NY Knicks: With only seven games left in the regular season, the Knicks hosted the Atlantic East-leading Boston Celtics. The Knicks are trailing the Celtics by four games in the conference. No one expects the Knicks to bypass the Celtics for the divisional lead but most would agree that the Knicks need to defend their home court by defeating the Celtics tonight at MSG.
During the pre-game press conference Coach Woodson talked about the return of Amar’e. He hopes to have Stoudemire back in the lineup by Friday. I asked if Amar’e would be coming off the bench. Woodson responded that no – he will be in the starting lineup. “We are making sure that he’s 100% before he returns, and only Amar’e and the doctors will make that decision.”
The Knicks got out to a good start in the first quarter, not allowing the Celtics to dictate the tempo. Carmelo Anthony led the way with twelve points in the quarter. It was also a good start for J.R. Smith, coming off the bench with back-to-back three pointers in the quarter.
It was raining three’s in the 2nd quarter as the Knicks bench was on fire with J.R. Smith and Steve Novak combining for 11 three-pointers. The Garden crowd was in a frenz; after every three it was pandemonium. At one point, when Novak was fouled by Rondo on a three-point attempt in which he drained, Coach Mike Woodson gave him a tap on the head.
At the beginning of the third the Celtics would grab the momentum, chipping away at the Knicks lead. With 4:40 left in the quarter the Knicks lead was down to 10 points. Things began to get a little chippy when both teams began to commit hard fouls. But the Knicks kept their composure and continued to play unselfish basketball, maintaining a 12-point lead at the end of the third quarter 94 to 82.
The Knicks needed to find a way to stave off the gritty Celtics in the fourth quarter, with Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett both on the court to start the quarter. Coach (Doc) Rivers understands that his team needs to make a run now in order to keep the game close down the stretch.
Melo would pick up his fifth foul with 6:03 left in the fourth quarter which relegated him to the bench. It was Steve Novak to the rescue with back-to-back three-pointers to seal the deal for the Knicks, 118 to 110.