NEW YORK — Kristaps Porzingis scored 26 points, Arron Afflalo had 20 of his 24 in the second half, and the New York Knicks beat the Boston Celtics 120-114 on Tuesday night.
Jerian Grant scored 10 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter and added eight assists in the best game of his rookie season as the Knicks held off the Celtics despite losing leading scorer Carmelo Anthony to a sprained right ankle seconds into the third quarter.
Isaiah Thomas had 34 points for the Celtics, who lost their fourth straight and fell to 19-19. Jae Crowder had 21.
The Knicks won their second straight and also are .500 at 20-20.
The Knicks made nine of their 11 shots and shot 66.7 per cent in the first quarter to take a 36-27 lead. They were ahead 55-41 late in the second but Anthony turned his ankle when he ran into a referee heading up the floor just before halftime.
He left the court with 1:16 left in the first half and played the first 19 seconds of the second half before leaving the game again for good. The Knicks said X-rays were negative.
Without him and with Porzingis limited to 27 minutes with foul trouble, Boston rallied behind Thomas’ 16 points in the third quarter.
Porzingis fouled out on Crowder’s 3-point attempt with 2:44 left in the game. He made two of the foul shots giving the Celtics a 106-105 lead.
But Robin Lopez hit a short turnaround with 2:21 left and Derrick Williams followed with a slam with 1:54 remaining and the Knicks never gave up the lead.
Grant hit a runner and four free throws in the final minute to secure the win.
Jared Sullinger scored 14 for the Celtics. Amir Johnson had 11 and Avery Bradley finished with 10.
TIP-INS
Celtics: Boston had won the last four games in the series.
Knicks: Prior to the game, Porzingis was presented the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month Award for December. It was the second consecutive month he received the honour. . The Knicks are 15-2 when scoring at least 100 points this season.
UP NEXT
Celtics: Host Indiana on Wednesday.
Knicks: Visit Brooklyn on Wednesday.
