New York Knicks 117, Boston Celtics 109

BOSTON – The New York Knicks stunned the host Boston Celtics with a 27-7 flurry in the second quarter, then held on for a 117-109 victory over the struggling defending Eastern Conference runners-up on Wednesday night.

Trey Burke, Noah Vonleh and Enes Kanter all recorded double-doubles as the Knicks, who had lost six straight, dropped the Celtics back to .500 at 9-9.

New York wasted little time taking charge, leading by as many as 12 in the first quarter.

Burke’s jumper with 7:51 left in the second quarter capped a 10-0 burst that gave the Knicks a 40-24 lead.

Marcus Smart ended the run, but the Knicks weren’t done, running off 17 of the next 22 points to seize a 57-31 lead with 3:34 left in the half.

Burke had eight points in the run, including a 3-pointer and three-point play on consecutive possessions.

The Celtics got as close as 10 in the third quarter, and were within 94-84 after a 3-pointer by Al Horford with 7:25 remaining in the game.

But Burke and Frank Ntilikina hit back-to-back hoops to stall the Boston rally. The Knicks were able to keep the Celtics at arm’s length the rest of the way, thanks in large part to Burke’s fourth 3-pointer with 12.9 seconds left.

Burke led all scorers with 29 points to go with a season-best 11 assists for New York, which had lost four straight on the road.

Vonleh had 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Kanter put together 10 points and 10 boards.

Tim Hardaway Jr. (21 points) and Kevin Knox (11 points, nine rebounds) also scored in double figures for New York.

Kyrie Irving had a 22-point, 13-assist double-double for the Celtics, who have lost three straight overall and two in a row at home.

Marcus Morris had 21 points, Horford and Gordon Hayward added 19, Jayson Tatum 15 and Jaylen Brown 11 for Boston, which had won 103-101 at New York last month.

–Field Level Media

Boston 103, New York 101

NEW YORK – Jayson Tatum scored all six points for Boston in the final minute Saturday night and finished with a team-high 24 points as the visiting Celtics held off the New York Knicks for a 103-101 victory. Tatum also had 14 rebounds for the Celtics, who have won two of three to open the season. Marcus Morris and Kyrie Irving had 16 points apiece for Boston while Aron Baynes and Terry Rozier had 10 points each.

Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 24 points, and Enes Kanter had a double-double (17 points, 15 rebounds) for the Knicks, who have dropped two of three. Trey Burke added 11 points.

The last-minute loss was the second in as many nights for New York, which fell to the Brooklyn Nets, 107-105, on Friday, when Hardaway missed the potential game-winning 3-pointer as time expired.

The Celtics led by as many as 16 in the first quarter, but the Knicks pulled to within 50-48 at the half and tied the score seven times in the third quarter before taking their only lead at 65-64 on Hardaway’s free throw with 3:48 left in the period.

The Celtics led 77-70 after three and expanded the lead to 10 points with eight minutes left in the fourth before the Knicks chipped away again. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Hardaway tied the score at 89-89 with 4:14 remaining. Irving scored five points in a 7-0 run, but New York pulled within 97-95 on a pair of free throws by Lance Thomas with 1:16 left.

Tatum’s dunk with 59.1 seconds remaining made it a two-possession game. Thomas responded with a 3-pointer 10-seconds later, but Tatum drained a contested turnaround jumper to give the Celtics a 101-98 lead with 21.1 seconds left. Burke’s dunk closed the gap to one again before Tatum hit two free throws with 7.9 seconds to go.

Tatum dodged potential disaster with 1.9 seconds left, when he fouled Burke on a desperation 3-pointer from just inside half-court. But Burke missed the first free throw. After making the second, he intentionally missed the third. The rebound bounced beyond the 3-point arc to Al Horford, who dribbled out the clock.

–Field Level Media