Celtics showed grit, and more in opener

NEW YORK — Seven things to think about after the Celtics’ sometimes ugly and mostly gritty 108-104 season-opening win over the Knicks Wednesday night . . .

■ It was an imperfect offensive debut for point guard Jrue Holiday, who had 9 points, 2 assists, and 2 turnovers and never really seemed in the flow.

“I think he’s still learning,” coach Joe Mazzulla said.

But Holiday’s defense required no adjustment period. With the Celtics starting Kristaps Porzingis as their only big man, the 6foot-5-inch, 220-pound Holiday was tasked with shadowing the Knicks’ bruising power forward, Julius Randle, for much of the night. And Holiday was a nuisance.

With Holiday serving as his primary defender, Randle was just 1 for 10 from the field, with two shots blocked.

“Obviously, he’s somebody who’s a little bit bigger, a little bit stronger,” Holiday said. “I think for me, just one of my plans was keeping him off the boards, trying not to foul him. He got an and-one on me there. That was my mistake. But really just taking on the challenge, being able to be the guy.”

The Knicks’ other starters fared no better when Holiday switched onto them: R.J. Barrett and Jalen Brunson were a combined 1 for 8. The Celtics’ perimeter defense figured to take a substantial hit when Marcus Smart was traded in the Porzingis deal, but Holiday will ensure that this unit is elite once again.

■ Holiday is a five-time All-Defense pick, so his thorough performance is no surprise. But Porzingis continues to provide evidence that he will be dominant at that end, too. He is every bit of 7-3, and the Knicks were quite bothered by his presence in the paint. When they were not missing, they were turning down shots that figured to be disrupted by his wingspan.

Porzingis has been in the NBA since 2015, but there has never been this much buzz about his work as a deterrent. It’s partly because he has never been surrounded by this many elite defenders, but he has also given hints that more is being unlocked by how he is being deployed.

“Honestly, I’m being put in the right situation,” he said. “I’m close to the rim, trying to help my teammates as much as I can. Obviously it’s going to depend on matchups, but I feel like the way the coaching staff is using me on defense is paying off and I’m able to be as effective as possible.”

The Knicks made 4 of 21 2-pointers when guarded by Porzingis, who had four blocked shots.

■ This Celtics team is not as deep as some that preceded it. Yes, this is just the start, but Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Porzingis were in the top five in minutes played in NBA openers over the past two days. Porzingis, who has dealt with injuries for much of his career, has never played more than 32.8 minutes per game in a season.

■ Porzingis scored 9 consecutive points down the stretch. It was not that they were actively running the offense through him; the Knicks were simply forcing the ball out of Tatum’s hands with double-teams. There will be tough choices for opposing defenses this year.

■ The tenor of this good-vibe night probably would have been a lot different for the Celtics if the Knicks had simply made some free throws. They were 14 for 26 from the foul line. The biggest miss came with 4:10 left, when Quentin Grimes failed to convert a 4point play that would have given his team a 7point lead. The Celtics were reeling at the time, and a three-possession lead that late in a game provides a psychological edge.

■ Mazzulla made a subtle but productive tweak with the Celtics clinging to a 106-104 lead with 12.7 seconds left. He was out of timeouts when he inserted guard Payton Pritchard, giving the Celtics another good free throw shooter as well as a quick and elusive player who could make himself a target for an inbound pass.

Sure enough, with Tatum on the verge of a five-second violation, Pritchard slid past Brunson along the sideline and gathered the short pass. He was fouled and calmly hit both attempts. In his postgame press conference, Porzingis twice mentioned Pritchard’s clutch free throws without being asked about them.

R It seems as if every season there’s a rule change or point of emphasis that officials harp on during the first few weeks to send a message before gradually relenting. This year’s most substantial tweak, which is currently on a one-year trial, is the addition of a flopping penalty. If a player commits an act intended to cause the referees to call a foul on another player, the offending player will be charged with a technical.

It did feel odd, however, that Wednesday night’s referees decided to introduce this alteration midway through the fourth quarter of a very close game. With the score tied at 86, Holiday missed a 3-pointer from the left corner and Knicks guard Donte DiVincenzo dislodged Porzingis and sent him flying to the ground. Porzingis was called for a flop.

Porzingis pointed out that a similar play had unfolded earlier, when he was called for a foul for pushing off Knicks big man Mitchell Robinson. The difference, Porzingis said, was that he and Robinson are almost the same size.

“So I was the one getting punished for that,” he said. “But I see what they’re trying to do. They don’t want any extra selling in those kinds of things. I think it’s a good thing, honestly.”

A minute later, Tatum made contact with Brunson on a 3-pointer and could have been called for a foul. But Brunson accentuated his fall and was whistled for a flopping tech. In a slightly related note, this game lasted 2:39.