BOSTON — With 1:11 left in the fourth quarter and the Knicks down two, an all-too-familiar whistle sounded, robbing New York of an opportunity to capitalize on momentum set to shift regulation into their favor.
After losing the third quarter by nine to find themselves down 10 entering the final frame, the Knicks, in typical Knicks fashion, rallied to make it a one-possession game down the stretch. And after a key stop, New York advanced the ball into the front court, swung it around the perimeter and found Miles McBride, who had made five 3s on seven attempts at the time, wide-open in the corner for a go-ahead triple.
And then came the whistle: an offensive foul on Karl-Anthony Towns, his fifth of the night just one day after he vowed to be better with the needless infractions in the aftermath of costing his team the regular-season opener by picking up two early fouls against the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday.
The rest was history: Jayson Tatum scored five points on the Celtics’ next two possessions, McBride made a three the next time down, but it was too little, too late.
The Knicks went on to lose, 107-103, to fall to an 0-2 record to start their first season as reigning NBA champions. And the same question pundits peppered New York with throughout their title run remains as they look to retain their throne.
Can the Knicks pick on teams their own size?
Through two games, the answer has been no. The Knicks, who retained most of their championship core minus Mitchell Robinson, lost to the reassembled 76ers on Tuesday. They then lost to the Celtics, who traded Jaylen Brown for Paul George and added Mitchell Robinson during the offseason, on Friday.
“I haven’t even looked at 50 wins, or 45 or 52 or anything like that. I’m still trying to figure out this team a little bit,” head coach Mike Brown said ahead of tipoff. “And I know everybody is like, ‘Whoa, it’s the same team as last year. New season, new team, new challenges, and so I’m not even sure who I wanna play yet, you know? Trying to figure the little things out.”
The schedule doesn’t get much easier. Knicks head coach Mike Brown said ahead of tipoff on Friday he likes to break the schedule into five-game sample sizes.
The Knicks are 0-2 to start their first five games, and their next three are against the Orlando Magic, Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls, the fourth being a rematch against the 76ers on Oct. 30.
Towns finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds and three assists to four rebounds. Jalen Brunson added 19 points on 7-of-17 shooting from the field and two-of-five shooting from downtown. And McBride ended with 20 points on six-of-nine shooting from deep.
But Jayson Tatum finished with 36 points on 14-of-26 shooting from the field. Paul George added 15 points, and while Mitchell Robinson finished with four points and four rebounds, backup Celtics center Nehemiah Quetaf finished with 15 points and six rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench.
Andre Drummond scored two points in seven minutes on Friday.
The Knicks turned the ball over 16 times to just 10 giveaways from the Celtics. They shot 16-of-40 from 3-point range but were plagued by their own issues taking care of the ball, something they’ll have to shore if they want to get back in the win column any time soon.