Knicks Deal Celtics Brutal History in Blowout Win

The New York Knicks were on the wrong end of a blowout when they played against the Detroit Pistons last week.

A 118-80 loss on the road at Little Caesars Arena snapped an eight-game winning streak for the Knicks. They were short-handed in the contest, playing without Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby and Miles McBride. Jose Alvarado, their trade deadline acquisition, wasn’t with the team yet either.

Coming off a brutal performance, things weren’t getting any easier for New York, which was traveling to take on its rivals, the Boston Celtics. Another blowout ensued, but the Knicks were on the correct side of it this time, while also accomplishing an impressive feat.

New York won the game 111-89, picking up their 34th victory of the season. The margin of victory on the road was impressive enough, but it was also a milestone victory for the franchise. That is because the 89 points scored by the Celtics are the fewest the team has had in a home game under their current head coach, Joe Mazzulla.

Knicks help Celtics make ugly history under Joe Mazzulla

Boston knows a thing or two about playing stifling defense. They entered the matinee riding a five-game streak of holding their opponents below 100 points scored. That is the longest such streak in the NBA, breaking the four-game streak the Knicks had snapped last week.

Now, New York has stopped the Celtics’ streak at five in dominating fashion.

The Knicks held the Celtics to just 89 points today, the fewest Boston has scored at home under head coach Joe Mazzulla 🔥 pic.twitter.com/NF04KvJgOO
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) February 8, 2026

Credit needs to be given to the players, who put an ugly performance against the Pistons behind them in a short period of time, especially with Anunoby and McBride not in the lineup.

Getting Towns back certainly helped, and Alvardo made his presence felt as a spark plug off the bench in his debut. It was a stellar all-around performance from the team, with their captain, Jalen Brunson, setting the tone.

He got off to a scorching hot start, scoring 15 points in the first quarter to help build an early lead. The Knicks trailed 13-11 with 7:14 remaining in the opening frame before scoring six points in a row and never looking back.

si te quieres divertir, watch these highlights ⬇️

Jalen 31 PTS | 3 REB | 8 AST
Josh 19 PTS | 6 REB | 3 AST
Mikal 14 PTS | 4 REB | 1 BLK
Jose 12 PTS | 2 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL | 1 BLK
KAT 11 PTS | 10 REB | 1 STL
Mo 10 PTS | 3 REB | 1 STL pic.twitter.com/I3kBFdvzA2
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) February 8, 2026

That ended up being the last time Boston led in the game, with New York taking control in the second quarter, expanding their lead to as many as 17 points. They would end up leading by as many as 24 points in a lopsided affair.

Six different New York players scored in double-figures, led by 31 from Brunson. Two of those players, Mohamed Diawara and Alvarado, came off the bench to lead a second unit that looks like it will be potent when near full strength.

The Knicks are finding their stride and building positive momentum once again. Their turnaround defensively has been truly impressive, completely changing the feeling around the team from a few weeks ago when they were mired in a brutal stretch, losing nine out of 11 games.

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