Celtics 100, Knicks 91
BOSTON -- Forward Jae Crowder, doing it both ends of the floor, scored 13 of his 18 points in the third quarter, and the Boston Celtics won their season-high fourth straight game and handed the New York Knicks a fourth straight loss with a 100-91 decision Sunday night.
Crowder, given the task of guarding Carmelo Anthony for most of the night, hounded the Knicks' star forward into a bad shooting night. Crowder also grabbed six rebounds.
Anthony scored a game-high 29 points and had 10 rebounds, but he shot 11-for-26 from the floor.
The Celtics (18-13) completed a weekend sweep, as they won Saturday night in Detroit. They moved within a game of the idle Toronto Raptors in the Atlantic Division. Boston's next three games are at home against the Los Angeles Lakers (Kobe Bryant's last visit) and a home-and-home with the Brooklyn Nets -- two teams with a total of 13 wins between them.
The Knicks, who hit just four of 19 attempts from 3-point range, fell to 14-18.
Boston guard Isaiah Thomas scored eight points late and finished with 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Guard Evan Turner came off the bench to contribute 19 points and five rebounds, and reserve forward Kelly Olynyk had 11 points and nine rebounds.
New York rookie forward Kristaps Porzingis had 16 points and 12 rebounds but sank just four of 13 shots from the floor.
The Celtics led by 14 with 10 minutes left and then had to hold off a charge that got the Knicks as close as five with 4:48 remaining. However, as New York went ice cold, Thomas hit two consecutive baskets, and the lead was back to nine with 2:40 remaining.
Boston guard Marcus Smart returned after missing 18 games with a leg injury and played just over 13 minutes, producing a three-point play a minute after entering the game in the second quarter. He hit a 3-point shot in the second half and finished with six points and three rebounds.
The first quarter featured a series of mini runs by both teams, with the Celtics scoring the last six points -- on Smart's three-point play and Olynyk's 3-point shot -- to take lead by four at the end of one. The lead was two when the home team ran off nine consecutive points to take control, and Boston led by 10 at the break.
The Knicks, outscored 57-35 in the second half in Atlanta on Saturday night, turned the ball over six times in the first 4:16 as the Celtics built their lead to 15. It was 10 when forward Amir Johnson tipped home a rebound with two-tenths of a second left in the quarter.
NOTES: Boston F David Lee missed his second consecutive game with back spasms. ... Knicks coach Derek Fisher, reacting to F Carmelo Anthony saying after Saturday night's loss at Atlanta that the players have to want winning more, said before the game, "For sure. The players are the ones that have to make the plays. We can create game plans, strategies, coverages, etcetera, but when the game starts it's really those guys that have to get it done. Anything you want to accomplish has to start and end with them, and I think we're making good progress, but when you play against really good teams, you have to embrace that."