New York: New York star Carmelo Anthony was ejected in the second quarter on Friday as the Knicks fell 115-87 to the injury-depleted Celtics in Boston.
Anthony, who scored all 12 of his points of the night in the first quarter, was whistled for a non-shooting foul on Boston's Amir Johnson with 4:44 remaining in the second period.
Handed a technical for arguing the call, he continued to protest to referee Tony Brothers who tossed him.
The ninth ejection of Anthony's NBA career -- the first since the 2012-13 season -- came with the Knicks down 44-38 and things didn't get better for them from there.
Boston's Isaiah Thomas was one point shy of his season-high with 29. Kelly Olynyk scored 19 points and Avery Bradley added 15 for the Celtics, who were again without center Al Horford, who is recovering from a concussion, and forward Jae Crowder, who has a sprained left ankle.
Guard Marcus Smart and center Olynyk justified Boston coach Brad Stevens' faith in their defensive abilities. The Celtics played with energy on the defensive end, forcing four of their 25 turnovers in the first six minutes and holding the Knicks to 35.1 percent shooting overall.
Kristaps Porzingis lead New York with 14 points, but both he and teammate Joakim Noah were whistled for technical fouls.
Smart, making his first start of the season, delivered offensively as well, hitting a pair of three pointers and scoring eight of Boston's first 19 points.
And the Celtics got good news about Horford. After participating in non-contact practice drills on Thursday he plans to travel with the team to Indiana for Saturday's game against the Pacers.
"It's a really good sign," Horford said.
