The Knicks bounced back to beat the Boston Celtics 111-89 on Sunday afternoon at TD Garden.

Here are some takeaways...

- New York was shorthanded again in this one, as OG Anunoby remained out with a toe injury, but they did have both Karl-Anthony Towns (eye laceration) and Josh Hart (ankle) back in the starting-five. Towns rocked Amar'e Stoudamire's old school goggles in the first half after receiving 16 stitches on his eye, but removed them in the second.

- Mikal Bridges had five points and an assist over the first six minutes, and Jalen Brunson shook off his rough showing in Detroit to put together a 15-point, four-assist opening quarter. New York shot 63 percent from the field as a team and pushed the lead to double-digits at the end of one.

- New York's bench took advantage of the opportunity for more minutes, as Mohamed Diawara was the first sub and knocked down his first three attempts from the field, Jose Alvarado immediately picked up a board and an assist in his first action in orange and blue.

Alvarado drilled a three and drew an offensive foul, taking an elbow to the face, minutes into the second.

- The Knicks' red hot shooting continued into the second quarter, and they tightened things up on the other end of the floor. Even with Brunson resting on the bench, they were able to put together an 11-2 run over the opening minutes of the frame to push the lead out to as many as 16 points.

- Boston finally found their stroke and punched back, though, cutting the deficit back down to single digits. They then turned to the Hack-A-Robinson strategy in an attempt to slow down the Knicks' offense, and Mitchell Robinson missed all four free throws before subbed out.

New York carried a seven-point lead into the halftime break. Brunson led all scorers with 19 points and six assists, but he did have a brief injury scare, as he appeared to tweak his ankle/knee while guarding Brown at the top of the zone and was forced to the locker room late in the quarter.

- Brunson returned with no ill effects at the beginning of the second half, but Boston continued chipping into the deficit with Brown leading the charge. The star small forward played a part in each of the team's first 12 points of the quarter, picking 10 of his own and adding two assists to make it a two-possession game.

The Knicks counterpunched again, though, stretching the lead back out to 17 points heading into the fourth.

- The Celtics tried to put together one last run in the fourth, but New York was able to stave it off and secure the commanding victory. Their defense was spectacular all afternoon, as they held Boston to 89 points, which is a season-low and the least they've scored at home under head coach Joe Mazzulla.

- Alvarado continued making his presence felt in the fourth with a pair of buckets and his first signature "GTA" steal from behind, helping him finish with 12 points over 25 minutes of action. Brunson led all scorers with 31 points on 12-of-21 shooting, Hart chipped in 19 points, and Towns had 10 boards.

Diawara was a perfect 4-for-4 from the field, and was awarded the Knicks' Defensive Player of the Game.

- With Alvarado's arrival, Tyler Kolek didn't see the floor until both teams emptied their bench in garbage time, but the young guard made his presence felt right away, knocking down his only two shots from behind the arc.

- New York has now won nine of their last 10 games, and four of five to begin this month.

Game MVP: Jose Alvarado

Alvarado provided the exact spark New York was looking for in his orange and blue debut.

Here are some takeaways...

Game MVP: Jose Alvarado

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