29-year-old guard who left the Celtics for $78 million from the Knicks is seemingly out to destroy Boston

• Evan Fournier left the Celtics in free agency for a $78 million contract from the Knicks.
• Fournier has dominated against the Celtics this season, including scoring 41 in a win on Thursday.

Evan Fournier transforms into an MVP when he plays the Boston Celtics.

The 29-year-old New York Knicks guard has seemingly been out for blood against Boston this season.

Perhaps it's in the name of revenge. The Celtics traded for Fournier last February but let him walk in free agency when he signed a four-year, $78 million contract with the Knicks.

In three games against the Celtics this season, Fournier averages 35 points per game on 55% shooting and 54% from three.

This is even more remarkable when considering Fournier is averaging just 11.7 points per game on 38.6% shooting against all other teams this season. He's averaging only 13 points per game on the year.

His latest explosion came on Thursday when he went off for a career-high 41 points on 10-of-14 shooting from three to help the Knicks beat the Celtics, 108-105.

Knicks third-year wing RJ Barrett hit the game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer, but the Knicks would not have overcome a 25-point deficit if not for Fournier's red-hot shooting.

Arguably the second-biggest shot of the night (after Barrett's game-winner) came in the fourth quarter, with the Knicks down by two, when Fournier got the ball in transition and launched a deep jumper (his toe was on the line) without a second's hesitation. The shot went in as he got fouled, allowing the Knicks to tie the game, as the MSG crowd went crazy.

Barrett even acknowledged Fournier's tendency to go off against Boston in his postgame interview.

"Ev went crazy today," Barrett said. "That's my guy. He always goes crazy against the Celtics."

According to The Athletic's Fred Katz, Fournier previously denied holding any grudge against Boston. Indeed, Fournier had a fairly unremarkable three months there. He was acquired in February, averaged 13 points per game over 16 games, and the Celtics lost in the first round of the playoffs. He then hit free agency and left.

On Thursday, Fournier told reporters that perhaps he is a little extra motivated against the Celtics but is also puzzled by his dominance against Boston.

"Maybe there's a little bit of extra motivation," he said via Katz. "But it's not something that you (do) on purpose. Like, I don't wake up thinking, 'OK, it's the Celtics. I have to play better.' I think it's just natural, I guess. I don't know. It's a tough question to answer. But yeah, three times in a row. It's hard to say no to that question."

While the Knicks are only 19-20 on the season, Fournier's heroics against Boston still matter. New York leaped Boston in the standings with the win last night and moved into 10th place in the East, the final spot for the NBA play-in tournament. They also currently hold a 2-1 advantage over Boston in the season series. And though divisions largely don't matter in the NBA anymore, division record can still come into play for tiebreakers.

The Knicks play the Celtics again on Saturday. Everyone will be watching to see if Fournier has an encore.