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Rapid Reaction: Celtics 90, Knicks 86

By Chris Forsberg | ESPNBoston.com

BOSTON -- Rapid reaction after the Boston Celtics defeated the New York Knicks 90-86 on Friday night at TD Garden:

THE NITTY GRITTY
Each team owned a double-digit lead at one point, but the Celtics rallied from 11 down in the fourth quarter and Avery Bradley's go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:38 to play helped Boston emerge. Jared Sullinger scored a team-high 19 points (though the team rode rookie Vitor Faverani as its center down the stretch). Courtney Lee scored 18 points off the Boston bench, while Bradley finished with 13 points and five rebounds and cranked the defensive intensity in the final frame. Carmelo Anthony scored a game-high 26 points, while Andrea Bargnani added 22 points, seven rebounds, and four assists to pace the Knicks.

TURNING POINT I: C'S FIRST-HALF RUN
The Celtics tried to turn this into another laugher with a bench-propelled 14-0 burst early in the second quarter. What had been a one-possession game saw Boston live at the free throw line while opening a game-high 17-point lead. Sullinger -- running with four reserves -- scored half of Boston's points on the surge. New York went more than five minutes overall without a field goal, missing nine straight shots during their drought.

TURNING POINT II: KNICKS RALLY AHEAD
The Celtics were still up 13 with 2:18 to play in the first half, but New York trimmed that lead to six before the intermission. Less than five minutes into the second half, the game was tied and the Knicks soon surged ahead by as much as seven after a couple Bargnani jumpers put the visitors out front 69-62. New York would lead by as much as 11, but ...

TURNING POINT III: BRADLEY PUTS BOSTON AHEAD
Bradley's 3-pointer from the right wing gave Boston its first lead of the fourth quarter with 2:38 to play. Vitor Faverani added a layup off a feed from Jordan Crawford and the Celtics' defense made it stand up.

OLYNYK RETURNS
After missing 10 games with a sprained right ankle, Celtics rookie Kelly Olynyk returned to game action on Friday night. The rookie big man made his only shot while chipping in four points, four rebounds, and a a block over 14:19.

LOOSE BALLS
Lee gave Boston a fist-half spark, scoring 14 over the first two quarters (making all four shots he took, including three triples in that span). He finished with 18 points in 19 minutes of action. ... Phil Pressey gave Boston some second-half energy reflected in his team-best plus-16 in plus/minus overall. ... Kris Humphries missed his second straight game with a sore right knee. ... Keith Bogans and MarShon Brooks were healthy DNPs. ... Kenyon Martin suffered an abdominal muscle strain in the fourth quarter and did not return.

WHAT IT MEANS
The Celtics snap a two-game losing streak while moving to 11-14 on the season. Boston gets the weekend off from game action with this five-game homestand continuing next week with visits from Minnesota (Monday), Detroit (Wednesday), and Washington (Saturday).

112288

Did anyone else get the feeling that the Celtics were toying with the Knicks?

Let's ease up on them so that we will have a reason to play hard.

When was the last time that we have seen a team with a completely inept backcourt?  

Last night Melo threw up 24 shots and Bargnani shot 22 times.  Their backcourt shot a blistering 3-20.  

about our guys.

Courtney Lee was exceptional

Crawford was due for a bad game and it happened last night.  He did not make a shot last night and although he had 6 assists he did not run the offense very well either.  He is entitled to a few stinkers just like everybody else.

The Sully/Bass combo continues to be very productive.  Down the road when we get a center one of those guys goes to the bench but right now they are playing their butts off.

Avery Bradley can flat out shoot the rock.

Vitor, Kelly and Gerald all chipped in.  

Only 6 games remain this year.....

dboss

Gritty win when it looked like the grave was dug and we were being lowered in it.

Held the might Melo to 1 FG in each f the last 2 quarters. 2-11 total. Even though the Knicks surged while he struggled eventually we were able to keep all the Knicks in check Melo was 1 for 8 in the final quarter and rest of the team was 4 for 10.

KO looked OK for the first game in over 2 weeks.

