The Boston Celtics protected their home court Wednesday evening against the New York Knicks in a well-rounded team effort. Both teams held on strong for the first half of the game, and the Knicks went into halftime leading, 49-48. However, Boston's bench was huge in a game that the Celtics should have and did win.

Starting rookie guard Marcus Smart had 16 points in this one, but it was his defense that bothered New York all night. Along with disrupting the Knicks flow, Smart hit two three-pointers back-to-back which killed any momentum New York could have had. Smart has shown throughout the season he can make shots when it matters the most, and tonight was no different. He is developing his offense, and it has given the Celtics another offensive threat.

Langston Galloway had 14 points, and it's easy to see why the Knicks are so high on this kid. He never backed down from driving the ball to the basket and was able to get himself to the line, keeping the Knicks in it for as long as he could. Andrea Bargnani also had a big night for New York, scoring 17 points on 5-of-13 shooting.  

The second half proved to be a different story as Boston outscored New York, 67-45, on their way to a 115-94 victory. Newly acquired guard Isaiah Thomas had 19 points, proving to be a consistent scorer for the green. However, Thomas also had seven assists on the night along with six rebounds, showing off his full arsenal of skills. Evan Turner recorded his first ever career triple-double with 12 rebounds, 10 assists, and 10 points.

New York looked lost in the second half, and at one point, Boston went on a 40-16 run. The triangle offense is something that Knicks players are struggling with and it shows in their play. Derek Fisher doesn't have the players to make the system work as it should, and he'd be better off switching to a basic offense given the makeup of his roster.

The surprise of the evening was Jonas Jerebko's coming out party for the Celtics. Jerebko had 20 points and drilled four threes while going 7-of-10 from the field. With his contract being up at the end of the season, Jerebko proved he still has the skill to be a solid contributor in this league, and it's possible he could stick with the Celtics if play like this continues for the rest of the season.  

The Knicks play Friday against the Detroit Pistons at 7:30 PM ET, while the Celtics face-off against the Charlotte Hornets at 7:30 PM ET in Boston.