The Boston Celtics bounced back from their Opening Night loss to the Detroit Pistons with an impressive, gritty win over the reigning NBA champion New York Knicks at TD Garden this Friday (Oct. 23) night. It came in a game that saw the Celtics win the possession battle with 87 shot attempts to New York's 80 while helping to force a total of 18 totals with the Knicks to Boston's 11. That the Celtics were able to hold off New York – a team known for their late-game, come-from-behind play – despite losing the battle of the boards 44-37 was all the more impressive.

Boston was led by a stellar bounce-back performance from star forward Jayson Tatum with 36 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals. Among the starters, Paul George (15 points, 7 boards) and Derrick White (12 points, 6 assists) stood out. Off the bench, Neemias Queta also impacted the game in a big way with 15 points (including a single shot from beyond the arc), 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks. With the win, the Celtics improve to 1-1 on the season to date amid the middle scrim of the Eastern Conference standings two games into the 2026-27 NBA regular season. Boston next faces the Chicago Bulls at home Monday (Oct. 26).

Let's take a look at some of the best photos captured in images from the Celtics first win of the season.