NEW YORK _ Kyrie Irving had made the Knicks' defense look foolish most of the night. Then rookie Frank Ntilikina took the challenge of getting in front of Irving. He crossed up the Knicks' rookie with a dribble behind his back. Ntilikina fell down.
Later, Irving was ahead on a break and threw a behind-the-back pass to Jaylen Brown for a tomahawk dunk. Irving put on the type of show at Madison Square Garden that has Knicks' fans dreaming that one day in the near future he will call New York home. He's expected to be a Knicks' free-agent target in the summer of 2019.
Irving scored 31 points to go with nine rebounds and eight assists, leading Boston to a 121-112 victory over the Knicks.
He proved to be too much for the Knicks' new three-headed point guard by committee. Irving shot 11 for 22 overall, including 6-for-12 on three-pointers. During one third-quarter stretch, Irving scored 14 consecutive points for Boston _ he hit four three-pointers _ and put the Knicks in a 10-point hole. They never climbed out of it.
Trey Burke had his second straight strong game. He came off the bench to lead the Knicks (24-37) with 26 points for the second straight game. Burke also had eight assists.
Tim Hardaway Jr. finished with 17 points. Troy Williams, signed Wednesday to a 10-day contract, scored 14. Emmanuel Mudiay had 13 and six assists, and Ntilikina eight points, five rebounds, and one forgettable defensive play.
Brown scored 24 for Boston (42-19).
In the fourth, the Knicks were down nine. But Burke and Williams led the Knicks back. They drew within two twice.
Irving made a 3-pointer to make it 99-94. Then Williams threw down a left-handed follow dunk to make it a three-point game. Boston scored the next seven points, capped by an Irving-fed Al Horford 3-pointer to give the Celtics a 106-96 lead with 5:24 to go. The Knicks never got it under five after that.
With the playoffs almost out of the picture, the Knicks are looking to the future, with their sights set on the summer of 2019.
That's when Irving will be part of a class of star free agents, including Klay Thompson, Kawhi Leonard, Kemba Walker, Jimmy Butler and Kevin Love. The Knicks' plan is to clear the cap space to sign at least one max contract player.
Although the Knicks have three young point guards, they still don't have a franchise one. Irving has ties to the area _ he's from West Orange, N.J. _ and he's already given the Knicks' fans hope that he could call MSG home one day.
When Irving requested a trade from the Cavaliers over the summer, the Knicks were one of the teams on his wish list. Irving also revealed over All-Star Weekend that he paid a big compliment to Kristaps Porzingis, and sent him "well wishes" after he tore his left ACL.
"I told him I would love to play with a big like you, man, when we played them in the beginning of the season when he came to Boston," Irving said. "He's so versatile. So I wish him nothing but the best and hope he comes back even stronger."
Porzingis could be a free-agent draw, which is something the Knicks haven't had in years. But Irving also is in a great spot in Boston. Brad Stevens is one of the best coaches in the league, and the Celtics have a good young core that could be a top team in the East for years.
The Knicks are trying to build something. They hope their young players, particularly the 19-year-old Ntilikina, prove to be keepers. They have to hit a home run in this draft with their first-round pick and hope Porzingis comes back strong, and grow from there.
The young players will get a chance the remainder of this season to show whether they can help the Knicks. Burke has had two good games in a row, making some wonder why he wasn't used more earlier.
Burke has been instant offense off the bench. He gave the Knicks an immediate lift Saturday, scoring their last nine points of the first quarter and 15 in his first nine minutes of action. He helped the Knicks to a 38-30 lead with 7:15 left in the half.
But the Celtics scored 29 points over the last 7:05. Irving scored 10 to help the Celtics to a 59-56 lead at halftime.
The break didn't cool off Irving. He put on a shooting clinic in the third. He scored 15 points in the first 7:20 of the quarter, matching the Knicks total at that time.
