Is there anything better than watching somber Knicks fans walk out of Madison Square Garden on a night they hoped to win their 1st playoff series in 13 years?
The Celtics scratched and clawed their way to a 92-86 win over New York in a game deemed the Celtics’ funeral by Kenyon Martin. Mr. Big Mouth played awfully small – 2 points, 2 rebounds and 5 fouls. The Knicks other yapper, J.R. Smith, was nearly as bad (3-14 FG, -8).
But enough about those clowns. Let’s hail the Celtics for displaying some championship mettle. Okay, that may be a stretch, but at least we know they are still capable of winning some bar fights.
The Green:
Jeff Green’s phenomenal 4th quarter; ten of his team high 18 points came in the final 12 minutes. His back-to-back triples inside three minutes kept the Knicks from creeping too close.
How about old man Garnett? 16 points, 18 rebounds and 5 assists. His 20-footer with 48 seconds remaining was the dagger.
Paul Pierce’s vintage 3rd quarter. The Truth didn’t shoot well tonight (6-19) and he struggled against Iman Shumpert, but his ten point 3rd quarter allowed the Celtics to stretch their 6 point halftime lead to 9.
Jason Terry (17 points, 5-9 3FG) and Brandon Bass (17 points, 5 rebounds) deserve props for solid games.
The Gross:
The Celtics still cannot defend Raymond Felton (21 points, 10-19 FG). He continues to slice apart the Celtics defense on pick-and-rolls. Maybe Avery Bradley has a severe groin injury that’s preventing him from staying in front of Felton.
Greenlights:
Jeff Green swooping dunk in the 4th quarter
Terry to Garnett to Bass for some rare ball movement
And KG’s post game comments with Greg Dickerson
The Grid:
- Carmelo Anthony shot 8-24 in one of the biggest games on his life
- Doc Rivers went with a 7 man rotation (Terry and T-Will off the bench)
- Boston outrebounded NY 41-39
“We dressed like we were going to a funeral. We ended up getting buried.” – JR Smith
We have a subtle message for the Knicks:
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