October 24, 2026 at 2:36 AM UTC

Postgame Report

Celtics Hold Off Knicks, 107-103, in Home Opener

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Boston won its home opener against New York by four points, in a game that opened with Mitchell Robinson facing the Knicks for the first time since leaving in free agency.

The Celtics beat the Knicks 107-103 on Friday night, and the evening started with Mitchell Robinson in the wrong color. It was his first meeting with New York since he left in free agency. The center matchup was the thing everyone had circled, with Boston's investment at the position on one side and the Knicks' interior depth on the other. Four points was the final margin, so the argument over who spent better at center will carry into the next meeting.

It was also Boston's home opener, the first game of the year in its own building, and the Celtics held on to make it a win. Neither team had much room for a second stumble. Boston had lost its opener to Detroit after letting a big lead get away. The Knicks had their banner-raising night spoiled by a 106-100 loss to Philadelphia. Someone was going to leave 0-2, and it was New York.

The Celtics were close to whole, though Devin Carter missed a second straight game with an illness. His absence was not expected to touch the main group, and the 107 points suggest it didn't. The Knicks had their full rotation. Jayson Tatum came in needing a better night after a poor opener. Boston's standing as a contender depends on him playing like a top star in the first season after the Jaylen Brown trade, and a win at home is a reasonable place to start that.

For the Knicks, this was a bigger game than a second night of the schedule usually is, with a hard stretch of games ahead. A win in October can spare a team a desperate one in April, and they didn't get it. Both rosters were shaped by the second apron, and they have gone in different directions since. For now Boston is 1-1 and New York is 0-2.

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