Massacre Square Garden: Celtics one win away from sweep after 113-96 destruction
The home crowd hadn’t seen a playoff game in years and seemed poised to blow the roof straight off Madison Square Garden. Spike Lee wore something—how should I say this nicely?—creative, and his Knicks brethren prepared for the game as if it were the Super Bowl. After so much losing, so many bad front office decisions, so much Jerome James and Stephon Marbury and Steve Francis and Isiah Thomas, the fans couldn’t wait to welcome Madison Square Garden to the postseason for the first time since 2004. Until the game started, that is, and Boston took an axe to New York’s neck.
Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo took New Yorkers’s collective excitement and bludgeoned it to death. By the time Boston had surgically dismantled the lesser team, New York’s bubbly post-Game 2 optimism had been kicked into hibernation. The Knicks weren’t close to the Celtics on this night. They couldn’t lay claim to playing tough, or playing well, or falling just short against a championship-caliber team. They wouldn’t say this loss was fun. Not after they were outclassed, out-hustled, out-played and out-coached. Not after they played in a way that made 20,000 rabid fans sound like a napping child.
Madison Square Garden was re-introduced to playoff basketball on a night the Celtics showed the Knicks what playoff basketball was all about. Ray Allen’s jump shot smelled like a French vanilla scented candle. Paul Pierce took out his Swiss Army knife and made precise, swift cuts. Rajon Rondo’s triple double was so perfectly Rondo, complete with bricked jumpers, rebounds a point guard should never track down, passes humans can’t normally make, and decisions that were simultaneously questionable and majestic. The Celtics ran a clinic, free of charge for anyone watching on TV, far too expensive for Knicks fans whose hearts were broken in person, and so thoroughly detailed in execution.
The Knicks were never close, not after Boston immediately jumped on top of New York and started swinging haymakers. A first-round knockdown came quickly; not even a quarter into the game, the Knicks laid on the canvas seeing stars after Boston’s original attack. For a brief spell, when Boston’s second unit performed like Boston’s second unit (which is to say poorly), the Knicks crept within single digits. But Boston’s fierce blows kept connecting, the threes kept falling, and the Knicks, with Chauncey Billups out and Amare Stoudemire only halfway functional, never had a chance.
This was how dangerous Boston can be, when all the All-Stars and Hall-of-Famers live up to their billing, when the shots fall and the offense catches up to the defense and the bench doesn’t screw things up too badly. If the NBA ever saw Boston as a team on its last legs, tonight was a reminder why the Celtics should never be counted out, that they’re a legitimate title contender, that the playoffs lift Boston to a different level of play.
Even in the glory of Boston’s first playoff blowout, the bench could not avoid my harsh words. Against teams that aren’t the New York Knicks, a negative plus/minus from every single bench player isn’t going to cut it. Hesitancy from Delonte West; the sense that Jeff Green feels lost; Glen Davis’s prolonged rut—all things the Celtics will have to address for the later rounds. But for tonight, give the bench a free pass and marvel at what the starters can do at their best.
Amare Stoudemire and Kevin Garnett shared shoves. Paul Pierce and Stoudemire bumped chests. Ray Allen—I repeat, Ray Allen—talked crap. The playoffs have been returned to Madison Square Garden, the so-called Mecca of Basketball, the home of a team that hasn’t won a playoff game in ten years, the home of a team on the verge of getting swept, the place where Troy Murphy finally made his first playoff appearance.
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Celtics Blog | Jay King | April 22, 2011
#WINNING
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The Big Four are still the Big Four. What was nice to see tonight was that, even though Rondo didn’t push the ball in transition as hard as he did on Tuesday night, he started the play early in the possession, with plenty of time available to start a new play, improvize, whatever, and he didn’t wait until the defense set up all the way. He kept the d off balance.
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Ray Allen talked crap? I must’ve missed that…
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damn! i missed the ray allen talked crap part too! when exactly ??
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Tonight was a fun game to watch, no doubt.
Yet the bench remains a big concern. Will Big Baby snap out of his funk? This season, when he struggles, he makes it worse for himself by pressing and forcing shots. He needs to just play hard and get into the flow of the game. Doesn’t anyone talk to him?
Green showed flashes of life tonight—and some scoring. That was great to see.
Kyrstic showed a spark, or at least proved that he has a pulse. I thought he looked better on defense tonight than ever before, making transitions, getting up into people’s shots, being aggressive.
West is injured; it’s obvious the ankle is slowing him down. Maybe it’s time to go with Arroyo. West is hurting us. He’s out of sync, forcing bad passes.
I still wish that Von Wafer would see some real minutes; he can heat up fast.
If Shaq miraculously comes back, this team may have a chance at another ring. Even so, the bench will need to step up.
Maybe Davis can see Ron Artest’s shrink.
Against better teams, we cannot expect Ray and Paul to be left alone to shoot all night. It’s going to take depth.
GO C’S!
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YO MAN SOMEONES A STREIGHT HATER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Excellent win but PP/RA aren’t going to shoot 14/19 in 3s so PP needs to play much better defense and rebound a lot better (only 3 in 33 mins). On one play he’s guarding Melo on the wing and defends Melo’s shot pretty good but then turns to face the basket and Melo is already by him and then he fought RR for the rebound which went off RR out of bounds and so ball back to the Knicks. Box out Paul, defense doesn’t stop after a shot is taken Yes, Davis is playing crappy and hopefully he will snap out of it before the next round (drive to the hole more and rebound better), and DW is definitely not himself so play CA or VW with RR some. Glad to see Murphy get a few minutes and be active in his first playoff game. Doc should use the bench more as there was no reason to play the starters until the 3:40 mark of the 4th qtr. Sweep tomorrow will show that this team is focused and ready for the Heat. Go Cs…..that was fun!!!
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How ironic, the Knicks are the injured team.. it got me thinking of back injuries, the obvious Bird heroics but one guy that slips under the radar.. Sheeeed! Rasheed Wallace gave us all he could in game 7 last year. Had we closed out the Magic in game 4 he wouldn’t have hurt his back in game 5.. a few more minutes in game 7 may have been enough. Anyway, my point is that it’s important to close it out on Sunday. My other point is let’s appreciate Rasheed for his effort in the playoffs.. he didn’t use his injury as excuses.
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At James: You are the only person who noticed Pierce’s lack of rebounding yesterday, and I actually say this as a compliment to you. Yes, rebounding is a practice and they have formed horrible habits of watching the ball instead of boxing out their man and going after it. I blame Doc for a lot of this. It’s a problem that’s festered all season.
As much fun as the blowout was, they cannot expect the rest of the games to be this easy. But at least they came to life.
Doc complains about his bench but he doesn’t trust them enough to give them a chance. They should have finished out the last 6 minutes at least yesterday.
GO C’S
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