BOSTON – As the Celtics’ lead began to slip away in the third quarter, frustration boiled over on their bench.

Coach Joe Mazzulla gives regular players an extended run as the Celtics overcome a sloppy game to beat the Knicks.

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BOSTON – As the Celtics’ lead began to slip away in the third quarter, frustration boiled over on their bench.

It wasn’t just a preseason game for Joe Mazzulla. He approached every moment leading up to this season with determination.

Everything looked good for the Celtics in the first half, as they created open looks on every possession and built a lead of as many as 27. But when things settled down in the third, Mazzulla ran out of patience. The Celts were too lazy. Too many moves and mistakes. Mazzulla then lost his temper with the referee in overtime, resulting in a technical foul. With the Celtics lead suddenly down to eight, Mazzulla called a fast break.

The Celtics responded and went on a 9-0 run. Their talent won over the Knicks bench players as they eventually won 123-110. They looked great in stretches, especially on offense when they showed their potential. But it wasn’t perfect, and it proved a necessary adjustment as the Celtics shook off the cobwebs and continued to build chemistry with a new look.

Highlights from Tuesday’s win:

– The Celtics started their expected lineup of Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis for the first time this preseason. It is not yet clear if this will be the first evening lineup, although the most sensible thing to do is to maximize their talent and personnel. This is probably the scariest unit in the league, with no glaring deficiencies on either offense or defense. This group looked strong to open the game, especially offensively, as they created many open looks from deep. However, they were a little sloppy defensively, allowing Knicks center Mitchell Robinson to roam free for some rebounds.

However, the starting unit was very sloppy to open the second half. They committed six fouls in the first four minutes, quickly ran into penalties, and the turnovers piled up in the third quarter. But they pulled it together at both ends and finished the quarter strong.

Tatum and Brown each played 30 minutes, Holiday 29, Porzingis 28 and White 24 when they each took the majority of the quarter.

Mazzulla has not announced a regular starting line-up and probably won’t, insisting that it doesn’t matter and his group can play differently. He entered the game with a double lineup of Porzingis and Al Horford in the first inning, and there will likely be nights when Horford starts, forcing White and Holiday off the bench.

– Don’t tell Horford it’s just the preseason. Maybe he had a little pep in his step coming off the bench. Either way, the veteran big man made Tuesday’s effort a real game while making a handful of noises. On one play, he knocked the ball off the rim to prevent the Knicks’ second chance before rushing back to knock the ball away from Donte DiVincenzo. The second time, he missed a 3-pointer, followed it up and ripped a DaQuan Jeffries layup before hitting a Tatum 3-pointer.

Horford played 23 minutes on Tuesday and had eight points, three rebounds and even gave the Celtics a look in transition as he finished with three assists. He also had a block and a steal. He was everywhere.

– Tatum has clearly worked on his game this postseason and showed it a few times this preseason. He played a two-ball game Tuesday when he drew a smaller Knicks defender into the post and easily backed them up for a bucket. Tatum scored 28 points with five 3-pointers and a pair of nice assists at the rim, but it looks like he could add more to his offensive repertoire. – Mazzulla kept the rotation tight through the first three quarters, including Sam Hauser and Payton Pritchard on the second unit, in addition to Luke Kornet in some double-team combinations.

– The Celtics offense was unstoppable in the first half. They had 55 points in the first 15 minutes of the game as they scored one open look after another. In the first 24 minutes, they were 16 and 29. They made 52 attempts from distance.