The Celtics, sluggish and uninspired once again, were gifted a break in New York against the Knicks tonight after Carmelo Anthony left the game with an ankle injury and Kristaps Porzingis fouled out late in the fourth quarter.
Unfortunately, they couldn’t capitalize. The Celtics dropped their fourth straight and sixth out of their last seven, 120-114, to the shorthanded, red-hot, Knicks, who leap-frogged the Cs in the standings in the process.
New York was scorching from the field early, shooting 67% in the first quarter en route to 36 points in the opening frame. When Porzingis and Anthony went to the bench, the Cs could do little to cut into the deficit and trailed by 10, 59-49, at the half.
The Cs caught a break as Anthony, who poured in 17 points in the first half, limped to the locker room early in the third quarter after sustaining an ankle injury late in the first half. With Porzingis, who added 20 first half point, saddled with foul trouble, the Celtics chipped away, almost painfully, at the Knicks, closing to 83-81 after the third quarter.
With Porzingis fouling out late in the fourth while knocking down Jae Crowder on a three-point attempt, the Celtics took a one point lead, 107-106 , with just under three minutes to go. From there, the Cs were unable to stop Arron Afflalo and rookie Jerian Grant, who scored from the field and the free throw line.
Epitomizing another fourth quarter flame out in a close game was a late-game Evan Turner three point attempt, which unsurprisingly missed, leading to a missed-shot fast-break and a Derrick Williams three-point-play.
Good stuff.
The Green
Isaiah Thomas did everything he could to will the Celtics to a victory. IT had 34 points and 8 assists on 11-23 shooting. He committed only two turnovers and was the key to the Celtics getting close in the third quarter.
Jared Sullinger had 11 fourth quarter points after an underwhelming start.
The Gross
Kelly Olynyk was a ghost. 11 minutes, 5 points and a nice seat on the bench in the fourth quarter. Is this the same guy who went shot-for-shot with Warriors last month?
Marcus Smart’s shooting. 2-7. The defense was aggressive, as always, but on a night where the refs blew the whistles unpredictably, it resulted in 5 fouls.
The Grid
- The Celtics are now 4-12 in games decided by 8 or fewer points
- The teams were a combined 48-56 from the free-throw line
The Cs are back in action tomorrow night against a Pacers’ team that has beaten the Celtics twice this season.
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