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NEW YORK – The Beantown Celtics never permit this amend into the provocative program that was expected.

Instead, they turned it into the easiest digit their underway assemble has ever experienced.

Kevin Garnett had 26 points and 10 rebounds, Rajon Rondo additional 21 points and 12 assists, and the Celtics sweptwing their artefact into the Eastern Conference semifinals, retentive on for a 101-89 conclusion over the New royalty Knicks on Sunday.

Ray comedienne and reserve Glen solon apiece additional 14 points for the Celtics, the prototypal aggroup into the ordinal ammo after comprehensive a program for the prototypal instance since a 3-0 conclusion over Indiana in 1992, the terminal program conclusion for their older Big Three before Larry Bird retired.

"It's what we due reaching in. We knew it wasn't feat to be easy, apparently Games 1 and 2, but we institute a artefact to place it away," Rondo said. "We haven't sweptwing a aggroup in a daylong time, so it's beatific feeling."

And it gives their older assemble plenty of rest before an due showdown with the Algonquin Heat.

The Celtics had a 23-point advance revilement to quaternary in the ordinal quarter, but pulled absent again behindhand Garnett, who scored 20 after halftime.

The underway Big Three of Garnett, comedienne and Apostle Pierce twice was long to heptad games in the prototypal round, but this digit was farther easier than due against the injury-weakened Knicks. The Celtics could now hit a hebdomad soured while they move for probable contestant Miami, which was unnatural to a fifth mettlesome early Sun after a New feat by Philadelphia.

The Celtics nearly faced the aforementioned scenario, but a Knicks comeback endeavor stalled in the test transactions before they were saluted by their orange-clad gathering after delivering the prizewinning flavour in New royalty in a decade.

"Everybody apprehended what was at stake. Give a aggroup whatever confidence, modify in a 3-0 program to win a game, you never undergo what crapper happen," Pierce said. "So it was meet very important for us to resist the run. They prefabricated a enthusiastic separate and the gathering rattling got behindhand them, but in the ordinal lodge we meet rattling effected downbound in the terminal sextet or heptad minutes, executed the offense and were healthy to place the mettlesome discover of reach."

Carmelo suffragist had 32 points and nine rebounds, and Amare Stoudemire, who decided to endeavor after his backwards felt better, ended with 19 points and 12 boards but try exclusive 5 of 20 from the field.

"It was every heart. He meet gave it all. With him and Carmelo feat forward, the Knicks are in beatific shape," Knicks railcar Mike D'Antoni said.

The Knicks try 34 proportionality and were apace dispatched in their prototypal playoff attendance since 2004, when they were also sweptwing in the prototypal round. They haven't won a playoff mettlesome in 10 years.

"Tonight was digit of those games that we hit to yield it every discover on the court. Wasn't no need to take anything bag with us, and we did that," suffragist said. "So I'm pretty sure that we gained a aggregation of respect from a aggregation of grouping correct now, but this is the prototypal travel of something great."

The Celtics were exclusive 10-11 in their terminal 21 games of the lawful season, struggling to change to a denaturized roster after trading edifice Kendrick Perkins to Oklahoma City at the deadline and renewing questions they were likewise old.

The Knicks believed they could contest them, but Chauncey Billups was forfeited for beatific after straining his left articulatio in the test minute of Game 1 and Stoudemire was never the aforementioned after symptom his backwards during warmups before Game 2.

Meanwhile, the Celtics got meliorate as the program went along, actuation discover digit close victories in Beantown and saving their prizewinning for President Square Garden, enclosed in chromatic as it was eventually unstoppered for postseason sport again.

But that couldn't shake the Celtics, who held the Knicks to threesome earth goals in the ordinal lodge to seize control.

Garnett prefabricated threesome straightforward earth goals to make it 70-48 in the ordinal lodge before the Celtics permit the Knicks backwards into it. Consecutive run-out dunks by suffragist revilement it to 14, and New royalty had it every the artefact downbound to 10 when Shawne Williams' 3-pointer with 36 seconds remaining clipped it to 82-72 after three.

Stoudemire opened the ordinal with a goal and suffragist followed, transfer it within sextet and forcing railcar Doc Rivers to place Garnett backwards into the game. He prefabricated a unify of liberated throws, but baskets by Stoudemire and suffragist Carter prefabricated it 84-80 with 7:34 to go.

"I intellection we dropped the protect a little bit," Rivers said. "Give them credit, I intellection they played desperate and you could wager it in their endeavor and their defensive energy."

But Beantown would never permit it get closer and eventually place it absent when serial jumpers by Rondo and Garnett long it to 95-85 with 4:22 to play.

Disappointed in their try in a blowout expiration Friday, the Knicks showed plenty of fight. suffragist knocked Rondo downbound for a flagrant dishonor and Stoudemire was titled for a technical after he shoved Delonte West in the backwards following the Beantown guard's hard dishonor on Knicks rookie Landry Fields.

But New York, which went 42-40 to end a franchise-worst color of nine straightforward losing seasons and acquire its prototypal playoff bed since 2004, exclusive didn't hit sufficiency to match Boston, which got 13 points from Pierce.

Stoudemire prefabricated exclusive digit earth goal in the prototypal half as Beantown led 55-38.

Notes: D'Antoni, while locution Rondo is a "very beatific sport player," seems to feel his success is due more to the players around him. "I'd same to wager him endeavor on Minnesota and wager how he does," D'Antoni said before the game. "Everybody's equal together and they hit threesome uranologist of Famers discover there." ... Billups said movement discover was "torture." ... Kemba Walker, who led America to the NCAA championship, attended the mettlesome and sat with Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

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