For the Beantowners, it’s a pre-Super Bowl showdown against the Knicks, who eliminated the Celtics from the playoffs last year

The Boston Celtics entered Super Bowl Sunday riding a five-game winning streak. They had beaten Miami in comeback fashion two nights earlier, and the atmosphere at TD Garden carried the energy of a team heading into the All-Star break on a roll.

The Knicks outscored the Celtics by 13 points in Alvarado’s 25 minutes on the floor. They will continue to lean on his production on both ends of the floor with Miles McBride expected to miss significant time — potentially the rest of the regular season — after undergoing surgery to repair a core muscle injury.

With Anunoby sidelined for a second straight game because of a sore toe, Diawara became the Jaylen Brown stopper in the second half of Sunday’s 111-89 Knicks victory over the Celtics. It earned Diawara, the second-round rookie, his first defensive player of the game award, which is given by the Knicks coaching staff after victories.

The Boston Celtics are enjoying a surprising season. Led by Jaylen Brown, the Celtics are second in the Eastern Conference, 5.5 games behind the Detroit Pistons and half a game ahead of the New York Knicks.