Some things never change. The sun rises in the East, I get the pretty girl, and Paul Pierce owns the Knicks.
In a game with playoff level intensity, the Celtics beat New York, 102-96. Paul Pierce (23 points, 6 rebounds) played the villain yet again, nailing the game-sealing dagger in Spike Lee’s grill with 45 seconds to go.
By my unofficial count, Carmelo Anthony committed 9 personal fouls and 4 technicals. There are reports that he tried to get into the Celtics locker room after the game, presumably to get the rest of that recipe KG whispered into his ear in the 4th quarter. Oh, did I mention he shot 6-26?
The Good: Avery Bradley’s ball pressure. Man, this kid’s defense is infectious. The Celtics held NY to 40% shooting and 6 points below their PPG average. Bradley chipped in 13 points and 5 assists.
Pierce had 13 of his 23 points in the 2nd quarter. Without the Truth’s mini-explosion, NY would have run away with the game.
Kevin Garnett (19 points, 10 rebounds, 3 steals) battled Tyson Chandler and Carmelo Anthony’s cheap-shots for 38 minutes. Jared Sullinger (10 points, 5 rebounds) deserves props for his gritty play, and Jeff Green (16 points, 6 rebounds) provided offense when Pierce was saddled with foul trouble.
The Gross: The Knicks 14 offensive rebounds. How many times did Tyson Chandler (17 boards) back-tap a rebound that ultimately led to a Knick three-pointer?
Jason Terry had 2 points on 1-7 shooting. If you told me the Celtics could beat NY with Terry scoring just 2 points and Rondo out, I would have laughed in your face.
Greenlights:
Avery Bradley’s runner beats the buzzer at the half
Pierce with the Rondo-esque lob to KG
The Grid:
- NY shot 10-17 from 3 in 1st half, 4-15 from 3 in 2nd half
- The Celtics nearly had as many steals (8) as turnovers (10)
- Once. The number of times Tommy Heinsohn called official Violet Palmer a fraud.
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