The Boston Celtics (18 - 13) picked up their season - high fourth win in a row on Sunday night, when they defeated the New York Knicks (14 - 18) by the score of 100 - 91, in Boston. This loss was the fourth in a row for New York. The Celtics were up 22 - 18 after a hard fought first quarter and managed to hold off New York the rest of the way. This game was the second of a back - to - back for both teams. Boston was coming off a big win in Detroit and came into this one pumped up. The Knicks lost against Atlanta in their last game and with this loss too, are quickly losing touch with the top eight in the East. Marcus Smart was back in the line up for Boston, after missing 18 games with a knee injury. Smart played 13 minutes off the bench and finished with six points, three rebounds and one assist. Isaiah Thomas had an all - around good game as he led his team in scoring with 21 points, along with six assists and eight rebounds. Jae Crowder chipped in 18 points, six rebounds, two assists and one steal, in 34 minutes. Evan Turner had 19 points, five rebounds and two assists, in 30 minutes off the bench. David Lee remained side - lined with a lower back injury. The Knicks struggled shooting, going only 37 percent from the field. Carmelo Anthony shot 11 - 26 on his way to a game - high 29 points, along with 10 rebounds and two assists, in 35 minutes. Kristaps Porzingis shot only 4 - 13 from the field but put up solid numbers with 16 points, 12 rebounds, three blocked shots and two steals, in 28 minutes. Derrick Williams chipped in 10 points and four rebounds, in 23 minutes off the bench. Scoring has been a problem for the Knicks lately as they have failed to score 100 points in each of their last four losses. The Knicks next game will be at home on Tuesday versus Detroit. This will be another tough Eastern Conference match up for the Knicks, but they will have to win if they want to stay relevant in the East. The Celtics will have a couple days rest before hosting the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday. The Celtics will be looking to extend their winning streak to five.
["TeamStat(G,'Celtics') has 18 Number of team assists ,has 13 Percentage of field goals ,has 100 Losses ,has 22 Total points ,has 18 Points in 1st quarter ."
 "TeamStat(G,'Knicks') has 37 Number of team assists ,has 18 Percentage of field goals ,has 91 Losses ,has 18 Total points ,has 14 Points in 1st quarter ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Carmelo Anthony') has 2 Assists ,has 35 Blocks ,has 29 Minutes played ,has 10 Points ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Kristaps Porzingis') has 3 Assists ,has 28 Blocks ,has 16 Minutes played ,has 12 Points ,has 2 Total rebounds ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Derrick Williams') has 23 Assists ,has 10 Blocks ,has 4 Minutes played ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Jae Crowder') has 2 Assists ,has 34 Blocks ,has 18 Minutes played ,has 6 Points ,has 1 Total rebounds ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Isaiah Thomas') has 6 Assists ,has 21 Blocks ,has 8 Minutes played ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Evan Turner') has 2 Assists ,has 30 Blocks ,has 19 Minutes played ,has 5 Points ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Marcus Smart') has 1 Assists ,has 13 Blocks ,has 6 Minutes played ,has 3 Points ."]