BOSTON _ Carmelo Anthony was off to a hot start, but he needed to cool down in the second quarter and was sent to the showers.
Anthony was ejected with 4:44 left in the first half after picking up two technical fouls for arguing a call, leaving the Knicks to battle the Celtics without him Friday night. It was a six-point game at the time, but the Knicks struggled offensively, had their usual difficulties defensively and let the Celtics run them out of TD Garden, 115-87.
The good news: The Knicks should have a well-rested Anthony when they play in Toronto Saturday.
Anthony left the locker room without speaking to reporters.
The Knicks' frustrations got the better of them throughout the game as they received six technical fouls. "I can't comment on that stuff, except some of those I don't blame guys," Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek said.
Joakim Noah was called for one from the bench in the third quarter. Kristaps Porzingis was hit with one in the fourth for punching the ball in the air. Brandon Jennings got one for slamming the basketball, drew his second for continuing to argue and was ejected with 3:20 left. "I was just frustrated," Jennings said. "We were getting blown out. I felt like we got punked tonight. I was just frustrated."
"We can't comment on any of that stuff," Hornacek said. "They outhustled us. They got the calls. They were more aggressive."
The Celtics (4-4) had a 43-17 advantage in free throws attempted and were the more aggressive team from the beginning, building a 30-point lead at one point.
Porzingis had 14 points, Anthony 12 and Derrick Rose 11 for the Knicks (3-5), who shot 33-for-93 from the field.
Isaiah Thomas scored 29 points for the Celtics and didn't play in the fourth quarter. Kelly Olynyk had 19 and Avery Bradley added 15 points and 10 assists.
Anthony was upset after referee Tony Brothers whistled him for a loose-ball foul. Teammates tried to calm him down after he picked up his first technical, but he followed Brothers and kept jawing at him, and was hit with a second one quickly.
It was Anthony's ninth career ejection and the first time he was whistled for two technicals since Dec. 12, 2012, against Chicago.
Anthony and Amir Johnson were fighting for a rebound on a free throw, but Johnson outworked Anthony and Willy Hernangomez and dived on the floor for the ball. Anthony got on the floor, too, and was whistled for the foul. He let Brothers know he didn't agree with the call and apparently said too much.
The Knicks were down 44-38 at the time. It ended up being a four-point possession as Thomas made the two technical free throws and Johnson the two free throws for the personal foul.
The Celtics extended their lead to 50-38 after two more free throws by Thomas with 3:29 left. The Knicks were in the midst of a drought that lasted 3:25 that finally ended with Courtney Lee's foul shot with 2:58 remaining.
The Knicks needed their defense to step up to make up for Anthony's absence, but they gave up 3-pointers on three of the Celtics' next four trips and fell behind 59-46.
A basket by Noah brought the Knicks within 74-67 with 4:35 left in the third quarter, but the Celtics went on a 12-2 run to open an 86-69 lead.
The Knicks started the game badly defensively, allowing 28 points in the first 7:38. But as in Wednesday night's win over the Nets, the Knicks got a lift from a bench crew that included Hernangomez. The rookie center helped bring the Knicks back from an 11-point deficit, and his put-back with 6:22 left cut it to 39-38. The Celtics answered with 11 straight points, and the Knicks lost a hot Anthony _ in more ways than one.
