(*T*M*C) On the road again. Going places the Knicks have often been. Seeing things that I may never see again. I can’t wait to see New York on the road again. After roasting the Raptors Saturday at Madison Square Garden by 26 points, the Knicks journeyed to Boston for another important divisional game against the Celtics. New York comes in winners of 4 straight and a 2 game lead over the Brooklyn Nets. Head Coach Mike Woodson has stated recently that the Knicks should look to win their remaining games at home and have at least a .500 record on the road. New York answered the call to duty by smashing Boston 100-85.
The Knicks were paced by JR Smith who scored 32 points(13-24 FGs, 5-5 FTs), 7 rebounds and 3 steals. Carmelo Anthony dropped 29 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals but he was disgusting from the field shooting 10-30 FGs and 2-8 3-PTs. I understand his V.I.P. clause on New York’s roster but that’s not team basketball. Kenyon Martin continued to anchor the Knicks with 9 points(4-7 FGs, 1-2 FTs) and 5 rebounds. Once again, Steve Novak was solid off the bench with 9 points(3-6 3-PTs). The Celtics had good balance in defeat playing without Kevin Garnett(ankle) and Courtney Lee(ankle). Jeff Green had 19 points(6-14 FGs, 6-6 FTs), 10 rebounds and 6 assists. Paul Pierce added 16 points(5-10 FGs, 5-7 FTs), 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Jordan Crawford produced 14 points(5-11 FGs, 2-2 FTs), 6 assists and 4 rebounds. Brandon Bass collected 11 points(5-6 FGs, 1-1 FTs), 7 rebounds and 3 blocks.
The 1st Quarter started slowly for both teams. New York was 1-6 and Boston 1-4 from the field. At the 7:00 mark, the Celtics floated to an 8-4 advantage. The Knicks answered with a 6-2 spurt to tie the game at the 5:00 mark. The action picked up substantially and New York closed out the quarter with a 28-24 lead. The Knicks scored the last 5 points of the quarter in 45 seconds. JR Smith emerged off the bench with 10 points(3-3 FGs, 4-4 FTs). Carmelo Anthony did have 11 points but was 4-10 from the field. Yes, Carmelo Anthony leads the NBA in 1st Quarter scoring with 9+ points/game. Feed the post! Kenyon Martin is on the blocks and Boston didn’t have a shot blocker on the court. For Boston, Jordan Crawford tallied 9 points(4-5 FGs) and Jeff Green added 6 points(2-7 FGs).
Jason Terry went on a 7-0 run to kick-start Boston in the 2nd Quarter. At the 7:47 mark, we had a 35-35 tie. New York sprinted to a 14-0 run and a 49-35 lead with 4:00 remaining. Boston was playing uphill for the rest of the game, a true standing 8-count. Fortunately, Carmelo Anthony only took 6 shots for 7 points. This time JR Smith was a shoddy 4-10 from the field and had 11 points. The Knicks’ defense took over the 1st Half. The Celtics were held to 41% shooting in the 2nd Quarter and committed 9 turnovers in the first 24 minutes. New York had a commanding 58-44 lead at the intermission.
Head Coach Mike Woodson was satisfied with his team’s early performance. “I believe you should hold a team under 25 pts in a quarter”. New York completed that goal in both quarters. “Boston doesn’t have a shot blocker in there so we must continue to mix-up our shot selection.” Head Coach Glen “Doc” Rivers was frustrated. “We’ve got to play with pace! We’ve got to get pace in the game! We need more fight, more pace! They are playing through us! We’ve got to take it back at them!”
The Celtics responded to the alarm with an 8-2 run in the first 2 minutes of the 3rd Quarter, NY 60-Bos 52. The Knicks countered with a 7-2 run over the next 2 minutes, NY 67-Bos 54. Boston pushed back with an 8-2 edge, NY 69-Bos 62. New York finished the quarter strong with a 14-7 blitz which included a huge buzzer-beating, 3-PT by JR Smith, NY 83-Bos 69. That was the beginning of the end. Boston committed 6 more turnovers. Jeff Green scored 9 points(3-4 FGs, 1-1 3-PT, 2-2 FTs). Paul Pierce, 6 points(2-4 FGs, 2-2 FTs). New York’s JR Smith scored 7(3-7 FGs). Kenyon Martin had 4 points(2-2 FGs). Along with 2 senseless fouls early, Carmelo Anthony was a despicable 1-8 FGs, 0-3 3-PTs and 4-5 FTs for 6 points. It’s totally unnecessary for Anthony to try and get “his” at the expense of the team. That’s right, I said it!
As the 4th Quarter arrived. The Knicks seemed to put it on auto-pilot while The Celtics raised the White Flag. Carmelo Anthony had 5 points while JR Smith added 4 points for New York. Terrence Williams scored 5 points for Boston. The Knicks were dominant with 2nd-Chance points 29-6 while winning the turnover battle 8-19. The Celtics have now lost 5 games in-a-row slipping 7.5 games behind the New York in the Atlantic Division. Boston will visit Madison Square Garden on Sunday 3/31 for their final meeting this season. Tonight, the Memphis Grizzlies visit the “World’s Most Famous Arena” with a 47-23 record at 7:30pm. Good to the last drop.(*T*M*C)
Written by Shelby Spencer
The Morning Crap 