N.Y. Knicks: Charged Up Garden Revels in Opening Night O.T. Victory Over Celtics

From the desk: KICKIN' ROCKS DOWN 33RD STREET WIT' JIMMY

WEDNESDAY

CELTICS   134

KNICKS    138

FINAL/OT

Knicks Hustle "Four" Love of the Game

The new-look Knicks won their home opener before an uproarious Wednesday night crowd at Madison Square Garden.  This wasn't the Larry Bird Celtics, but the intensity in the building was no less palpable.

Boston's Jaylen Brown dropped a game-high 46 points, and Jayson Tatum scored another 20 points.  However, Julius Randle poured in a team-high 36 points, and newcomer Evan Fournier finished with 32 points, edge Knicks.

After being limited to 31 games last season, Mitchell Robinson tipped the scales with eleven points and a game-high 17 rebounds.  R.J. Barrett was third in with 19 points, and rounding out the starting lineup, fellow newcomer Kemba Walker scored ten points with three assists and eight rebounds in 36 minutes.

Coach Thibodeau's bench outscored Boston's by a 31-22 margin, with Obi Toppin leading the charge with 14 points and five rebounds in 28 minutes.

The Knicks trailed by four at the half, then seized an 86-82 lead after three.  But Boston wiped that out with 34 points in the fourth quarter.  The Bockers then edged out the Celtics 22-18 in overtime to complete an ongoing 138-134 four-point shuffle.