Had a nice lead but anyone that thought the Knicks would role over and play dead like last time wasn't thinking clearly. Every team has some pride and they want to beat us and beat us bad so their come back all the way to take an 11 point lead was not unexpected........ but then coming back from a standing 8 count and taking them out in a close finish has to leave in some way even a more bitter taste in their mouth. Cause they probably think they should have won, and perhaps they should have, but they didn't.

Again not a masterpiece......... but a win and I'll take it.

beat

I actually think the ultimate turning point was Martin's injury. After the first quarter, he was manhandling whichever Celtics (including Sully) was playing down low. Things softened up in the middle immediately after he left.

A good game to win, but not a confidence booster if you're a fan of Crawford or Green (aside from that wonderful drive near the end).

Sam

I think we can safely put to rest any speculation that the Celtics are tanking this season, unless one puts a new spin on the phrase and thinks of them as Sherman tanking, that is wanting to roll over opponents. With a serious center and Rondo back, 2013-14 could even be a year we watch the Celts go deep into the playoffs. The Sherman Tank 2013-14 Celtics. I like the sound of that.

I love games like this one and I hate them.  I love them, obviously, because a W is a W is a W.  I hate them because you see things going so well and then the goodness just stops.  I did love, though, the way we rallied.  That's a big smile.  Half the secret to winning is closing strong.  The other half is playing well throughout so that closing is easy.  Another half is adapting to mid-game changes.  I'm starting to sound like Yogi Berra here, with all these halves, so I'll stop now.

Another game listening to Walt Frazier.  He's a poet and doesn't even know it, but Tennyson he ain't.  Prigioni got fouled and went to the line for 2 and Clyde said it was "hysterical" because they were Prigioni's first free throws of the year.  Uh, that's "histORical", Clyde, or even "historic", not hysterical.  You're hysterical.  See the difference?

The Knicks after getting down by 17 went on a 20-9 run to end the first half.  In the 2nd half, they played a lot of zone, to stop Sully and we couldn't throw the ball in the Atlantic.  "We" meaning Jeff Green and Jordan Crawford.

 
1.  My game ball goes to Courtney Lee.  After a couple of games where our bench might as well have not even suited up, he played one of the best games I've seen him play in a while (and he's had a few good games this season already).  18 points on an extremely efficient 6-8, 3-3 from 3 in 19 minutes.  Athletes will tell you that when it's flowing they're not thinking at all.  That's where Lee was last night, he was completely dialed in.  He hit a buzzer beating 3 banked in off the board from straight away and he fell back on defense and acted like he called that shot all the way.  Sully hit a bucket underneath and got fouled and he pumped his fist just like Sully did, exactly when Sully did because he was feeling just as Sully felt it.  Lee's mind was completely in the game last night.  He got the ball at 19', a Knick big rushed him, he took one dribble to his left and hit the shot.  He wasn't the least bit hesitant about "should I have taken two dribbles?" or "should I continue to drive?" or anything else.  He just flowed to where he knew he had the space to shoot and was in the zone and knew that if he could see the basket it would go in.  You may be able to beat Courtney Lee but Courtney Lee doesn't usually beat himself.  He doesn't make a lot of unforced or stupid, boneheaded mistakes.  Courtney doesn't play a game that stuffs box scores, so when he has one I'm very happy for him.  And it couldn't have come at a better time for us.  We ended up needed almost all of his points, regardless of when they were scored.

2.  After the game, Jeff Green said "I played like poop".  Unless this is a maritime reference, I agree 100%.  Melo abused him badly.  He did make one big, clutch hoop in clutch time, though.  He is just so much more effective when he has a lane to the hoop it's ridiculous.  Somebody like Sully or Vitor should hang back and set a court just over mid-court when he's bringing the ball up.  You rub his man off, with some daylight to the rim, and we're in business.




3.  This game is not going into Jordan Crawford's scrapbook, not unless it really is intended to be scrapped.  2 points on 0-8, 0-5 from 3.  He had 6 assists, I'll give him that, but his decision making is making my head spin.  When your outside shot isn't dropping, get closer!  We're in crunch time, every possession counts, and Crawford dribbled out the entire clock just so he could chuck up a 25'er (which, if you look at his box score you'll know he missed).  It was one of the most egregious examples of Doc's "hero ball" I've ever seen.  He hasn't hit a shot all game and he's taking that shot at that time?  Talk about The Ego That Ate Tokyo!  Like I said on the Game On thread, I'm trying to like him, I really am.  I've gotten past his unorthodox herky-jerky, whirly-twirly style and am looking at his results instead.  In this case, I should have oohed and ahhed like the crowd at the Gahdin did when he twirled because last night his results sucked but what's really disturbing to me is that he played as if he was oblivious to the flow of the game.  Furthermore, have you noticed he now walks the ball up as much as Rondo used to?

