Celtics Out Last Knicks in Over Time Thriller At MSG 107-105!

Posted by Jeff Sack under NBA Game Recap

The New York Knickerbockers are not a good NBA team; they went into their game Sunday afternoon as they hosted the Boston Celtics with a 3-9 record. They had won their last two games but one of those came against the only NBA team still without a win the hapless New Jersey Nets who are now 0-13. The only time a New York Knickerbockers uses defense is when they are in a court of law as they give up an advantage of 6.5 points per game to their opponents.

However one thing that the team can do is put the ball in the hole. It was that ability that took Sunday’s contest to over-time before Boston finally pulled out a 107-105 victory. Paul Pierce was a key factor for Boston as he put up a game high 33 points one of six Celtics players in double-figures. New York was led by Al Harrington as the veteran came off the bench and had 30 points in the loss.

Celtics coach Doc Rivers said it after Friday night’s loss to the Orlando Magic; his team is not playing well right now. Kevin Garnett is still in the process of getting his timing down and recently sixth man veteran Rasheed Wallace has been a non-factor for Boston. He scored 0 points Sunday going 0-6 from the field and 0-3 from outside the arc. Wallace has not lost his scoring ability overnight; it will come back. The problem is with Glen Davis out of action for the next few weeks the team would like Sheed to get his shooting touch back sooner than later.

This was a game of extremes for both clubs. The Celtics came out of the gate on fire while the Knicks still seemed to be waking up in the first quarter. Boston would hold a 30-22 advantage at the end of the period. New York awoke from their slumber in the second and would tie Boston at numerous points throughout the quarter. However the Celtics would grab back the lead and went into the locker room at the half on top 56-53.

Boston would open up the third quarter on a tear and would grab a 73-60 advantage as Rajon Rondo drove the lane and put the ball up and in with 6:09 to play in the period. Then it was New York’s turn to go on a run and they certainly did outscoring the Celtics 15-2 and knotting the game up at 75-75 when Al Harrington drained a 24 foot trey with 2:51 remaining. The Knicks would allow the momentum to carry them to the end of the period and led 82-77 heading into the fourth.

New York would continue to hold the upper hand in the early portion of the fourth but Boston would come back and actually hold a 98-96 lead with 4 seconds in regulation when Celtics center Kendrick Perkins sent Harrington to the line for two with a foul. Harrington hit both shots at the stripe and the two opponents were going into over-time with the contest deadlocked at 98-98. Boston was ahead 105-103 with 9 seconds to play in the extra period when David Lee slammed the ball through the cylinder knotting the game up again. However “The Big Ticket” won the game at the buzzer as Garnett knocked down an outside jumper and Boston would win 107-105.

Paul Pierce led all players with 33 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks and 1 steal while Kendrick Perkins recorded a double-double as he had 16 points, 13 boards, 4 blocks and 1 assist. Rajon Rondo was one rebound short of a triple-double as the Celtics point guard had 14 points, 10 assists, 9 rebounds and 4 steals while Ray Allen scored 13 points, 2 assists, 2 blocks, 1 rebounds and 1 steal. Kevin Garnett and Eddie House would both have 10 points each in the Celtics win.

The Knicks were led by Al Harrington who came off the bench with 30 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal while David Lee would record a double-double as he scored 22 points, 15 boards, 3 assists and 1 steal. Nate Robinson came off the pine for New York and added 19 points, Wilson Chandler had 11 and Danilo Gallinari put up 10 more. Boston now has a 10-4 record and will be off until Wednesday night as the host Philadelphia. New York falls to 3-10 and will be on the West Coast Tuesday as they face the L.A. Lakers.

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One Response to “Celtics Out Last Knicks in Over Time Thriller At MSG 107-105!”

Ryan on November 23rd, 2009 7:32 am

The Knicks score with the best of them. Defense is another story.

If they could improve the D and maintain more consistency on the offensive end they’d make games more competitive. Although lacking talent they have some solid young players.

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