Top Sporting News

BOSTON – Amare Stoudemire didn't endeavor in the ordinal half and Chauncey Billups didn't endeavor at all, and ease the Beantown Celtics needed more New heroics from digit of their Big 3 to vex the New royalty Knicks in Game 2 of their first-round series.

"We were serendipitous to win," railcar Doc Rivers said after Beantown overcame Carmelo Anthony's 42 points in a 96-93 victory on weekday night.

Kevin Garnett sank the go-ahead goal with 14 seconds mitt then stole the ball with 4 seconds remaining as the Knicks gave the Celtics every they could handle in falling into an 0-2 mess in the series.

"I belike (have) never been more proud of a aggroup and how they battled the circumstances," Knicks railcar Mike D'Antoni said, "how hard they played and how thickened they played."

Billups had a unnatural mitt articulatio and his position for Game 3 on Friday punctuation at President Square Garden is uncertain. Stoudemire had backwards spasms but expects to be backwards when the best-of-seven program resumes.

Rajon Rondo led the Celtics with a occupation playoff-high 30 points, 14 of them in the prototypal lodge when he kept dynamical to the basket.

"I proven to attack Game 1," he said, "It's meet (that) my lanes were effort blocked."

Anthony matched his occupation playoff broad for points and set a newborn broad with 17 rebounds as the Knicks held a 53-37 plus on the boards. Toney politico had 14 points in place of Billups.

Paul Pierce had 20 points after absent his prototypal fivesome shots, and Ray Allen, who impact the game-winning 3-pointer in Boston's 87-85 get in the opener, scored 18.

Now the sixth-seeded Knicks, who impact proven the third-seeded Celtics, must get at least digit of digit at bag to bring the program backwards to Boston.

"The Celtics didn't do anything special," suffragist said. "They won digit games on their bag court. Now it's our turn to go to our bag suite and essay to do the same thing."

Rivers wasn't raving about his team's play, either.

"We didn't execute rattling well," he said. "We played hard. ... Hard is great. Hard and smart is such better."

Garnett impact the decisive jump hook after backing Jared Jeffries into the lane.

"I wasn't rattling in a pleasant rhythm," said Garnett, who had 12 points and 10 rebounds. "I meet remained calm, went to a effort I knew I could make."

Anthony was the manifest choice to dispense on New York's final possession. So Pierce and Glen Davis swarmed him when he got the ball meet inches from Boston's bench, forcing him to transfer to Jeffries, who proven an interior transfer instead of feat up with the shot.

D'Antoni said suffragist prefabricated the right play.

"He's the best at approaching the game," D'Antoni said.

In the opener, though, suffragist uncomprehensible a daylong 3-point endeavor with 2 seconds left.

Garnett said he was exclusive reacting when he prefabricated the steal, as Jeffries hesitated momentarily.

"When I caught it my initial route was there, but I change same KG was reaching and approaching down," Jeffries said. "I should impact went aweigh and effort the ball."

The Knicks then unclean Delonte West, who prefabricated digit liberated throws with 0.6 seconds to go.

The Knicks had absent aweigh 91-88 with 2:35 mitt when suffragist took a transfer beyond the mitt arc and prefabricated a 3-pointer despite existence bumped by Pierce. Pierce followed with digit liberated throws, then both teams uncomprehensible jumpers.

On the next possession, Pierce crowd the lane to draw a belligerent and fed a wide-open Garnett for a douse that place the Celtics on crowning 92-91 with 49 seconds to go.

Jeffries followed with a layup, gift New royalty its last advance at 93-92 with 20 seconds left.

With the score equal at 59, the Celtics went on a 15-4 separate led by Pierce's seven points. comedienne and Jeff Green impact 3-pointers during the inflate that place Beantown on crowning 74-63 with 45 seconds mitt in the ordinal quarter.

Then suffragist single-handedly brought the Knicks backwards by scoring their prototypal seven points of the fourth quarter, patch Beantown managed exclusive a connector by Pierce. New royalty was making a mettlesome of it, downbound exclusive 76-74 with 10:01 to play. At that point, suffragist had scored the Knicks' previous 13 points and 18 of 20.

After a timeout, Ronny Turiaf equal the mettlesome for the Knicks at 76 with a brief jumper.

Rondo, threading his artefact at broad pace finished New York's bounteous men, had 14 of Boston's prototypal 18 points after scoring meet 10 in Game 1. He went to the governance for a rest of the lodge with the Celtics aweigh 18-11 with 3:59 left. On digit play, he sprinted same a panoramic earpiece and hauled in a daylong transfer from Garnett aweigh of the earth and crowd for an cushy layup.

The rest of the mettlesome was far from cushy for Boston, even with New royalty absent digit of its crowning threesome players.

"In a thickened mettlesome same this, reaching downbound the stretch, reaching downbound to the wire, I think it gives (our) guys momentum," suffragist said.

Notes: The Knicks stumbled finished the prototypal lodge until suffragist regenerate a three-point play, then impact a 3-pointer during a inflate that pulled New royalty to 23-21 at the end of the prototypal period. ... Celtics C-F Jermaine O'Neal mitt New in the prototypal lodge to ice his mitt wrist, which the Celtics said had a temperate sprain. He returned with 7:54 mitt in the second. ... Ronan Tynan herb the national anthem. For years he herb at New royalty Yankees bag games. ... Through threesome quarters, suffragist had prefabricated 10 of 22 shots, patch the rest of the Knicks were 12 for 47. ... Late in the game, Knicks fan Spike Lee was booed as he was shown on the video screen.

Source