It's not easy beating green, as the New York Knicks were far too willing to prove throughout last regular season. They pulled it off, however, when it mattered most. New York will have to duplicate the feat three more times for it to prove particularly memorable but their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the defending champion Boston Celtics got off to a sterling start via a 108-105 overtime victory in the Monday night opener at TD Garden.

The Knicks came from 20 points down to force overtime and beat the Celtics, who had a terrible night from 3-point land, in Game 1 of their series.

On Monday night, the Celtics gave up a 20-point second-half lead in an eventual 108-105 loss to the New York Knicks.