Celtics at Knicks
The Boston Celtics will try to ride the momentum of defeating the defending champion when they visit the New York Knicks on Saturday. Boston attempted an eye-popping 109 field goals and made enough of them to defeat Toronto 112-106 on Friday with Jayson Tatum, Kemba Walker and Jaylen Brown combining for 72 points and 64 tries from the field.
Boston center Enes Kanter missed Friday's contest with a knee injury, so Daniel Theis and Robert Williams III split time at the pivot. "We'll see how we go, night to night, who is the best option to look at," Celtics coach Brad Stevens told reporters before Friday's game about how he'll rotate his big men. New York plays its home opener after dropping two on the road to start the season, including 113-109 at Brooklyn on Friday. Knicks rookie guard Allonzo Trier scored 22 points in 23 minutes off the bench against the Nets after playing seven scoreless minutes in his NBA debut - a 120-111 loss to San Antonio on Oct. 23.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBATV, NBCS Boston, MSG (New York)
ABOUT THE CELTICS (1-1): Boston will have no shortage of scoring options this season with Tatum (46 points this season), Gordon Hayward (40) and Walker (34) figuring to do the most damage. The Celtics were outrebounded 62-41 in their season-opening 107-93 loss at Philadelphia on Wednesday but won the battle of the boards with Toronto 56-46 with Tatum and Brown grabbing nine apiece and Hayward eight. Shooting guard Romeo Langford, the 14th overall pick in the 2019 draft, has yet to make his NBA debut because of a knee injury.
ABOUT THE KNICKS (0-2): Forward RJ Barrett, the third overall pick in the 2019 draft, is off to a strong start with 37 points and eight steals in his first two games. Mitchell Robinson recorded six points, seven rebounds, four steals and five fouls in 17 minutes of his season debut Friday after missing the San Antonio contest with an ankle injury. Forward Marcus Morris scored 26 points versus the Spurs, but was held to 11 against Brooklyn.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Boston is 20-for-64 from 3-point range after going 13-for-38 versus Toronto.
2. New York F Julius Randle has recorded a total of 39 points and 10 assists in his first two games while grabbing 11 rebounds in each contest.
3. The Celtics won three of four meetings last season with Tatum averaging 17.3 points and 8.0 rebounds.