The Celtics defense was noticeably missing Avery Bradley (sickness) and Marcus Smart (Achilles strain early in the 1st quarter) and the offense was just noticeably… missing. The result? A pathetic New York Knicks team nearly led wire-to-wire and won 101-95.
The Knicks came out scorching from the field and save for a short stretch in the second quarter, never really cooled off. New York found plenty of open looks off of pick-and-pop plays (how else would Jason Smith score, anyways?) and Amar’e Stoudemire partied like it was 2006. The Celtics clearly missed the perimeter defense of Bradley and Smart (hopefully his exit doesn’t lead to a long-term absence).
Offensively, the Celtics struggled to play at their desired pace after a bevy of made baskets by the Knicks. The results in the half-court were pretty horrific. The Knicks came up with a season-high 13 steals, accounting for most of the Celts 17 turnovers. Rajon Rondo looked generally disinterested in trying to jumpstart the offense. He took three shots and scored two points, again.
The Celts (mainly Jeff Green) sliced a double-digit deficit down to as few as 4 in the final 30-seconds, but this one never really felt within reach.
The Green
Jeff Green again looked like the Cs’ best player. He finished with 28 points, going 4-8 from downtown and 6-7 from the line. He scored 14 in the 4th quarter.
Tyler Zeller was the beneficiary of a number of Rajon Rondo assists, going 9-14 from the floor for 19 points.
Marcus Thornton was a spark off the bench with 13.
The Gross
The Celtics looked collectively uninspired tonight, especially on the defensive end. In addition to giving the Knicks plenty of open looks, they were beat to 50-50 balls for a majority of the night. Offensively, the Cs had only 16 fast break points.
Jared Sullinger went 0-fer. Zero points on 0-6 shooting with only 3 rebounds in 21 minutes. Stoudemire had his way with Sully on the other end.
Forget the 10 assists and 7 rebounds. Rondo scored 2 points for the fifth time in eight games. He took three shots, no free throws and was a -11.
The Greenlights
Rondo with the alley, Green with the oop.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xiwtf6PAZK0
Zeller with the block on A’mare
https://vine.co/v/O6XZVHmY61K/embed
Your nightly Jeff Green authoritative throw-down
https://vine.co/v/O6XKMDrj6ne/embed
The Grid
- Rondo: 2 points (1-3 fg), 10 assists, 7 rebounds, 2 turnovers
- Green: 28 points (9-20 fg, 6-7 ft) 6 rebounds, 2 assists
- Steals: Knicks – 13 Celtics – 3
The Celtics have now followed up a 3-game winning streak with a 3-game losing streak. They’ll try to snap it against the world-beating Philadelphia 76ers on Monday.
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