4.  Sully's a beast.  He's a beast, he's a beast, he's a beast.  He was a one-man wrecking ball in the paint in the first half last night.  They did a much better job of shutting him down in the 2nd, but he owned the NYK (especially Bargnani) in the 1st half.  Bargs was a #1 pick in the draft.  Sully was #21.  Another reason to NOT give away the store or tank for high draft picks.  17 points at the half for Sully but only 2 in the 2nd half.  He was 7-7 from the line as the Knicks just had no answer for him.

5.  Kelly's back.  I thought he looked ok, not great, in his return after missing all those games.  It's tough to miss a lot of games when you're a rookie because you don't have years of habit and experience to bring you back quickly.  For a shooter, though, he really doesn't shoot much.

6.  Vitor got abused by Amar'e again in the 1st half.  He finally got some floor time in the 4th and showed Brad why that was a smart move.  He's holding his picks longer, for one.  He still hasn't gotten the whole "in the NBA they can pop you into the 4th row with their ass and you're supposed to hold your ground anyway" thing, but he's still showing some glimpses of being able to play here.  A BIG pick-and-roll bucket for Vitor from Crawford with 1:07 left put us up by 4.  That turned out to be the winning bucket even though Green had his circus bucket +1 with 9 seconds left to put us up by 4.  Not big numbers for Vitor, but very timely.  I especially like the fact that he held that pick for Crawford long enough to hang up Crawford's man, which forced his man to step up, which gave Vitor the lane to the hoop.  I hope that's the lesson he learns from that.  Set a solid pick, hold it and good things happen for you.

7.  I'm enjoying Bradley's (and Sully's) competitive fire.  Sully has that "the tankers can kiss my butt" thing going but Bradley is just playing hard.  He has really gotten that 1' inside the 3 point line jump shot down.  Clyde mentioned throughout the game what shots players were practicing pre-game and he said that Bradley was working on that shot a lot in practice.  That's why Clyde was such a good player, especially on defense, he was always looking for what the other player wanted to do.  Decent numbers but not great for Bradley, 13 points on 5-12, 6 rebounds (Brad has turned our back court into rebounding fiends) but, once again like Vitor, saved his best for clutch time.  After 2 1/2 quarters of our offense looking worse and worse and worse, Boston down by 11 (after being up by 17 in the first half) with 10 minutes left Bradley's energy level took off.  He hit two 3s, he got a rebound, he slashed to the hoop.  He missed one layup, but after watching us miss one jump shot after another his aggressiveness was a welcome sight.  The way Pierce and Rondo would suddenly say "no way we're losing this game tonight!" and take over, that's what Bradley did.  That's big time veteran leadership by the 23 year old.

8.  Jeff Green and Jordan Crawford were a combined 3-15 and 1-8 from 3 (with most of that hideousness courtesy of Crawford).  If there's a silver lining here it's that the Knicks starting back court of Prigioni and Shumpert were a combined 2-14.  Prigioni had 8 assists but was 1-6 from the field.  He was Crawford's counter-balance.

9.  Kenyon Martin doesn't hear voices in his head.  It's only his voice, he's just hearing it echo like his cranium is a hall of mirrors and thinks it's voices.  He's so dumb I feel my IQ drop just watching him and I'm 3000 miles away.  He's so dumb he's lucky they don't issue hunting permits in Manhattan.  He's lucky gun laws are so strict in NY otherwise he'd probably shoot his own foot off.  He makes Dorothy's scarecrow look like Mensa material.  He left the game with a severe abdominal strain. Considering how close his groin is to his brain that must have really hurt. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe basketball really is all about running fast and jumping high.  How else can one explain K-Mart's 13 year career?  

