Saturday, May 04, 2013

The Knicks Close Out the Celtics... Finally

New York wasted no time jumping out to an early lead in Boston. The Knicks held a 24-10 lead after the first quarter. The Celtics simply couldn't score. After the first half, they had more turnovers than made baskets.

Pablo Prigioni and Iman Shumpert were the catalysts. Their energy helped keep the Knicks ahead. The lead ballooned up to 26 with nine minutes to go. But then everything seemed to go wrong. Avery Bradley scored all 10 of his point in the fourth in addition two dramatic steals that led to easy buckets.

Jason Terry added 14, but Jeff Green took over the game The Celtics scored 20 consecutive points in about three minutes. The Knicks looked shell-shocked. It was as if a witch had cast a spell on the Knicks. The cared less about the ball than they would about a receipt for a Slurpee.

But the Knicks held on .Shumpert ended the streak by jumping into the passing lane and dunking home his treasure. Anthony dribbled the ball at the top of the key and waited until the shot clock rolled down before forcing tough shots. Only when he allowed Felton to drive and kick to him, did Anthony get an open shot.

Ultimately, the Celtics ran out of gas. Green became exhausted. With a minute to go, the Celtics surprisingly gave up. They refused to foul and the Knicks held on for an 88-80 win. The Knicks won the series 4-2.

No comments: