Boston was bombs away early tonight. The Celtics came out chucking, putting in 3 of the 6 treys they attempted in the 1st quarter. The Knicks were aggressive on offense all evening, trying to take advantage of a tired Celts team playing it’s second end of a back-to-back. But the C’s survived the early New York attack, and were up 26-24 after one. Both NY and Boston looked a bit sloppy early, the teams combining for 10 first quarter turnovers.
Carmelo Anthony took things over in the second quarter. With Celts training camp invite Dwight Powell on him, Melo scored 8 quick points, fueling a Knick run that had New York up 39-35 with 5:35 left in the first half. Boston’s three-point shooting went cold in the quarter (2 of 7) and the sloppy play continued. The Celtics turned the ball over 7 times, and went into halftime down 53-47. If not for Sully putting the team on his back, (9 pts in Q2) it could have been much worse & gotten ugly fast.
A quick seven point barrage (video below) from Marcus Thornton had the Celtics back in it early in the third. Thornton’s 9 third quarter points were crucial in keeping things from getting out of hand, and it was 58-58 with 8:45 to go in the 3rd. But it was all downhill from there. Boston really began to struggle offensively, shooting just 4 of 16 from the field and failing to covert a field goal through the final 8:44 of the quarter. Couple that with 12 points combined from Melo & JR Smith, and the C’s went into the final stanza down 76-64.
The green opened the final quarter on an 8-0 run. Thornton and Sullinger continued to do the bulk of the scoring, the former finishing with 15 points despite shooting 5 of 15 from the floor. But it would not be enough. The C’s ran out of gas, and the Knicks pulled away. With Boston down double-digits, 88-74, and about 6 minutes left in the contest, Stevens pulled the plug on Sully & Marcus. It was also the point in the game where Boston having played 4 games in 6 nights really started to show. The Celts missed 21 of their last 26 shots and fall 96-80 to the Knicks tonight. Melo led all scorers with 16 points. Boston now has 3 days off before facing the Raps again on Wednesday.
The Green:
- Another good night from Jared Sullinger. Sully put in 15 points on 86% shooting to go with 7 rebounds & 3 assists.
- Brandon Bass quietly put on his hard hat again and went to work. BB had 12 points & 2 boards in 23 minutes.
- I’ll throw ET in here as well. Turner was aggressive-getting to the FT line where he went 8 for 10. He had a solid line of 11 points, 4 rebs, 3 asts & 2 stls.
The Gross:
- Boston turned the ball over 20 times leading to 28 Knick points.
- After starting off on a torrid pace, Boston ended up going 7 of 24 from beyond the arc
- Phil Pressey had no field goals in 21 minutes out on the floor.
The Greenlights:
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Phil Pressey dribbles through traffic, finds Sully for three
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The Grid: (quick stats)
- Rookie Marcus Smart had an uneventful game, scoring 5 points in 29 minutes.
- The Celtics were outscored in the paint 30-18.
- Chris Forsberg reported pregame that Vitor Faverani is in Spain this weekend getting a second opinion on his left knee.
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