Ray Allen helps Boston Celtics clinch an 87-85 win over New York Knicks, NBA Playoffs - Round 1 (Part-1)
The Boston Celtics roped in their first playoff victory of Round 1, taking full advantage of home court and stunning the New York Knicks with an 87-85 loss on April
17th at the TD Garden. Ray Allen’s three-pointer in the clutch seconds of the game gave his team a two point lead. On the next possession, Carmelo Anthony, instead of tying the game, went for glory as he made a three point attempt. His trey however
bounced off the rim as the Celts held on.
Allen led the Celtics with 24 points on a tremendous 9-of-15 shooting from the field. He also grabbed six rebounds. Paul Pierce scored 18 points on a 6 for 16 shooting,
grabbed four rebounds and dished out four assists.
Anthony struggled throughout the game, finishing on a meagre 5-for-18 shooting to score 15 points in the loss. Amar’e Stoudemire showed no signs of sprained ankle,
finishing with game high 28 points and team high 11 rebounds. The Knicks were very much in control of the game in the first half. New York let the C’s pass the first half with just 39 points, whereas they succeeded in scoring 51. Here is an overview of both
the halves of the game:
First Half
The Celtics struggled in the very first quarter as the Knicks completely stifled them. The Knicks played an aggressive game upfront and also closed down the lanes
for the Boston offense. They cut down the angles on Rajon Rondo reducing them to a 4-of-9 shooting in the opening half of the game. However, the Celts never let the Knicks break away. The Knicks leaped forward with an early 11-8 lead within the first five
minutes of play. The Celtics showed better shooting in the final five minutes of the first quarter. It was Pierce’s three-pointer that gave the Celtics a three point lead over the Knicks, 16-13. The Celtics fought hard to maintain the lead and jumped into
the second quarter with a one point lead over New York, 24-23.
Allen pinned a floating jump shot at the very start of second to open up a three point lead over the Knicks, 26-23. The Knicks however, had an answer to that as Anthony
tossed a three-pointer to tie the scores at 26-all. Anthony however failed to clinch a fade away jumper after making a steal on Jeff Green’s shot on the next possession.
Allen didn’t miss from the other end though and came up with a jump shot on a Nenad Krstic dish to spark the Celtics to a 28-26 lead. Anthony’s jump shot on the ensuing
once again tied the scores at 30-30. Anthony posted a jump shot and Ronny Turiaf clinched a layup to add four more points in the ensuing minutes as Knicks advanced to a four point lead, 34-30. The Knicks did not let go of the lead after that, at least not
in the first half as they poured in shots to dominate the Celtics. Stoudemire clinched two straight jump shots to set an eight point barrier, 45-37.
Rondo retaliated to add a jump shot but the rest of the C’s failed to make further impact as they froze at 39. The Knicks pinned four free throws and a driving dunk
shot to enter the locker room with a 12 point lead, 51-39.
Continued in Part 2
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