Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports
It may be time to play the taps for the Boston Celtics for the 2013 postseason. The New York Knicks delivered a crippling blow to the storied franchise thanks to the sizzling guard play of Raymond Felton and Pablo Prigioni.
In defeating the Celtics 90-76 last night, the Knicks put its nemesis on the brink of elimination. The Knicks played its most complete game of the series by far. In fact, the team led virtually the entire game.
Felton and Prigioni, along with swingman Iman Shumpert, pestered the Celtics into committing 17 turnovers. Paul Pierce and forward Jeff Green had five apiece, while the three Knicks guards had 10 steals combined.
It didn’t help that Father Time has apparently claimed the abilities of Pierce and Kevin Garnett.
The aging Celtics stars shot 11 of 28 from the field combined or 39 percent. Ugh.
There was one stretch in the first half where Pierce missed eight of the 10 shots he attempted. Imagine visiting International Falls, Minnesota in the dead of winter. Pierce was colder than that.
And it crippled the Celtics offense.
One the other side, franchise poster boy Carmelo Anthony notched 26 points in an uneven but effective offensive performance, while sixth man J.R. Smith finished with 15, before being ejected for throwing an elbow at Jason Terry at the 7:06 mark in the fourth quarter.
Still, the night belonged to Felton, again. He played with savvy and grit. His penetration set the Knicks offense in motion. Felton converted on key drives to the basket on his way to a 15-point, 10-assist night. Prigioni keyed the Knicks early on when the Celtics had his defender provide double team help on Anthony. That led to open three-point looks for the Argentine guard, who killed Boston in the first half by hitting three out of four three-point shots.
The Celtics had a long history of toying with the Knicks. In fact, Boston swept the Orange and Blue boys in resounding fashion in 2011.
A sweep might be in offing again. This time the Celtics may be on the receiving end.
That notion seemed very probable after Friday night’s game, when the Knicks built up a 21-point lead in the fourth quarter.
The Celtics were playing for its home city after the Patriot’s Day bombings 11 days ago. Emotion and good will were on its side. Yet, what started out as a night brimming with hope and optimism, ended in muted dejection as fans reportedly began exiting the arena early.
Tacuma R. Roeback is a New York Knicks writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @TacumaRoe, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google+
