Walker acknowledges Pierce is the team's best player

[Mike Dynon <mdynon@ix.netcom.com>]

KNICKS 99, CELTICS 97
Celtics lose a split decision 

By Bob Ryan, Globe Staff, 12/13/99 

NEW YORK - This is how life without Paul Pierce begins: With a very nice
first nine minutes, with a very nice final nine minutes, with
embarrassing stretches of baffling ineptitude in between and, finally,
with Antoine Walker losing control of the basketball and never even
getting off a shot that could conceivably have won the game.

"Our best player is out," said Walker, whose classically Walkeresque
performance included a team-high 24 points on 7-for-21 shooting. "We've
got to continue to fight and squeak out a few of these games."

Said squeaking will have to take place some other night during what
promises to be an educational week for Rick Pitino's boys (three more
road games and a Wednesday night home date with Utah). Last night, the
Knicks did the squeaking, pulling this baby out, 99-97.

At times this looked like a winnable game, and at other times this
looked like just Another Bad Night On The Road. The Celtics, as is their
maddening wont, submitted both highlight reel material and dreary
stretches of non-basketball in the same game.

What we do know is that with 8:07 remaining, no one would have thought
this would become a last-possession kind of game. But in the NBA, such
things as 82-67 leads with that much time left, or 96-89 leads with 58.1
seconds left, or even 99-95 leads with 5.7 seconds left might not amount
to much. All it takes is a gimme basket by Kenny Anderson, two missed
free throws by the usually reliable Allan Houston, and suddenly the
Knicks are sweating out a shaky 2-point victory over a team they now
have beaten 14 consecutive times in their building.

Pitino might consider carrying around a cassette that contains his
postgame explanation after every losing effort. Until he does, he must
find ways of re-phrasing the same thoughts. "In every game we lose there
is a letdown in ball movement and player movement," he lamented, not for
the first time. There was, as usual, talk of the need for ball reversal.

This was a bizarre game for the Celtics, who scored 62 of their 97
points in the first and fourth periods, and who almost were blown out
onto Eighth Avenue by a first-half 36-10 New York run (with five
second-quarter Boston turnovers leading to 11 New York fast-break
points) after they had gone up by 9 (24-15) with 2:15 remaining in the
first period. And then there was the aggravating third period, in which
the Knicks, who entered it leading by 12 (55-43), scored just 2 points
in one stretch of 5:35, and who nevertheless emerged leading by 12 at
73-61.

But this bunch does play hard, and if you do that, good things sometimes
happen. A little run of 12-4, capped by an Anderson turnover-induced
fast-break layup, got it down to 7 at 86-79 (5:22). And with the Knicks
cracking under some pressure (two traveling violations and - get this -
a palming violation on Houston), the Celtics whittled it to 4 (89-85 at
3:16), and, eventually, 3 (90-87 with 2:14 to go).

This should be where smart, veteran teams do smart, veteran things. Sure
enough, the Knicks posted up Larry Johnson (23) on Adrian Griffin. LJ
powered his way to a 3-point play (93-87). A minute or so later, he did
it again, this time scoring on a running lefty hook (96-89).

At 99-95, and 5.7 seconds left, the Knicks should have been safe. But
Anderson was allowed to score in advance of the predictable foul on the
inbounds pass. Houston stepped up with 2.1 seconds left and boinged 'em
both, giving the Celtics a last chance with 1.8 remaining on the clock.

Griffin inbounded the ball from midcourt with, according to Pitino, five
options. None were available, but he did get it to Walker, out near the
3-point line.

"I was trying to take an extra dribble to get a shot off without them
hanging on me, and I lost the ball," he explained.

That wasn't where the game was lost, of course. It had been lost long
before, back when the Celtics were forcing useless one-on-one situations
rather than passing the ball.

"They are going to get it," Pitino insisted. "They're trying. This is a
fun team to coach."

And, yes, you read it right. Walker really did admit that Pierce was the
best player on the team. That might have been the most heartening
development of the evening.

This story ran on page D01 of the Boston Globe on 12/13/99. 
© Copyright 1999 Globe Newspaper Company.