C’s fall in season-opening 2OT thriller

Brown scores 46 in return from COVID

NEW YORK — When Jaylen Brown returned from a week of isolation with a 20point first quarter, some read it as a sign, including his teammates.

But on this wild opening night, not even a careerhigh return by the young Celtics star was enough in a game that changed temperatures on a whim.

The Celtics, fighting off an early season chill that included a 20-point, 7-for30 performance from Jayson Tatum, fell in double overtime with a season-opening 138-134 loss to the Knicks.

Brown defied quarantine with his career-high 46point, 46-minute performance, but with old friend Evan Fournier matching his Celtics’ best with a 32-point, six-trey performance, and Julius Randle steamrolling the C’s with 35 points, the Celtics fell apart down the stretch of the second overtime period.

Both sides went cold at the end of the first overtime, which Tatum tied at 128-128, but also missed an opportunity to win it with a fadeaway at the buzzer.

Brown opened the second overtime with his eighth 3-pointer, but Dennis Schroder, with a chance to stretch the lead, missed an open layup attempt off the break. RJ Barrett immediate cut the Celtics lead to 131130.

The craziness continued through misses by Marcus Smart and Brown — the latter a missed dunk off a steal. The Celtics then forced the Knicks into a shot clock violation, only for Tatum to miss from downtown.

Randle then drove on Robert Williams, converted, drew the foul and made the free throw for a 133-131 lead before Tatum spun through the lane, converting his own three-point play for a 134133 lead.

Fournier immediately took it back with his sixth three, and when the Celtics lost the ball Derrick Rose drove with 22.2 seconds left for a 138-136 lead.

Marcus Smart’s 3-pointer, after missing eight of his previous 11 shots, had sent the game into the first overtime in a 116-116 tie.

Brown opened overtime with his seventh 3-pointer, only for Fournier to drain two in the next minute, and then a third for a 125-123 edge, before Smart gave the Celtics a brief lead from downtown that was undone by RJ Barrett with New York’s fourth straight 3-pointer.

But Tatum tied the score (128-128) off the dribble before both sides went cold.

Ap GOT AWAY FROM THEM: Jaylen Brown, left, reacts after losing control of the ball as New York’s Julius Randle defends him during the second half Wednesday in New York.