Celtics at Knicks
The Boston Celtics will try to avoid looking too far ahead when they carry a slim lead in the Eastern Conference into a Sunday afternoon matchup at the New York Knicks. After a 5-1 homestand capped by Friday's one-point win over the Orlando Magic, the Celtics clung to a half-game lead over Cleveland in the race for the top spot in the conference.
They get two days off after the game against the Knicks before hosting Cleveland on Wednesday in a matchup that could decide who gets the No. 1 seed. Boston needed to rally from 13 points down to nip the Magic and the contest served as a reminder to Celtics players that it's a different dynamic when you occupy first place. "You can definitely feel it. You can definitely tell," forward Jae Crowder told reporters. "I was telling (guard Isaiah Thomas), 'I feel it. I feel teams are really coming at us.' That's part of the work we've put in. But we have to step up to the plate and match that. I told him for the past two games, we've been hit first." New York is playing out the string but has won two of its last three and ended a seven-game road losing streak with a 98-94 win at Miami on Friday.
TV: 1 p.m. ET, ABC
ABOUT THE CELTICS (49-27): Thomas did his usual thing with 35 points and seven assists against Orlando, while Crowder contributed 18 and averaged 16.7 - nearly three more than his season average - on the homestand. Guard Avery Bradley was sidelined with a recurrence of a stomach flu and is not expected to travel with the team to New York. That should give another start to rookie Jaylen Brown, who had 12 points versus the Magic.
ABOUT THE KNICKS (29-47): Both Carmelo Anthony (back) and Derrick Rose (knee) were absent Friday but New York looked nothing like a team that had been officially eliminated from the postseason earlier in the week. "We just went out there and tried to not think about anything," guard Courtney Lee told reporters after finishing with 20 points and three steals. "Go out there and play free and have fun." Kristaps Porzingis had 22 points and has produced at least 20 in three straight games for the first time since December, a run that began with a 22-point, 12-rebound, three-block effort at Boston.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Rose, who is day-to-day along with Anthony and forward Lance Thomas (hip), scored 30 points to lead New York to a 117-106 win at Boston in the previous meeting Jan. 18.
2. Thomas (2,047 points) needs 23 points to match Sam Jones for the 10th-highest single-season scoring total in team history, and 30 points would get him into eighth place.
3. Lee has nine steals over his last four games and is shooting 4-for-7 from long range over his last three.