Both the Celtics (1-1) and Knicks (1-1) are hoping to bounce back from losses on Friday when they meet up at Madison Square Garden for a Saturday night matchup.
The Celtics fell on the road Friday to the Raptors by a score of 113-101. Toronto's defense helped cause Boston to shoot just 40.4 percent from the field, for the game. According to ESPN, Al Horford attempted one free throw through three quarters, the only free throw, that was attempted by a Boston starter, occurred in the first 36 minutes. Kyrie Irving led the team with 21 points while Horford nearly finished with a triple-double (14 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists).
After winning their season opener against the Hawks, the Knicks lost a nailbiter in Brooklyn by the score of 107-105 to the Nets. Brooklyn came out victorious despite having 22 turnovers compared to the Knicks' three. Both Tim Hardaway Jr. and Enes Kanter led New York in scoring with 29.
Injuries
Celtics: Out - Gordon Hayward (rest)
Knicks: Out - Kristaps Porzingis (knee), Courtney Lee (neck), Emmanuel Mudiay (ankle)
Projected starting lineups
Celtics: PG - Kyrie Irving, SG - Jaylen Brown, SF - Jayson Tatum, PF - Al Horford, C - Aron Baynes
Knicks: PG - Trey Burke, SG - Tim Hardaway Jr., SF - Frank Ntilikina, PF - Lance Thomas, C - Enes Kanter
Stat leaders
Celtics: Scoring - Jayson Tatum 19.5, Rebounding - Jayson Tatum 9.0, Assists - Kyrie Irving 6.5
Knicks: Scoring - Tim Hardaway Jr.
30.0, Rebounding - Enes Kanter 10.5, Assists - Trey Burke 4.0
What to know and watch for
While it has been just two games, the Knicks have looked to run the ball more under new head coach David Fizdale as compared to his predecessor Jeff Hornacek. They have averaged 103.6 possessions in their first two outings, a good amount more than the 96.8 they averaged per 48 minutes in 2017-18.
Kyrie Irving has enjoyed much success against the Knicks during much of his career, including last season. In three outings vs. New York in 2017-18, he posted averages of 27.7 points, five rebounds, and 6.3 assists.
Celtics/Knicks regular season history
The long-storied history between the Knicks and Celtics has spanned 471 regular season games according to Land of Basketball.
Boston holds a pretty wide margin in the win column during their head-to-head matchups with a 290-181 advantage.
The Celtics have won the last two meetings and won three of four last season against New York. That was the fourth straight season that they finished with a 3-1 record against the Knicks.
Boston has won four of the last five times that the two teams have played in Madison Square Garden.