10.  JR Smith took his first, and only fga with 5:16 left in the 4th.  I don't think it's fair to fire Mike Woodson because his team sucks.  He should be fired for not telling JR "shoot, or sit down!".  It worked out well for us, though.  JR Smith is one of the only Knicks I fear.  Not even Melo, when he's playing well, can go so thoroughly unconscious as JR Smith when he's locked in.  In that respect, and probably in only that respect, he's very Kobe-like.

11.  We only took 68fgas.  Way, way, way too few.  It's one thing to miss a lot, it's a hit-or-miss league, it's another thing to not give yourself enough chances to hit.


We rallied, we sucked it up, we persevered.  That's the good news.  The bad news is that this wouldn't have happened against a good team.  If Brad is process-oriented, then he has a lot of work to do on process today.



bob


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Forsberg doesn't agree with my opinion that Green got abused by Melo.  Apparently, he forgot about Melo's 20 points in the 1st half.  Apparently, I forgot games have two halves.


http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/celtics/post/_/id/4709288/green-mutes-melo-as-cs-nip-knicks


Green mutes Melo as C's nip Knicks
Updated: December 14, 2013, 1:18 AM ET
By Chris Forsberg | ESPNBoston.com






BOSTON -- Jeff Green and Jared Sullinger are locker neighbors and both were dressing after the Boston Celtics posted a 90-86 win over the New York Knicks on Friday night, so when a reporter prefaced a question for Sullinger by noting that "Jeff was having a rough night," Green was in earshot and Sullinger could only chuckle at the statement.

"In his face, wow! Honestly, you're going to have nights like that," said Sullinger, to which Green playfully shouted, "Thanks Sully!" as he answered. "Jeff, defensively, did a great job on Carmelo [Anthony]. He did his job. And just because he wasn't scoring, doesn't mean he wasn't effective."



AP Photo/Michael Dwyer
Jeff Green locked down Carmelo Anthony in the fourth quarter after getting lit up in the first half.


To that point, the five possessions that Melo finished with Green guarding him in the fourth quarter played out like this: turnover, missed 12-foot jumper, missed 3-pointer, missed 10-foot jumper, blocked layup attempt.

No need to grab your calculators. That's zero points allowed on five defended possessions over the final 8 minutes, 19 seconds as the Celtics rallied from an 11-point deficit for their second victory over New York in six days. In the fourth quarter, Anthony finished 1-of-8 shooting for three points and was minus-11 in plus/minus for the frame.

This win didn't come nearly as easily as Boston's 41-point shellacking of the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. But the Celtics can thank Green for helping them rally after kicking away a 17-point first-half lead.

Green actually labored through the first three quarters. Not only did he have just four points on 1-o-f 3 shooting, but he was minus-19 in 19:38 of floor time. He played nine inspired minutes to close out the game and produced a clutch driving layup with 9 seconds to play to put the game out of reach.

After talking with Sullinger, reporters shuffled over to chat with Green, and this time the first question was phrased so as to highlight his defensive contributions.

"That was the only way I could be in the game at that point. Offensively, I played like poop," admitted Green, his family-friendly choice of words leaving Sullinger cackling in delight nearby. "I had to find a way to allow Coach [Brad Stevens] to put me on the floor, and, defensively in the second half, that was the only way I could be on the floor, so I had to step it up on that end."


The Celtics matched Brandon Bass on Anthony for much of the first half and when Green did find himself on the Knicks' All-Star, the results weren't pretty. According to individual defensive data logged by Synergy Sports, Anthony scored seven points on four possessions defended by Green (making three of four shots, including an and-one layup off a pump-fake).

That didn't stop Green from accepting the challenge again in the fourth quarter. The Celtics were clinging to a four-point lead with a minute to go when Anthony attacked the basket out of a timeout. Green didn't bite on a series of up-fakes before swatting a layup attempt on the baseline.

"Jeff went to a different level in the last eight minutes than he was in the first stint at guarding him late in the first half," said Stevens. "And that's really encouraging to see, because I really thought he did a great job."

On both ends of the floor, no less. Andrea Bargnani hit a 17-foot jumper to cut Boston's lead to 88-86 with 30 seconds to go and the Celtics put the ball in Green's hands.


