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NY Times: Celtics Too Much For Exhausted Knicks
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February 27, 1999
CELTICS 94, KNICKS 80
Celtics Are Too Much for Exhausted Knicks
By SELENA ROBERTS
BOSTON -- The magic potion the Knicks have been
using to combat the frantic schedule as well as the
league's young and athletic teams was diluted by
weariness Friday night at the Fleet Center.
With their strength sapped by a dramatic overtime
victory just a night earlier, the Knicks were only
vaguely familiar as the Boston Celtics gained steam as
the night went on to put the team away without a
fourth-quarter fight, 94-80.
The expired Knicks (8-4) could muster just 1 point in
the first six and a half minutes of the fourth quarter.
They scored just 9 points total in the fourth. It just
wasn't there the way it was against the Minnesota
Timberwolves in a dramatic overtime victory just 24
hours before. The crispness of Charlie Ward was
replaced by a six-turnover effort, part of a team total
of 22. The energy of Patrick Ewing, who scored 17 on a
7-of-15 performance, withered in the end. And there was
no need for a big-time game-winner from Allan Houston
(20 points) because they were down by 18 midway through
the fourth quarter.
Too pooped for a chase, the Knicks were unable to keep
up with the prized rookie Paul Pierce (24 points) or
the budding superstar Antoine Walker (24 points) or the
driving Kenny Anderson.
They tried, and were reasonably close entering the
fourth quarter, down by 11 points. But a couple of
sloppy turnovers were turned into back-to-back
3-pointers and a 17-point lead.
That was it. That was all the Knicks had in a
predictable loss that snapped the Knicks' four-game
winning streak.
The Knicks arrived in Boston weary and wary of a
letdown the size of Cleveland. Just one week ago, a
groggy Knicks team trailed the Cavaliers by as many as
33 points at Gund Arena before losing in a humiliating
blowout, 98-74.
Now here they were again, a tired team, coming off an
emotional overtime victory against Minnesota, stepping
into an unfriendly arena. There was no crowd to help
push them, only a Celtics defense that was set to press
them, confuse them and drain them of whatever they had
left after Thursday night's game.
"It's going to be a tough game," Coach Jeff Van Gundy
said before the tip-off. "They're good, and they're
rested and have great team speed. It's got all the
signs for a Cleveland. And yet, if we know that, we
should work like hell to try to avoid it.
"We talked about mental toughness, coming out there and
giving ourselves a chance to win."
The Knicks came out looking fresh and surprisingly
lively, especially Ewing. After 48 hard minutes against
Minnesota, including overtime, Ewing was turning and
twisting for layups and hitting his short jumper.
All was well for about 10 minutes. All of a sudden, the
frenetic pace of the Celtics overwhelmed the Knicks at
the end of the first quarter and the start of the
second. Driving right down the lane, the Celtics
connected on six consecutive layups, using runners by
Anderson and back-door plays by Pierce.
The Knicks' league-best defense was under duress for
the second straight night. The Celtics were executing
the Knicks into oblivion as they went on a 21-6 run to
take a 42-25 lead midway through the second quarter on
a 3-pointer by Pierce in front of a lost Dennis Scott.
Perhaps out of pride, the Knicks stopped to breathe and
then unearthed a run of their own. They did it with the
help of Marcus Camby. Van Gundy had been prodding him
to be more aggressive on offense. He didn't drive
through the lane, but he had confidence in his short
jumper and hit two to complement Ewing's offense. The
towering twosome helped frustrate the Celtics and were
part of a run in which the Knicks scored on nine
consecutive possessions to close to within 52-47 with 1
minute 45 seconds left in the half.
Once again, as time was running out in the half, the
Knicks spotted Houston on the wing. Once again, Houston
delivered a 3-pointer under pressure to draw the Knicks
to within 56-50 as the first half closed.
The Camby-Ewing combo had worked so well -- giving the
Knicks a mix of youth and experience -- that Van Gundy
started Camby instead of Kurt Thomas at power forward
to start the third quarter.
Camby came out jazzed. He stepped in front of a Pierce
pass for a steal, and trumped that effort by missing a
layup but following it for a rattling dunk to tie the
game at 56-56 four minutes into the third quarter.
But just as Camby started to feel pretty good about his
game, Walker was getting a little upset at losing the
limelight he so loves. Walker hit one jumper over
Camby, then turned around and out-rebounded him on the
next possession, stepped behind the arc and nailed a
3-pointer. Camby just shook his head. That quickly, the
Knicks were down, 63-56.
Camby was out, Thomas was in for a while. But it didn't
matter, the Celtics were now flaunting their energy as
they built a 10-point lead with 5:08 left in the third.
After three consecutive turnovers by Ward and two
straight off-balanced 3-pointers from Pierce -- one
over Thomas, the other Houston -- the Celtics were
ahead, 78-63, with 2:32 left in the third.
The Knicks were huffing and puffing and barely hanging
in, down by 82-71, heading into the fourth quarter.
If the Knicks had an ounce of fuel left, now was the
time to burn it.
REBOUNDS
Coach JEFF VAN GUNDY had a strong opinion concerning
the sarcastic remark by Minnesota point guard STEPHON
MARBURY about CHARLIE WARD. After Ward had scored 18
points and handed out 13 assists against the
Timberwolves in the Knicks overtime victory Thursday
night, Marbury said: "If he can play like that every
night, you all won't need a point guard. But what are
the chances?" Van Gundy called Marbury's comment, "a
cheap shot."
Copyright 1999 The New York Times Company