Derrick White's 30 points carries Celtics past Knicks 133-123; Boston's Brown ejected with 2 Ts

Updated Dec. 8, 2023 11:21 p.m. ET

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BOSTON (AP) — Derrick White scored 30 points and Kristaps Porzingis had 21 in his return to the lineup after missing four games with a strained left calf to lead the Boston Celtics to a 133-123 victory over the New York Knicks on Friday night.

Jayson Tatum added 25 points, six rebounds and five assists for Boston, which improved to 10-0 at home. Celtics forward Jaylen Brown scored 17 points before he was ejected after getting two technical fouls midway into the final quarter.

“To be honest with you I don't know,” Brown said when asked why he was tossed. “For my first career ejection, I thought some guy would punk it up, go to the ground and not some over-emotional ref who had a bad day."

Boston coach Joe Mazzulla seemed bothered by the quick ejection.

“I've been on the sidelines for five years and I've seen players act and say things that are way more disrespectful than that,” he said.

Brown felt it was overreaction on the second T by official Jason Goldenberg, who whistled him for both.

“I'm on the bench, talking from the sideline, he can't even hear anything I'm saying," Brown said. “He called a tech from across the court. ... To have to deal with somebody that has emotions that's too involved with whatever else is going. ... I ain't going to comment on officiating in general, but I am going to comment on this guy in particular tonight. I thought that was (expletive).”

Crew chief Mark Lindsay told a pool reporter that “the second technical foul was called for a wave off directed at the official, which under the respect of the game guidelines is considered an overt gesture and an unsportsmanlike act.”

RJ Barrett and Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 23 points apiece. Julius Randle added 20 and Immanuel Quickley had 17 for New York, which dropped its second straight.

Porzingis wasted little time getting going offensively, scoring Boston’s first eight points with a dunk and consecutive 3-pointers.

The Celtics and TD Garden crowd had a brief scare late in the second quarter when Tatum made a breakaway dunk, landed awkwardly and went to the floor on the baseline. But he got up quickly.

The Celtics shot 58.3% and led 74-65 at halftime. The Knicks shot 53.5% in the first half.

Boston started hot in the third quarter, connecting on nine of its initial 13 attempts — including five 3-pointers — and pushing the lead to 99-79 on Brown’s 3 from the top of the key.

Criticized by coach Tom Thibodeau for their weak defense after a blowout loss to Milwaukee in the NBA’s In-Season Tournament quarterfinals earlier in the week, the Knicks gave up 109 points through three quarters on Friday.

“It's problematic. We've got to fix our defense,” he said. “It starts individually, containment of the ball, better ball pressure, better challenging the shots in every aspect.”

Brunson sustained an undisclosed injury late in the game. Thibodeau didn't have any word from the medical staff.

Boston’s strong ball movement led to numerous open looks on 3s and when it wanted to get the ball inside, New York offered little resistance.

After Brown was tossed, the Knicks sliced their deficit to 119-112 before Boston went back up by 11 points on a basket and two free throws by White.

UP NEXT

Knicks: Host the Toronto Raptors on Monday night.

Celtics: Host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

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