Tatum scores 40 points as the Celtics easily beat the Knicks for the 2nd time this season, 131-104

NEW YORK (AP) — Jayson Tatum scored 40 points and the Boston Celtics easily handled the New York Knicks for the second time this season, winning 131-104 on Saturday night.

Payton Pritchard added 25 points off the bench for the Celtics, who rebounded from their loss to Dallas on Thursday in an NBA Finals rematch to win for the fifth time in six games and move 2 1/2 games ahead of the Knicks for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.

Derrick White had 17 and combined with Tatum for all the points in a 19-3 spurt in the third quarter that broke open the only time all night it felt like a game. The Knicks, who trailed by double digits most of the night, had cut an 18-point deficit to 70-67, but by the time the run was over Boston led 89-70.

Jalen Brunson scored 36 points for the Knicks, who lost for the second time in nine games — both at home the last two Saturday nights on national TV. Josh Hart had 17.

Celtics: With Jrue Holiday already out with a shoulder injury and Kristaps Porzingis scratched shortly before the game with an illness, the Celtics leaned heavily on Tatum, Pritchard and White, who combined for 17 of their 19 3-pointers.

Knicks: The Knicks hoped their offseason moves would help them close the gap with the Celtics. But the Celtics blew them away in a 132-109 romp on opening night after raising their championship banner and New York's largest lead against Boston this season is one point.

The Knicks missed their first 10 shots while the Celtics raced to a 12-2 lead.

Tatum had 19 points and White 14 in the third quarter. The Knicks had 28.

The Celtics visit Miami on Monday night, and the Knicks are at Indiana on Tuesday night.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

New York Knicks forward Mikal Bridges (25) drives to the basket against Boston Celtics forward Xavier Tillman during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis (8) defends against New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) drives to the basket against New York Knicks guard Josh Hart (3) and New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

New York Knicks guard Josh Hart (3) drives to the basket against Boston Celtics guard Derrick White (9) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) drives to the basket against Boston Celtics center Luke Kornet, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) battles New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns for the ball during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) reacts after making a 3-point shot against the New York Knicks during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) drives to the basket against New York Knicks guard Josh Hart (3) and New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

RHO, Italy (AP) — No ice is colder and harder than speedskating ice. The precision it takes has meant that Olympic speedskaters have never competed for gold on a temporary indoor rink – until the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games.

In the pursuit of maximum glide and minimum friction, Olympic officials brought on ice master Mark Messer, a veteran of six previous Olympic speedskating tracks and the ice technician in charge of the Olympic Oval in Calgary, Canada — one of the fastest tracks in the world with over 300 records.

Messer has been putting that experience to work one thin layer of ice at a time since the end of October at the new Speed Skating Stadium, built inside adjacent trade fair halls in the city of Rho just north of Milan.

“It’s one of the biggest challenges I’ve had in icemaking,’’ Messer said during an interview less than two weeks into the process.

If Goldilocks were a speedskater, hockey ice would be medium hard, for fast puck movement and sharp turns. Figure skating ice would be softer, allowing push off for jumps and so the ice doesn’t shatter on landing. Curling ice is the softest and warmest of all, for controlled sliding.

For speedskating ice to be just right, it must be hard, cold and clean. And very, very smooth.

“The blades are so sharp, that if there is some dirt, the blade will lose the edge,’’ Messer said, and the skater will lose speed.

Speedskater Enrico Fabris, who won two Olympic golds in Turin in 2006, has traded in his skates to be deputy sports manager at the speedskating venue in Rho. For him, perfect ice means the conditions are the same for all skaters — and then if it's fast ice, so much the better.

"It's more of a pleasure to skate on this ice,'' he said.

Messer’s first Olympics were in Calgary in 1988 — the first time speedskating was held indoors. “That gave us some advantages because we didn’t have to worry about the weather, wind blowing or rain,’’ he said. Now he is upping the challenge by becoming the first ice master to build a temporary rink for the Olympics.

Before Messer arrived in Italy, workers spent weeks setting up insulation to level the floor and then a network of pipes and rubber tubes that carry glycol — an antifreeze — that is brought down to minus 7 or minus 8 degrees Celsius (17.6 to 19.4 degrees Fahrenheit) to make the ice.

Water is run through a purification system — but it can’t be too pure, or the ice that forms will be too brittle. Just the right amount of impurities “holds the ice together,’’ Messer said.

The first layers of water are applied slowly, with a spray nozzle; after the ice reaches a few centimeters it is painted white — a full day’s work — and the stripes are added to make lanes.

“The first one takes about 45 minutes. And then as soon as it freezes, we go back and do it again, and again and again. So we do it hundreds of times,’’ Messer said.

As the ice gets thicker, and is more stable, workers apply subsequent layers of water with hoses. Messer attaches his hose to hockey sticks for easier spreading.

What must absolutely be avoided is dirt, dust or frost — all of which can cause friction for the skaters, slowing them down. The goal is that when the skaters push “they can go as far as possible with the least amount of effort,’’ Messer said.

The Zamboni ice resurfacing machine plays a key role in keeping the track clean, cutting off a layer and spraying water to make a new surface.

One challenge is gauging how quickly the water from the resurfacing machine freezes in the temporary rink.

Another is getting the ice to the right thickness so that the Zamboni, weighing in at six tons, doesn’t shift the insulation, rubber tubing or ice itself.

“When you drive that out, if there’s anything moving it will move. We don’t want that,’’ Messer said.

The rink got its first big test on Nov. 29-30 during a Junior World Cup event. In a permanent rink, test events are usually held a year before the Olympics, leaving more time for adjustments. “We have a very small window to learn,’’ Messer acknowledged.

Dutch speedskater Kayo Vos, who won the men’s neo-senior 1,000 meters, said the ice was a little soft — but Messer didn’t seem too concerned.

“We went very modest to start, now we can start to change the temperatures and try to make it faster and still maintain it as a safe ice,’’ he said.

Fine-tuning the air temperature and humidity and ice temperature must be done methodically — taking into account that there will be 6,000 spectators in the venue for each event. The next real test will be on Jan. 31, when the Olympians take to the ice for their first training session.

“Eighty percent of the work is done but the hardest part is the last 20 percent, where we have to try to find the values and the way of running the equipment so all the skaters get the same conditions and all the skaters get the best conditions,’’ Messer said.

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Serpentines are set on the ice of the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Ice Master Mark Messer poses in the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Workers clean the ice surface during a peed skating Junior World Cup and Olympic test event, in Rho, near Milan, Italy, Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Ice Master Mark Messer poses in the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Ice Master Mark Messer poses in the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)