Knicks takeaways from Wednesday's 101-99 loss to Celtics, including RJ Barrett's 29-point performance

The Knicks fell short in the fourth quarter against the Boston Celtics, losing 101-99 on Wednesday night.

Here are a few takeaways from the game:

1. RJ Barrett got out to a strong first quarter, scoring eight points on a perfect 3-for-3 from the field with a made three. All-Star Jaylen Brown's 12 points gave the Celtics a lead early on, but Derrick Rose drilled a three at the buzzer as the Knicks trailed 21-19 after the first.

- After an intercepted pass by Taj Gibson, Immanuel Quickley got out on the fast break and threw an alley-oop to Obi Toppin as the Knicks regained the lead 33-32 with 7:08 remaining in the second quarter.

- Julius Randle got his second offensive foul while driving the lane with 1:56 left in the second, as the All-Star shot just 3-of-10 from the field with seven points, six rebounds and four assists in the half. Barrett hit back-to-back threes in the final minute, ending 3-for-3 from deep with 16 points.

Despite Barrett's hot hand, Jayson Tatum started to get going with nine points and the Celtics led 47-46 at the break.

- Elfrid Payton helped give the Knicks a 57-50 lead with 8:13 in the third by hitting a three and making a layup after starting the game 0-for-4 from the field. Brown made a three before Tatum scored seven straight for the Celtics, who took a 60-57 lead two minutes after they called timeout.

- Randle grabbed a defensive rebound and took the ball the length of the court, finding Nerlens Noel trailing, who then drew the foul and made both shots to give the Knicks a 64-63 lead. The back and forth game continued, as Randle and Brown exchanged threes. Randle had 13 points in the third to help the Knicks take a 73-70 lead into the fourth quarter.

- Rose scored on a crafty layup to put the Knicks up five, before Tatum drilled a three pointer to make it 82-80 with 6:57 left in the game. After a Tristan Thompson block that led to another Brown bucket, guard Marcus Smart made a three from the top of the key to give Boston a 87-85 lead.

Barrett nailed a clutch three with under a minute left in the game to tie the game at 93-93, but it was Smart once again making a deep three to give the Celtics the lead.

- Randle finished the game with 22 points, nine rebounds, six assists, and three steals. After a tough first half shooting, he ended 9-of-23 from the field and 2-for-6 from three. Barrett wound up with 29 points on 10-of-14 shooting, including going a perfect 6-of-6 from three point range.

Boxing out was a problem for the Knicks all night long, letting Boston out-rebound them 53-39, including 16-5 on the offensive glass.

Highlights

What's next

The Knicks will come back home to The Garden and play the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday at 7:30 p.m.