Knicks at Celtics
Isaiah Thomas looks to continue his torrid pace and the Boston Celtics will try to match their longest winning streak of the season when they host the stumbling New York Knicks on Wednesday. Thomas led the Celtics to their third straight win - a 108-98 home triumph over Charlotte on Monday - with another remarkable fourth-quarter burst.
The All-Star guard scored 17 of his 35 points against the Hornets in the fourth and his average of 10.1 points in the final quarter is the best in the NBA and the fourth-highest mark in the past 20 years. "A special, special player," Celtics center Kelly Olynyk told ESPN on Monday. "I don’t know if there's another person in the world right now doing what he's doing. It's unfathomable." Thomas scored 10 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter of a 119-114 win at New York on Christmas and had 29 in just 28 minutes in a 28-point rout of the Knicks at home earlier in the season. The loss to the Celtics on Christmas kicked off a 2-11 slide for New York, which suffered a 108-107 defeat against Atlanta at home on Monday.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, MSG (New York), CSN New England (Boston)
ABOUT THE KNICKS (18-24): Star forward Kristaps Porzingis (Achilles) missed his third straight game Monday but was a game-time decision and is reportedly close to a return. Rookie Mindaugas Kuzminskas has done his best to fill the gap and played a season-high 38 minutes versus Atlanta, finishing with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Carmelo Anthony, who had 30 points in the loss, played just 12 minutes in his previous visit to Boston before being ejected in the second quarter for arguing with an official.
ABOUT THE CELTICS (26-15): Guard Avery Bradley returned Monday from a four-game absence due to an Achilles issue but struggled to score a season-low five points in 33 minutes while shooting 2-for-9. Backup big man Kelly Olynyk has provided a spark to support Thomas of late, scoring 41 points on 15-for-20 shooting - including 6-for-7 from 3-point range - in the last two games. He has also grabbed 17 rebounds in those contests, a significant number for a team that entered Tuesday tied for 27th in the NBA in rebounding margin (minus-4.0).
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Thomas averages 29.1 points at home.
2. Knicks SG Justin Holiday scored in double figures in back-to-back games after being held to nine points or fewer in seven straight contests.
3. Olynyk is averaging 17.5 points and shooting 62.5 percent from long distance against the Knicks this season.