Pierce’s Jumper Turns Back Pesky Knicks

Thursday, December 16, 2010

GoLocalProv Sports Team

The Boston Celtics proved Wednesday they’re still the team to beat in the Eastern Conference until someone suggests otherwise. The New York Knicks proved they’re not that far behind.

Paul Pierce sank a midrange fade-away with 4 tenths of a second remaining on the clock as Boston erased a fourth-quarter deficit and rallied for a wild 118-116 victory over New York in front of a raucous crowd at Madison Square Garden.

Wednesday’s showdown between the two hottest teams in the Atlantic Division, billed as arguably the biggest game of the season outside of LeBron James’ return to Cleveland earlier this month, lived up the hype. The Knicks (16-10) led for the majority of the game behind a monster effort from MVP candidate Amar’e Stoudemire, who finished with 39 points – his ninth consecutive game with 30 or more points – but the Celtics (20-4) shut him down when it counted the most and escaped with their 11th consecutive win when Pierce hit the biggest shot of the night over the outstretched arms of Stoudemire to give Boston the lead for good.

The Knicks had one last chance and appeared to win it when Stoudemire hit a long 3-pointer on the inbound pass, but the officials reviewed the play and corrected ruled that Stoudemire didn’t release the ball until after the clock had expired, preserving Boston’s come-from-behind win and snapping New York’s eight-game winning streak.

Pierce finished with a team-high 32 points and 10 rebounds and led the comeback for Boston on a night in which starting center Shaquille O’Neal missed the game with a calf injury. Kevin Garnett (20 points, 13 rebounds) had a critical second-chance bucket in the closing minutes and also hit a pair of game-tying free throws during that same stretch after gathering the offensive rebound off his own miss. Ray Allen chipped in with 26 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:02 remaining that gave Boston its first lead since the opening quarter.

Aiming to send a message to the Celtics and prove their recent stretch of 13 wins in 14 games was for real, the Knicks came out firing with Stoudemire scoring 17 points in the first quarter. They led by eight at the end of the first and seven at the half when point guard Raymond Felton (26 points, 14 assists) hit a running three at the buzzer.

The Celtics fought back in the third by attacking the basket, but while Stoudemire cooled briefly, swingman Danilo Gallinari heated up for Knicks, scoring all 20 of his points in the second half. Boston had a chance to trim its deficit to four at the end of the third, but Pierce foolishly fouled Felton on a 3-point attempt with :01 seconds remaining. Felton hit each of his free-throw attempts to preserve the Knicks’ seven-point cushion.

With fatigue setting in on both sides, the fourth quarter evolved into a defenseless shooting exhibition. The Knicks hit eight consecutive baskets at one point and the two teams traded baskets down the stretch to set up a wild finish. After Allen’s 3-pointer with just over a minute to go gave Boston a 116-113 lead, Gallinari tied it on the other end by hitting a finger-roll in the paint and drawing the foul for an old-fashioned 3-point play.

The Knicks actually got the ball back on their ensuing possession when Rajon Rondo’s errant pass sailed out of bounds, but Soudemire missed under the basket with :13.1 seconds to go with a chance to give New York the lead – his second consecutive miss in the closing seconds. Pierce hit his jumper on Boston’s final trip down the floor to complete the comeback.

The Celtics now lead the Atlantic by five games over the Knicks. Boston will return to action tonight at home against Atlanta. New York hosts Miami on Friday.