Knicks tightened up in their own end

Julius Randle and Immanuel Quickley each scored 23 points, and Jalen Brunson added 16 as the Knicks (36-27) moved up to the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference, a half-game ahead of the struggling Nets. Hart finished the game with 12 points, five assists, five rebounds, and two crucial second-half steals in 26 minutes off the bench. Hart once more had a significant impact on the game in a variety of sparkplug ways. After recovering from thumb surgery, Mitchell Robinson has also produced three straight double-doubles (10 points and 13 rebounds).

During their winning run, the Knicks are scoring 120.7 points on average while shooting 38.7 percent from beyond the arc. Jayson Tatum was restricted to just 14 points, which enraged him, and he was eventually dismissed from the game in the fourth quarter after receiving his second technical foul for the Celtics, who were missing fellow All-Star Jaylen Brown.