Without his defensive gaffe, the Knicks wouldn’t have needed two overtimes. If not for his offensive production, they may not have found a way to pull out a victory Wednesday night.
Evan Fournier’s Knicks debut certainly was up and down. He started somewhat slowly, broke out offensively at the end and made a bad defensive miscue in a 138-134 double overtime win over the Celtics at a raucous Garden.
“It was crazy,” he said. “The atmosphere, the fans, the game itself. It was fun to go to two OTs, but I wish we could’ve had the game in the first 48 minutes. It was a dogfight.”
What mattered most was his offensive explosion when the Knicks needed it most, scoring 12 of his 32 points in the two extra sessions. The 28-year-old wing hit the game’s biggest shot, a 3-pointer with 56.1 seconds left that gave the Knicks the lead for good. After a defensive stop, Derrick Rose followed with a bank shot and the Knicks survived.
Of the two significant offseason additions, Fournier was the more productive. Kemba Walker committed four turnovers — two late in regulation which helped enable the Celtics to rally from eight down with 2:42 left — and made just 3 of 8 shots to finish with 10 points. Fournier, meanwhile, was a potent force on the offensive end against his former team, hitting 13 of 25 shots, adding six rebounds, four steals and three assists.
“We have seen him do that, that is who he is,” coach Tom Thibodeau said, when asked if he was at all nervous after Fournier’s shaky preseason. “I was never worried about him making shots. To me, he has proven throughout his career that that is who he is.”
With the Knicks up three and 4.8 seconds left in regulation, they allowed the Celtics to get even on a Marcus Smart 3-pointer at the buzzer. Having to go the full length of the court, Boston inbounded the ball to Jayson Tatum. Fournier went to double-team Tatum in the backcourt, enabling the Celtics to create a three-on-two and get a wide-open look for Smart in the right corner.
“I felt responsible,” Fournier said. “It put the team in a bad spot.”
He didn’t let the gaffe get him down. He hit consecutive 3-pointers early in the first overtime, setting a strong tone. The Knicks couldn’t finish off the Celtics until the final seconds of the second overtime, but they were able to survive eventually. It may not have happened without their new potent wing shooter.