With both teams opting to rest their star players, the New York Knicks managed to secure a pre-season victory against the Boston Celtics, winning by a final score of 114-107 to kick off the 2023 season.

In what turned out to be a showdown between the bench squads at Madison Square Garden, the Knicks deployed five of their starters from the previous year to take on a Celtics lineup that included most of their key contributors, such as Jaylen Brown, Al Horford, Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, and Jayson Tatum.

The Knicks’ starting five from the previous season showcased their skills once again, with Jalen Brunson making an impressive 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting in just six minutes of play. Julius Randle contributed 11 points along with four rebounds in 13 minutes. Mitchell Robinson made his presence felt on both ends of the court, tallying 10 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 2 steals. RJ Barrett led the game in scoring with 12 points, despite a challenging 1-of-6 shooting performance from the field. Notably, he redeemed himself at the free-throw line, making all nine attempts after shooting 74% from there last season.

Immanuel Quickley was the top scorer for the Knicks (1-0) with 21 points, including a notable 14 points in the third quarter that helped build a substantial lead. Evan Fournier, coming off the bench, also reached double figures, contributing 11 points, primarily through three three-pointers on seven attempts. Donte DiVincenzo, in his unofficial Knicks debut, added eight points off the bench. Meanwhile, Josh Hart and Ryan Arcidiacono, former teammates of DiVincenzo, were absent from the preseason opener as they were occupied with their efforts in the FIBA Basketball World Cup last month.

On the other hand, Boston (1-1) chose to rest most of their star players following an impressive home victory over Philadelphia the previous night. Payton Pritchard led the Celtics in scoring once again, putting up 21 points, closely followed by Dalano Banton with 20. Svi Mykhailiuk, a former Knick, chipped in with 15 points as a relief.

Despite the noticeable differences in the rosters, both the Knicks and Celtics are set to kick off their regular seasons with a highly anticipated game at the Garden on October 25. Prior to that, they will face each other in another preseason matchup in Boston on October 17.