As he stands beside his locker, Knicks forward Noah Vonleh pauses to do some quick mental math.
“My rookie year, I had a good amount, like 20 or 30,” Vonleh said, referring to the number of fans he had when the Celtics faced the Hornets at TD Garden in January 2015.
Vonleh, who grew up in Haverhill, had plenty of local support that night, but there was just one problem: He didn’t check into the game. Less than two months later, the Hornets returned, and Vonleh stayed on the bench during another close battle.
Thursday night, after the Celtics beat the Knicks, 128-100, Vonleh took some time to reflect on how much has changed.