 BOSTON CELTICS (26-7)
 at NEW YORK KNICKS (16-14)
Tip-off: Thursday, 8:00 p.m. ET
Line: NA, Total: NA The Knicks' resurgence means the Boston-New York rivalry is spicy once again this season. The Celtics blew it on Monday, wasting a 38-point quarter and surrendering a 19-point lead in Indiana. But then something remarkable happened: thanks to clutch shooting by PG Kyrie Irving, boneheaded passing by the Pacers and anticipatory defense by PG Terry Rozier, Boston somehow pulled off a 112-111 win. Prior to their win, teams trailing by at least five points with under 30 seconds to go were 0-379 this season. After a Wednesday night date with the Heat in Boston, the Cs will head to MSG for a showdown with the rising Knicks. New York, which figures to be fighting for a playoff spot as the season goes on, had a four-game winning streak snapped in a 109-91 defeat that was over by halftime. But the team has played with great energy lately, with a highlight being a 111-96 over the Thunder on Saturday in Carmelo Anthony's return to New York. The Garden will be bumping for the game against the Celtics, and the Knicks would get a lot of goodwill from their fans with a win. The Celtics and Knicks are without PF Marcus Morris and SG Tim Hardaway Jr. indefinitely, respectively, and PF Kristaps Porzingis is probable to play for Thursday's game.Irving has truly looked like the best version of himself in Boston this season, playing ball movement-oriented team basketball without sacrificing the incredible one-on-one scoring skills that make him one of the game's best players. He's had at least 30 points in three of his last four games, including 30 on 12-of-23 shooting in only 29 minutes against Indy on Monday. Outside of Kyrie, scoring is a team effort for this lineup. SG Jaylen Brown, PF Al Horford, SF Jayson Tatum and PG Marcus Smart each had between 13 and 16 points, which, for the first three, is within the range of what they're averaging on the season. Smart's under 10 PPG, and somehow has a PER under 10, but the extent to which his efforts "aren't captured in the box score" has always been cliche in Boston, and is now known across the league. Tatum has gotten tons of hype, and rightly so, as the 19-year-old rookie has looked comfortable in the league since opening night against Cleveland. He's not necessarily known for his athleticism, but he threw down two monster dunks against the Pacers this week. He shot 6-of-8 in that game and is over 50% from the floor on the year. Horford was an assist away on Indy, a rare example of when his usually muted stats match his always important contributions. Did you know that Kristaps is a unicorn? Everyone at ESPN or The Ringer or whatever will happily tell you so on their podcast, but you're better off just actually watching a Knicks game and finding out for yourself. It now seems insane that the Knicks--under an old regime, admittedly--considered trading Porzingis over the offseason, considering how big of a leap he has made in his third year. He's preparing to take the floor again after missing about two-and-a-half games. In his last full outing last Tuesday, he tore up the Lakers for 37 points and 11 rebounds. He and Hardaway are the team's leading scorers and, hilariously, SF Michael Beasley has been the one to step up in their double absence the last couple games. He dropped 30 on the Thunder on 11-of-18 shooting, and was the only Knick to score more than 12 points or grab more than six boards with a 23-point, nine-rebound night. Rookie PG Frank Ntilikina joins Porzingis to form the team's young core, and he has shown solid progression over the course of the year. He's already a solid perimeter defender, and he scored 10 points in 23 minutes against Charlotte. C Enes Kanter seems to have enjoyed the spotlight in New York since joining the Knicks over the summer, and don't be surprised if he tries to mix it up with some Boston bigs. He's averaging nearly 10 RPG.
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