New York Knicks rally late to beat Boston Celtics 106-104: NBA Recap Part 2
The game turned on its head after the break.
The Boston Celtics came out revitalized and fired up, no doubt after getting a good grilling from head coach Doc Rivers, who called them ‘soft’ on the sidelines. They outscored the New York Knicks by a ratio of more than 2 to 1
and romped through the quarter with a swagger, befitting champions.
A Rajon Rondo drive in the 5th minute levelled the scores at 69 apiece and Jermaine O’Neal made the go ahead shot around the halfway point. The Knicks tried to stem the flow after that but the third quarter belonged
completely to Boston, who started it with a double digit deficit and ended with an 8 point lead at 87 – 79.
The drama though wasn’t over and the Knicks still had something to say.
Spurred on by a vocal Madison Square Garden crown, they charged in high spirits, taking the game right down the wire. Carmelo Anthony was in sumptuous form and carried the team in their fight back, levelling the scores at 100 –
100 with an effort from beyond the arc.
With just 16 seconds remaining, Anthony drained two from the charity strip to put New York ahead at 106 – 104 and when Kevin Garnett missed at the buzzer that score line proved enough for the win.
Boston head coach Doc Rivers said after the game that he was disappointed with the effort in the first half but although his team ended up losing, he couldn’t fault their effort after the break.
"I thought we were as soft as you could be in the first quarter and then I thought we joined in to the 2011-12 season, and from that point on I was pretty happy with the way we played," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "I thought
we competed well."
The Celtics were pretty good in their shooting, averaging 51.3 percent from the field and 40 percent from downtown. They also out-rebounded the Knicks 41-to-31. Point guard Rajon Rondo was terrific with 31 points and 13 assists
as he tried, ultimately in vain, to get his side past the finish line.
He had help from Kevin Garnet, who had 15 points, Ray Allen, 20 points and Brandon Bass with another 20 coming off the bench.
The Knicks though got the win in the end, and they were pretty pleased with it. Amar’e Stoudemire provided an important inside presence for New York and played a big role in their fight back. He said it was significant that the
Knicks get off to a good start in an NBA season they are targeting many big things.
"I think we wanted to come out and set the tone early," Stoudemire said. "It's a long year but this game was very important for us to get off to a great start."
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