Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (left) deflects a pass by Knicks guard Jalen Brunson to force a turnover during the first quarter on Sunday.
Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (left) deflects a pass by Knicks guard Jalen Brunson to force a turnover during the first quarter on Sunday.Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff
Before the Celtics faced the Knicks on Sunday, coach Joe Mazzulla was asked about how well New York had been playing before getting pummeled by the Pistons on Friday.
Mazzulla quickly pushed back against the notion that the Knicks were no longer playing well, pointing out that they were missing three key players in that game and playing for the second night in a row. He believed that loss was an outlier rather than the start of a trend.
Then Sunday’s game began, and it became clear what he was talking about. The Knicks seized control at the start and never relinquished it, as they bottled up Boston’s shooters and rolled to a 111-89 win and snapped Boston’s five-game winning streak. The teams are now tied for second in the Eastern Conference, at 34-19.
One game after starting 1 for 21 from the 3-point line before rallying for a comeback win against the Heat, the Celtics this time fell into a slump they could never emerge from. They made just 7 of 41 from long range.
Jaylen Brown missed all four of his attempts but had more success inside the arc, finishing with 26 points. Sam Hauser sat out because of back soreness and was replaced in the starting lineup by Baylor Scheierman, who had 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Jalen Brunson poured in 31 points to lead the Knicks, who shot 48.2 percent from the field and were without starting forward OG Anunoby.
The Celtics’ start was not as bad as Friday’s against the Heat, but it was not great, either. Boston was held scoreless for the first 2 minutes, 30 seconds, and it made just 1 of its first 10 3-point attempts.
Brown was matched up against Brunson for much of the opening half, but the Knicks star gave his team a jolt in the opening quarter, when he made 6 of 9 shots and scored 15 points to send his team to the second with a 35-24 lead.
Brunson then took a seat, but the Knicks started to expand their lead thanks to quick cuts for layups that caught a normally alert Boston defense off guard. A Mikal Bridges fadeaway with 8:02 left gave the Knicks their largest lead of the half, 48-31.
But at the 7:08 mark Josh Hart went to the bench with his third foul, and the Celtics instantly crafted a 7-0 burst, with Scheierman providing a lift with his rebounding and playmaking.
Midway through the quarter, Mazzulla rekindled the hack-a-Mitch strategy he deployed during last season’s playoffs. Mitchell Robinson entered the game shooting a career-low 38.2 percent from the free-throw line this season, and he missed all four of his attempts in this spot before Knicks coach Mike Brown removed him for the rest of the half.
The Celtics went to the break trailing just 60-53 despite hitting just 5 of 22 3-pointers and allowing the Knicks to shoot 60 percent from the field, likely igniting optimism that mirrored their outlook amid Friday night’s sordid start.
But this time, the comeback attempt was fleeting. Brown attacked the rim aggressively to start the third and pulled Boston within 65-61 with a fadeaway jumper with 8:48 left.
Soon after, though, the Celtics committed three fouls on one trip upcourt, putting the Knicks in the penalty for the rest of the period and exacerbating Boston’s foul trouble. Neemias Queta picked up his fifth foul later in the quarter.
As the Knicks gradually extended their lead, the Celtics went back to hack-a-Mitch, but this time he cashed in both free throws. Then he drew another foul when battling for an offensive rebound and hit 1 of 2. A runner by Jose Alvarado with 47 seconds left helped send New York to the fourth with an 85-68 lead, its largest. Boston missed all 10 of its 3-pointers in the quarter. The Celtics never mounted a comeback in the fourth.
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him @adamhimmelsbach.