A new era for the New York Knicks began Wednesday night with plenty of familiar faces hinting at their potential once the roster is closer to whole.
For the Boston Celtics, a narrow loss was all about who they’re missing — Jayson Tatum — and how they’ll adjust to life without him.
The Knicks will try to close out a 2-0 season-opening homestand Friday night when they host the Celtics in a battle of longtime Atlantic Division rivals.
Both teams were off Thursday after playing their season openers Wednesday. The hobbled OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns each posted double-doubles for the Knicks, who squandered a 17-point lead before pulling away in the fourth quarter to beat the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers 119-111.
Anunoby, who was questionable with an ankle injury, had 24 points and 14 rebounds while Towns finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds hours after he was listed as doubtful due to a strained right quad.
“Yeah, it’s been a day for me living in it and for y’all trying to report it,” Towns said. “It’s been one hell of a day.”
The Knicks won Mike Brown’s debut as head coach despite the absence of Josh Hart, who has a back injury, and Mitchell Robinson, who was held out for load management issues as he continues recovering from left ankle surgery in the spring of 2024.
Even with their undermanned roster, the Knicks displayed the depth they lacked last season under Tom Thibodeau. Sixth man Miles McBride scored 15 points while four other reserves — Landry Shamet, Tyler Kolek, Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele — played at least 12 minutes.
Anunoby, Hart, Towns, Mikal Bridges and Jalen Brunson all averaged at least 35 minutes per game last season as the Knicks’ main starters.
“We feel like, as the season goes along, we’re going to get better,” Brown said. “We won the game and we had some good moments, but we don’t feel like we’re anywhere near what we’re capable of.”
Meanwhile, the host Celtics blew a 13-point fourth quarter lead and fell to the Philadelphia 76ers 117-116.
The Celtics’ ceiling was likely lowered when Tatum suffered a torn Achilles during Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Knicks on May 12. Tatum led the team in scoring in each of the previous six seasons and almost averaged a double-double (25.0 points, 9.7 rebounds) during the 2024 playoffs, when Boston went 16-3 on its way to the NBA title.
Tatum’s absence was felt in the fourth quarter Thursday, when the Celtics gave up 42 points and struggled to close out the 76ers. Boston led 109-100 with 3:47 left but missed 11 of its final 14 shots while committing two turnovers.
The Celtics had two chances to win in the final seconds, but Payton Pritchard missed a layup that bounced off a 76ers player and out of bounds before he missed a 13-footer at the buzzer.
“I feel like the last couple years, we knew exactly what we were trying to get to,” said Celtics guard Derrick White, who scored 25 points. “So it’s going to be a little bit different this year.”
