Knicks at Celtics
Following another successful stint on the road, the Boston Celtics look forward to taking on some lesser opponents at home, beginning with a matchup against the sliding New York Knicks on Sunday. The Celtics picked up a 99-93 victory at Detroit on Saturday to cap a 2-0 road trip and match their longest winning streak of the season with their third triumph in a row.
They now get to host the Knicks, the Los Angeles Lakers (5-25) and the Brooklyn Nets (8-22) in succession before hitting the road again to visit the Nets. Boston should have loads of success during the span if it can continue to showcase the balanced attack that worked in Charlotte on Wednesday and again at Detroit. Avery Bradley led six players in double figures with 18 points as the Celtics picked up their ninth road win Saturday - the second-highest total in the Eastern Conference - and improved to 16-6 away from home dating to last season. The Knicks have lost three in a row after suffering a 117-98 setback at Atlanta on Saturday.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBA TV, MSG (New York), CSN New England (Boston)
ABOUT THE KNICKS (14-17): New York is working its way through an extremely difficult portion of the schedule, going 1-3 thus far in a stretch that sees the squad play 11 straight games against teams currently above .500. The Hawks, who are featured three times in those 11 contests, shot 53.4 percent against the Knicks on Saturday and had a 9-23 advantage in the turnover department. Carmelo Anthony returned from a one-game layoff due to a sprained ankle to score 18 points and grab 12 rebounds Saturday.
ABOUT THE CELTICS (17-13): Amir Johnson's return from an absence due to plantar fasciitis provided a big boost for Boston on Saturday. The veteran big man provided 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting while hauling in eight boards as the Celtics avenged a loss in Detroit just 10 days earlier. Aside from Bradley (3-of-10), Boston shot 1-of-13 from 3-point range against the Pistons and it is 11-of-52 over the last two games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Celtics PG Isaiah Thomas is scoring 14.3 points per contest during the winning streak after averaging 26.3 over the previous three games - all losses.
2. Anthony is averaging 25.2 points in 28 career games against Boston.
3. The Celtics won the final three games of the 2014-15 season series.