, who’s in concussion protocols after a blow to the head Wednesday. Still, C’s coach Joe Mazzulla played 11 guys Friday. He even had an interesting wrinkle where, midway through the first quarter, he subbed out all five of his starters for five bench guys. To take it a step further, he played all three wings Friday who didn’t get any minutes in the season opener: Gonzalez, Jordan Walsh and Baylor Scheierman. On the flip side, Josh Minott didn’t get any playing time after coming off the bench against the Sixers. While Walsh (two minutes) and Scheierman (four) didn’t play much, Gonzalez certainly showed flashes, and speaking of the rookie…

Quite a debut: Gonzalez almost got to make his NBA debut Wednesday against the 76ers, when he trotted to the scorer’s table late in the third quarter. Instead, he had to wait for Friday — and he made the most of his minutes. Gonzalez, who showed the same flashes in preseason, gave the Celtics immediate energy once he stepped on the court. His defense continues to be aggressive and hounding, though he does foul a lot. The 19-year-old rookie finished with six points, four rebounds and two steals in 23 minutes, including some valuable crunch-time possessions. He was subbed out eventually, but it was an impressive debut from the Celtics’ first-round pick. While it’s just one game, it was certainly a plus Gonzalez contributed like he did Friday.

One-year difference: Just a season ago, the Celtics were viewed as the class of the East as defending champions. The Knicks were a playoff team but hadn’t made an actual deep run. immediately, the Knicks still have to prove they can even make it to the NBA Finals, but they still flexed their muscles Friday against the Celtics. It’ll be interesting to see how these rivals look different this season. The Celtics are taking a step back without Jayson Tatum while the Knicks have high expectations.