The New York Knicks stunned the host Boston Celtics with a 27-7 flurry in the second quarter, then held on for a 117-109 victory over the struggling defending Eastern Conference runners-up on Wednesday night.
Trey Burke, Noah Vonleh and Enes Kanter all recorded double-doubles as the Knicks, who had lost six straight, dropped the Celtics back to .500 at 9-9.
New York wasted little time taking charge, leading by as many as 12 in the first quarter.
Burke's jumper with 7:51 left in the second quarter capped a 10-0 burst that gave the Knicks a 40-24 lead.
Marcus Smart ended the run, but the Knicks weren't done, running off 17 of the next 22 points to seize a 57-31 lead with 3:34 left in the half.
Burke had eight points in the run, including a 3-pointer and three-point play on consecutive possessions.
The Celtics got as close as 10 in the third quarter, and were within 94-84 after a 3-pointer by Al Horford with 7:25 remaining in the game.
But Burke and Frank Ntilikina hit back-to-back hoops to stall the Boston rally. The Knicks were able to keep the Celtics at arm's length the rest of the way, thanks in large part to Burke's fourth 3-pointer with 12.9 seconds left.
Burke led all scorers with 29 points to go with a season-best 11 assists for New York, which had lost four straight on the road.
Vonleh had 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Kanter put together 10 points and 10 boards.
Tim Hardaway Jr. (21 points) and Kevin Knox (11 points, nine rebounds) also scored in double figures for New York.
Kyrie Irving had a 22-point, 13-assist double-double for the Celtics, who have lost three straight overall and two in a row at home.
Marcus Morris had 21 points, Horford and Gordon Hayward added 19, Jayson Tatum 15 and Jaylen Brown 11 for Boston, which had won 103-101 at New York last month.
--Field Level Media
New York | Boston | |
Trey Burke 29 | Scoring | Kyrie Irving 22 |
Trey Burke 11 | Assists | Kyrie Irving 13 |
Enes Kanter 10 | Rebounds | Marcus Morris 8 |
Trey Burke 3 | Free Throws Made | Jayson Tatum 6 |
Trey Burke 2 | Steals | Kyrie Irving 3 |
Mitchell Robinson 6 | Blocks | Al Horford 3 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
New York | 117 | 49.4 | 15-30 | 14-17 | 25 | 49 | 11 | 3 | 17 |
Boston | 109 | 39.2 | 10-33 | 23-32 | 30 | 50 | 9 | 10 | 8 |