Celtics vs. Knicks, NBA Christmas 2016 final score: New York surges late, but Boston holds on for 119-114 win

This is the Boston Celtics squad we all envisioned this offseason. In a 119-114 win against the New York Knicks on Christmas Day, Boston beat the Knicks by fourteen in the second quarter and led the entire second half to earn a huge win with standings implications.

It briefly looked like Boston might coast to the win, but a flurry of Knicks scoring prevented that. The Knicks had trailed the entire second half until a Carmelo Anthony layup tied it at 112 with 1:06 left in the game. The Celtics led 110-101 with three minutes left, but Kristaps Porzingis buried two threes and a three-point play on a fast break to slice into the deficit.

But Boston held on from there. Marcus Smart — shooting 27 percent on threes coming into the game — confidently took and knocked down a three-pointer from the right wing, and Jae Crowder knocked down a couple enormous free throws after Anthony turned it over on the other end.

The Celtics (18-13) are actually on pace to win one fewer game than last year’s 48-win pace despite adding Al Horford this summer, which is the fault of both various missed games from several key players and some inconsistent play. Horford in particular has missed 10 games, which has hurt the Celtics coming together.

Porzingis finished with 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting, while Anthony dropped 29 points but couldn’t extend his four-game streak of scoring 30 points on Christmas day games. Derrick Rose was also sensational for New York, dropping 25 points himself, but New York couldn’t get enough stops from the deep Boston squad that hit 14 three-pointers from seven different players.

The Celtics haven’t been shy about desiring a true superstar to help complete their team, and Horford probably isn’t that guy. But he’s seriously so good, and his game on Sunday was fantastic — culminating in blocking a Porzingis shot in the game’s final seconds to clinch the win.

Horford finished with 15 points on 7-of-13 shooting, seven rebounds, five assists, two steals, and two blocks. He’s not an elite scorer, but he’s a great all-around basketball player and a huge net-positive for the Celtics.

Anthony came into Sunday’s game with four straight games scoring 30-plus points on Christmas day games, with his 34.3 point average on the day being the highest for anyone with at least four Christmas games. But while Anthony managed 29 points and almost extended the streak, his overall performance wasn’t enough. He shot just 9-of-24 from the floor and was a minus-nine during his time on the court.

There’s a very strong case that Porzingis is the Knicks’ best player. But to be the best player and the focal point of the offense, he needs Anthony to let him do that. Anthony can still take and make plenty of shots, but as we saw from New York’s late surge that almost got them a win anyway, perhaps Anthony taking 50 percent more shots than Porzingis (24 to 16) isn’t the right ratio.

This is fantastic and should put you right in the holiday spirit.