Knicks and Tim Hardaway Jr. flop in Boston disaster
BOSTON — On a night Kristaps Porzingis fell back to Earth, the Knicks needed their big free-agent acquisition, Tim Hardaway Jr. , to give them life.
Instead, Hardaway became a Boston bust to continue a disastrous start to his second stint as a Knick. In truth, almost every Knick who hit the hardwood stunk out Beantown but only Hardaway is being paid $71 million.
With the Celtics taking a 21-point lead just 15 minutes into the game, the Knicks were whipped up and down by the depleted team in green, 110-89, at TD Garden on Tuesday. The Knicks fell to 0-3.
Hardaway couldn't throw the ball into Boston Harbor — a 2-for-11 outing that brought his three-game shooting ledger to an embarrassing 9-of-37. The Knicks former first-round pick looked much more confident when he was a rookie.
His defense also left much to be desired. It was a comedown for Porzingis as the Knicks offense looked sickly, riddled with one-on-one play.
Porzingis, after averaging 32 points in the first two games, put forth a 3-of-14 clunker for 12 points in 32 minutes as the Celtics sent more double-teams at him than he saw in Knicks' first two games.
The Celtics (2-2) are still reeling from Gordon Hayward's horrific ankle/tibia break exactly one week ago. But their young guns, rookie Jayson Tatum (22 points)and Jaylen Brown (23 points) torched the Knicks.
On defense, the Knicks — Hardaway in particular — did a poor job closing out on the 3-point line against Tatum and second-year man Brown. The Knicks trailed by 25 late in the second quarter. They finished in a 54-33 halftime hole.
Kristaps Porzingis looks to make a move during the Knicks loss.
Brown had notched 18 points by intermission and Tatum, the former Duke star, racked up 12 in 15 minutes, including a wild alley-oop stuff in which he nearly leapt to the TD Garden rafters.
Boston didn't need a monster outing from new point guard Kyrie Irving, who mustered a respectable 20 points and seven assists.
can't get off the schneid. In the first half, Hardway was 0- for-6 — 0-for-3 from the 3-point line. He was signed to a $71 million contract, ostensibly to be the secondary scoring option to Porzingis.
Knicks starting center Enes Kanter was the lone bright spot, attacking the glass with a vengeance. He racked up a team high 16 points and 19 rebounds.
Out of desperation, Hornacek put in out-of-the-rotation Willy Hernangomez with 3:41 left in the third quarter with the Knicks down 18 points.
The Knicks shot just 35 percent in the first half, didn't make a 3-pointer in six attempts and shot just 50 percent from the free-throw line in the opening 24 minutes.
Porzingis, after averaging 32 points in the first two games, was a brutal 1-of-8 at halftime.
The Hayward catastrophe likely derailed the Celtics chance to knock off the Cavaliers for beast of the East. They also were without gritty defender Marcus Smart, who has often been deployed on Porzingis by coach Brad Stevens.
In addition, Marcus Morris, a key offseason pickup, hasn't made his season debut.
In the season's first two games, the Knicks were at least competitive in the first half against the Thunder and Pistons, against whom they built a 21-point lead before blowing it.
On Tuesday, they looked dead in the water from the opening tip with the Nets on tap Friday.
The second half didn't go well either. Tatum set the tone, stripping point guard Ramon Sessions to glide in for a fast-break dunk as the final 20 minutes were essentially garbage time.
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