For a period of 5:32 it looked that the Knicks hopes and dreams of winning this first round playoff series against the Celtics was going to come to a crashing and humiliating end. The Celtics had erased a 26-point deficit thanks to an incredible 20-0 run where just about everything the Knicks did went wrong, while everything the Celtics did went right.
The Knicks, who flirted with disaster earlier in the game after allowing Boston to creep back into this game six in the second quarter, and had allowed Boston to creep back into this series with two embarrassing losses, couldn't hit the side of a barn in the fourth quarter.
After J.R. Smith and Carmelo Anthony missed two makable three-pointers, Boston began its run when Avery Bradley hit a 23-foot jump shot, and Jeff Green accounted for the next seven points for Boston, as the Celtics trailed 75-56.That was not all, as it went from bad to worse for the Knicks.
Four consecutive turnovers thanks to bad passes by Smith, Raymond Felton and Jason Kidd, turned into Celtics points on the other end to cut the Knicks lead 75-66, as Paul Pierce nailed a three-pointer, and Bradley hit a lay-up and a couple of free-throws.
Suddenly the shooting that had been so good for the Knicks earlier in the game was lost. Melo missed a couple shots, Tyson Chandler missed a couple of shots off rebounds, and Smith missed a 21-foot floater that bounced off the rim and into the hands of Kevin Garnett.
With 5:20 to play, the Knicks were clinging to a 75-69 lead, and if Boston could score once more to cut the lead to either four or three points, the collapse would certainly be in full throttle. However, that is when Iman Shumpert came to save the day.
Shumpert stepped in front of a pass by Pierce and took it coast to coast for the easy bucket to give the Knicks a 77-69 lead, but more importantly end a long drought and ease the fear that this would be a total Knicks collapse.
The rest of the Knicks took note and settled down ... again, and finally started to hit their shots. Carmelo Anthony knocked down back-to-back free throws and nailed a big time jump shot giving New York a 81-75 lead. Less than two minutes later, it was Anthony again, who made the big play when it mattered the most, as he connected from 24-feet away to extend the Knicks lead back to nine, 84-75. The play was punctuated when Anthony, then, blocked a Paul Pierce shot on the other end to keep the Knicks up nine with a 1:30 to play.
Finally, J.R. Smith hit his last jumper and a foul shot to extend the Knicks lead back to double digits, and end this first round battle once and for all.
The victory was bitter sweet for the Knicks. Not only did they quiet their critics and shut down their old divisional rivals, the Celtics; but they were able to win the first playoff series by a Knicks' squad in 13 years.
Now, New York has to rest up quick and get ready for what should be a very, very physical series against the Indiana Pacers.
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