Knicks prove their credentials against Celtics with one curious name on the court

Not being able to step on the court for the season opener—a home loss against the Sixers—wasn’t an obstacle for the real debut to come two days later in one of the most historic venues in world sports. Because Hugo González, the young man from Madrid taking his first steps in the NBA this year, made a real impression in the Celtics’ second game.

From one Eastern Conference classic to another: the Knicks were the opponent on Friday night. And this time, Mazzulla did count on the Spanish shooting guard, a rookie in whom Boston has placed genuine hope for the future.

It’s worth keeping an eye on the record from the start, though—the Celtics are now 0–2. Another defeat. A 105–95 final score, weighed down by a disastrous 42–14 second quarter. Madison Square Garden, a mecca for so many players, is where Hugo González Peña’s NBA journey officially began. At 19 years old, this Real Madrid academy product left the team that developed him thanks to Boston’s summer bet on his potential.

They signed a player still in the making, with clear physical and mental tools for the highest level—and that process is now underway. Joe Mazzulla, the man tasked with shaping him, had tried to give him his debut in Boston against the Knicks, even if just for a few seconds, but ultimately decided to wait. In New York, that solemn moment finally arrived.

A new Spaniard in the history of the best basketball league in the world—there are so many now it’s hard to keep count. He played 23 minutes, full of running, testing, hits and misses.

It’s interesting that one of the players he had to both attack and defend—sharing the floor and position with him—was Guerschon Yabusele. The Frenchman is also back, now as a Knicks player after previously standing out with the Sixers.

For now, he’s still finding his place; in both games so far, he’s shown flashes of effort but limited individual impact despite two team wins. Hugo and Yabusele had shared time together at Real Madrid before the forward from Dreux returned to the U.S. for a vital second NBA chance.

González logged the second-most minutes among Celtics reserves, behind only Anfernee Simons (27 minutes, 10 points). And with him on the floor, Boston was +7—the best plus-minus on the team.

Jaylen Brown led with 23 points, while Sam Hauser added 18. Other starters, like Derrick White and Payton Pritchard, looked less sharp. Hugo’s final stat line: 6 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 4 personal fouls.

Hugo checked in during the first quarter, when the game was still even. His first basket came off a double screen, slipping past Brunson and finishing a high left-handed layup. Later, with the game tilting against Boston, he stood out again by crashing the boards hard for an offensive rebound.

Those are exactly the kinds of plays the team will expect from him. Mazzulla highlighted his strong third quarter, emphasizing his energy and toughness. Hugo made three of six two-point attempts and missed a pair of threes.

For the Knicks, the night was another test under Mike Brown, who replaced Tom Thibodeau as head coach, though the early signs are promising. He’s finding the right fit for Towns, who he prefers at power forward rather than center, bringing back the best version of Bridges, keeping Hart in rhythm, and of course, relying on Brunson—who was once again the best player on the floor.

Hauser opened the game with a three-pointer. Towns responded with a couple of buckets of his own. Boston played fast, knowing that one of New York’s weaknesses is their transition pace, both offensively and defensively. Nothing hinted at the collapse that would come. Early in the second quarter, there were no warning signs either: Mikal’s basket was answered by two Celtics shots.

But then came a breakdown on the right side of the court—Yabusele and Clarkson hit back-to-back, and Brunson (31 points on 50% shooting) punished Boston again. That was the start of the double-digit lead. The worst of it came with a 31–8 run to close the half. Boston went 2:21 without scoring before halftime and then gave up six more points—a Towns and-one and an Anunoby jumper. A total collapse.

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The Celtics tried to stay professional and chip away at the deficit in the following minutes, but they were never really close. It’s their second straight loss in two games—on the same floor where Tatum tore his Achilles a few months ago—and while Hugo’s debut was a bright spot, it didn’t hide the recurring problems Mazzulla will have to deal with this season.

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New York Knicks

Stats

8 OG Anunoby
25 Mikal Bridges
32 Karl-Anthony Towns
11 Jalen Brunson
2 Miles McBride
0 Jordan Clarkson
4 Pacôme Dadiet
51 Mohamed Diawara
3 Josh Hart
55 Ariel Hukporti
13 Tyler Kolek
44 Landry Shamet
28 Guerschon Yabusele
20 Tosan Evbuomwan
50 Trey Jemison III
9 Kevin McCullar Jr.

Stats

	Min	Pts	TR	OR	DR	Ast	Los	Rec	Blk	S1	S2	S3	RF	CF	Val
8 OG Anunoby	29	10	2	1	1	1	1	2	0	2/2	1/3	2/7	0	3	0
25 Mikal Bridges	36	12	6	2	4	2	2	2	1	0/0	3/6	2/4	0	2	0
32 Karl-Anthony Towns	33	26	13	6	7	3	5	1	1	10/12	2/10	4/6	0	2	0
11 Jalen Brunson	34	31	3	0	3	5	1	0	0	8/9	7/13	3/7	0	1	0
2 Miles McBride	32	10	4	2	2	4	0	1	1	2/2	1/2	2/9	0	2	0
0 Jordan Clarkson	15	6	3	1	2	0	1	0	1	0/0	0/1	2/4	0	2	0
4 Pacôme Dadiet	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
51 Mohamed Diawara	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
3 Josh Hart	18	2	14	6	8	3	0	0	0	0/0	1/5	0/3	0	3	0
55 Ariel Hukporti	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
13 Tyler Kolek	13	2	0	0	0	4	3	1	0	0/0	1/1	0/1	0	1	0
44 Landry Shamet	13	3	3	0	3	0	2	0	0	0/0	0/0	1/2	0	1	0
28 Guerschon Yabusele	13	3	5	3	2	1	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	1/2	0	0	0
20 Tosan Evbuomwan	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
50 Trey Jemison III	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
9 Kevin McCullar Jr.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0

Boston Celtics

Stats

7 Jaylen Brown
30 Sam Hauser
88 Neemias Queta
11 Payton Pritchard
9 Derrick White
99 Chris Boucher
28 Hugo González
8 Josh Minott
55 Baylor Scheierman
4 Anfernee Simons
26 Xavier Tillman
27 Jordan Walsh
77 Amari Williams
13 Ron Harper Jr.
44 Max Shulga

Stats

	Min	Pts	TR	OR	DR	Ast	Los	Rec	Blk	S1	S2	S3	RF	CF	Val
7 Jaylen Brown	35	23	4	0	4	3	7	1	0	2/4	6/11	3/7	0	5	0
30 Sam Hauser	27	18	3	0	3	0	1	1	1	0/0	0/0	6/10	0	1	0
88 Neemias Queta	21	8	7	2	5	1	2	0	1	2/3	3/5	0/0	0	3	0
11 Payton Pritchard	35	8	5	0	5	6	1	1	0	3/3	1/3	1/7	0	3	0
9 Derrick White	33	15	4	1	3	4	1	1	1	2/3	2/7	3/11	0	3	0
99 Chris Boucher	15	0	4	1	3	0	0	1	4	0/0	0/1	0/2	0	2	0
28 Hugo González	22	6	4	1	3	1	0	2	0	0/0	3/4	0/2	0	4	0
8 Josh Minott	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
55 Baylor Scheierman	4	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
4 Anfernee Simons	27	10	1	0	1	4	2	3	0	1/2	3/5	1/4	0	2	0
26 Xavier Tillman	13	7	3	2	1	0	1	0	0	0/0	2/2	1/1	0	2	0
27 Jordan Walsh	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
77 Amari Williams	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
13 Ron Harper Jr.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
44 Max Shulga	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0