Jared Wickerham/Getty Images
Jeff Green's driving layup with 9 seconds left sealed the Celtics' win.


Green got the Knicks to switch a half-hearted pick-and-roll, leaving him with a mismatch with J.R. Smith defending above the right side of the arc. Boston players cleared out for an isolation and Green attacked the hoop with 5 ticks on the shot clock. He blew past Smith and Amar'e Stoudemire scrambled over with help, but Green floated a little one-handed layup off the glass and Smith tumbled into the stanchion from the momentum of chasing him. Celtics co-owner Steve Pagliuca gave Green a pat on the back on the baseline as Green picked himself off the floor, having iced the come-from-behind victory.

"I want the ball at the end of the game, no matter the situation," said Green. "I feel like I can make a play for myself or my team. When it comes down to it, I want the ball."

Green finished with 8 points on 3-of-7 shooting with 4 rebounds, 2 assists and the block over 28:35. He had been a more consistent offensive player in recent weeks, but this might have been one of his most encouraging performances of the season.

The Celtics have been getting balanced offensive contributions, so for Green to be able to change the game defensively, and step up in a clutch situation, shows maturity in his play.

It's the latest example of Green having that so-called clutch gene, and that shouldn't be discredited on a young team that needs a go-to presence in crunch time. While it's the buzzer-beaters in Miami that will be most commonly recalled, Green's defense on Anthony changed the complexion of Friday's game. And his fearless drive sealed it.

For Green, a rough start gave way to a very smooth finish.




bob




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1. They flipped the switch on the Knicks. This game could have easily been another blowout but the Celtics became complacent and allowed them to reenter the game and even steal the lead.

2. Courtney Lee was the one that stepped up from the bench. His scoring provided the necessary boost considering Crawford was on ice.

3. Jeff Green's layup at the end sealed it. He wasn't having the best game, but he came through at the end when it counted the most. It appears he's evolving before our eyes.

4. Crawford was a lot more famine than feast last night. He seems to regress sometimes to the point where if he isn't scoring points he also doesn't do the other things, either. But at the end he picked it up and finished strong with some timely assists.

5. Vitor hit some key shots down the stretch. Kelly looked okay, but they miss Humphries' physicality.

6. Bradley was also great in the 4th in crunch time.

7. Brad's calming influence strikes again. The team didn't panic despite the deficit and managed to pull out an ugly win.




KJ

Couple of comments for Bob

*Green wasnt covering Mello as much in the first half, both Bass and Wallace took turns...so a fair number of his 20 points happened against those guys, not Green.

*The fact that this team can get out to a 17 point lead on anyone is strictly them executing and more so, overachieving.  Being disappointed that they "keep it going" is a fair reaction - but not really reasonable.  

Onto General Comments

-I loved their grit....and their stick to it ness.  They never give up, gotta love that about a young team.

-I loved watching Sully eat up Barnani (sp), Amare, and go to war with Martin who thought he could bang with him - and ended up getting hurt. Sully is a beast under the basket...just LOVE his game.

-Lee was rock solid and really fired up, glad to see the Courtney from the Houston days make an appearance.

-Green showed that he can stay in the game, even when his offense isnt flowing.  He shut down Mello - and scored some MASSIVE baskets down the stretch.

-AB is becoming a rock solid offensive player.  This added to his intensity and defensive skills, makes resigning him long term a no brainer.

They desperately need a true big man...but otherwise, I think this team has real potential.  When Rondo comes back, they are going to be in every game all year.

Mrkleen,

I agree with you about the potential of this team. Even with a good center, I wouldn't be silly enough to think contention for the championship. But (and this is more important to me at this stage), I think they'd be good enough to form a solid team identity that could last well into the future and be competitive every game.

I really feel for Sully having to spend what amounts to the bulk of his time against taller guys. But, if I try to find some good news in that, I look at it sort of like watching baseball players swinging a leaded bat in the on-deck. The idea is that the real bat will fee a lot lighter and will product better performance. I'm hoping that "only" having to deal with PF most of the time will some day make Sully a top defender at the PF position. It seems to me that, in addition to his obvious girth and strength, his feet are moving better and he's more agile than earlier in the season. However, he is really challenged by height mismatches to keep his foul total down.

Sam