The Celtics had another tough day at the office, starting cold again but this time never being able to recover and make a comeback. They did get it close in the third quarter, but the Knicks ran away with it after that.

BOTTOM LINE: Boston seeks to keep its five-game win streak alive when the Celtics take on New York. The Celtics are 23-12 against conference opponents. Boston has a 5-6 record in games decided by 3 points or fewer. The Knicks are 22-12 in Eastern Conference play. New York averages 117.5 points while outscoring opponents by 5.2 points per game.

New York sports was supposed to enjoy more of a leg up on — or at least equal footing with — its rival town to the northeast than it has in some time, especially with the Patriots supposedly still rebuilding and the Celtics dealing with a massive injury to their best player.

The Boston Bruins (30-20-2, seventh in the Eastern Conference) visit the New York Rangers (21-25-6, 16th) in conference play on Monday at 7 p.m. ET. New York lost 3-1 on the road against the San Jose Sharks in its most recent game on Jan. 23.

Boston hosts the New York Knicks after Payton Pritchard scored 42 points in the Boston Celtics' 117-115 win against the Cleveland Cavaliers New York Knicks (13-6, second in the Eastern Conference) vs. Boston Celtics (11-9, eighth in the Eastern Conference ...

Jose​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ Alvarado, the point guard that the New York Knicks got recently from the New Orleans Pelicans, is no longer listed as injured and will like

"We’re still figuring things out as part of the journey, so we take it on the chin and move on to the next one," said Brown.