New York Knicks own the land of three; Knock down the Boston Celtics 118-110 – NBA Recap
The New York Knicks managed to defeat Paul Pierce inspired Boston Celtics 118-110 on Tuesday night in a high scoring thriller at the Madison Square Garden.
Pierce erupted with a season high 43 points but that proved pale infront of Carmelo Anthony, who put up his 2nd career triple double, mounting 35 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. Steve Novak and J.R Smith were hot
from the three point line, going 15 of 20 combined. Overall, the Knicks scored a whopping 19 three pointers. The NBA record for most three pointers in a game is 23.
Boston started the game with a 9-2 run but New York replied soon to go on an 11-0 run of their own, giving themselves a 13-9 lead. Boston regained the lead and kept it till 2:24 remained in the 1st period, when New York
finished the quarter with a 10-0 run, including two three pointers by J.R Smith and Iman Shumpert. The Knicks led 32-26 at the end of the 1st.
New York dominated Boston in the 2nd quarter, outscoring them 40-27 in the period. They were 11 of 15 from the 3 point line in the period, as Boston had no answer for them on the defensive end. New York led by as much
as 21, and kept a comfortable lead throughout the period. They led 72-53 at halftime.
Boston fought hard in the third quarter as they tried to cut down the Knicks lead. They went on a 9-0 run to reduce the Knicks lead to 81-71 with 6:16 remaining in the period, but could not make any further ingress and the Knicks
held on to a 10+ lead throughout the quarter. The Knicks led 96-84 heading into the final period.
Paul Pierce took the responsibility of a Celtic comeback on his shoulders, as Boston went into the final period. He had the first 10 points of the final quarter for the Celtics, and scored 14 in the quarter. A fade away jump shot
followed by two free throws by Paul brought Boston to within 6 of the Knicks with 3:07 remaining in the game. But, back to back three point shots by Steve Novak sealed the fate for Boston as New York went on to win 118-110.
Carmelo Anthony was amazing for the night, scoring 13 of 24 from the field and making 7 of his 8 free throws. J.R Smith came off the bench but played 35 minutes as he was hot from the three point line. He went 7 of 10 from beyond
the arc and finished with 25 points. Steve Novak was also scorching, attempting all of his field goals from beyond the arc and scoring on 8 out of 10. He also finished with 25 points for the night.
Paul Pierce had 43 points for Boston. He had 18 free throw attempts, out of which he scored 17. Kevin Garnett had 20 points and 5 rebounds, while Rajon Rondo had 13 points and 13 assists.
Both teams shot exceptionally well from the field. Boston was 54.5% from the field and 52.4% from the 3 point line. The Knicks were even better, going 56.8% from the field and 59.4% from beyond the arc. Boston managed 34 free throw
attempts, 17 more than New York. However, the advantage was not enough to counter New York’s three point shooting spree.
New York led Boston in rebounds 36-26 as the Celtics failed to make their presence felt on the board. They also had 28 assists compared to 21 for Boston.
The Knicks are now one game clear of 8th placed Philadelphia and have almost secured the 7th place in the Eastern Conference for good.
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