The Celtics always seem to take matchups against the Knicks personally.

The Boston Celtics may be flying under the radar this season, but make no mistake about it, they should still be the favorite to win the 2025 Larry O’Brien trophy. On Sunday night, the Celtics certainly showed how brilliant of a team they can be on both ends of the court as they took a 118-105 victory over the New York Knicks to move to 41-16 on the year.

Their 2024-25 season may not be as dominant as the one they had last year, but opposing teams should not mistake this as being a sign of weakness. The Celtics, when healthy, still boast the most fearsome rotation in the association, and when they’re locked in and at their best, they can suffocate teams on the defensive end — which is exactly what they did on Sunday against the Knicks, with Kristaps Porzingis lauding his team for their efforts.

“We have good defenders. We make it difficult on them. Obviously they have really talented offensive players, but our versatility and the guys we have on the team can make it really difficult for them,” Porzingis said after the Celtics’ win, via ESPN. “Obviously it’s a dangerous team anyway, but we respect them and we came out the right way in the first and we set the tone for the game.”

It does seem like the Celtics always have something extra in reserve when they face the Knicks. Their average margin of victory in their three wins over the Knicks this season is at 21, which is simply astounding when considering that the talent gap between the two sides isn’t supposed to be that big.

Boston’s defense against Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns was phenomenal, holding the two down to a combined 18-39 shooting from the field to go along with five turnovers. The Celtics held the Knicks to 43.5 percent shooting on the night, which is not easy to do against the team with the fourth-best offense in the association (according to offensive rating).

Celtics to start hitting their stride soon

Entering the 2024-25 season, the Celtics made it clear that they were not content to stop at one ring. And with there being fewer than two months to go before the playoffs begin, there is no better time for Boston to start hitting their stride as a unit.

All five starters scored in double figures, with Jayson Tatum leading the way with 25 points, while Derrick White and Jrue Holiday made life hell for the Knicks at the point of attack. Jaylen Brown was rock-solid as usual, putting up 24 points on 10-21 shooting from the field, while Kristaps Porzingis added 15 points and seven rebounds of his own.