Knicks Pierced By Paul, Celtics Latest loss prompts L.J. to call meeting

[Vinny Natale <vnatale@map.com>]

Knicks Pierced
By Paul, Celtics
Latest loss prompts L.J. to call meeting

By FRANK ISOLA
Daily News Sports Writer


  Celtics 92
Knicks 86

here came a moment last night when Paul Pierce was doing his best Michael 
Jordan impersonation on the same court Jordan used as his stage throughout 
the '90s. He had life in his legs, a rhythm to his game and a clue in his head.

Pierce was everything the Knicks were not. Instead, Jeff Van Gundy's team 
seems to be aging — or is it imploding? — right before New York's eyes.

The misery, the offensive ineptitude, the defensive lapses and the losing 
are all gaining momentum. Last night, Pierce and Antoine Walker, two of the 
league's enigmatic young stars, combined for 54 points as the Celtics 
defeated the Knicks, 92-86, at the Garden.


Marcus Camby (l.), Glen Rice and Latrell Sprewell go up for a rebound.
The loss was the fourth in five games for the Knicks and prompted Larry 
Johnson to call a team meeting that amounted to a call for solidarity.

"We just wanted to make sure that guys on this team don't start going 
south," said Latrell Sprewell. "That's the easiest thing to do when you are 
going through a difficult time. You don't want everybody to start dropping 
their heads and saying 'This is the problem' and 'This is what we need to do.'

"What it boils down to is that we need to play with more energy, more 
confidence and play hard. You can't live without not going out there and 
putting forth the effort."

Johnson added that playing at Philadelphia tonight will give the Knicks a 
perfect opportunity to redeem themselves.


Latrell Sprewell (r.) attempts to score against the Celtics.
"They'll make us work," he said. "They won't lay down. If we're not ready, 
we'll be embarrassed."

The Knicks are not expected to be at full strength when they face the 
division-leading Sixers. Although Johnson returned after missing three 
games with a sprained right MCL, Marcus Camby strained his left groin in 
the first half and did not return.

Camby was limping noticeably afterward but was not ruling himself out for 
tonight.

"It's sore right now," he said. "If I can play, I will."

Camby at least had an excuse for disappearing last night. The same could 
not be said of Allan Houston, who was shut out over the final three quarters.

The All-Star shooting guard finished with four points on 2-for-12 shooting. 
He also failed to make a single trip to the free-throw line.

Glen Rice was the Knicks' best player, scoring 32 on 12-for-22 shooting and 
Sprewell added 19 points.

Sprewell, though, was burned repeatedly by Pierce, the Celtics swingman who 
in September was attacked outside a Boston nightclub and stabbed 11 times.

Pierce scored 31 on 13 for 21 shooting and changed the game for good with a 
numbing performance that began midway through the second quarter. It 
resulted in Boston's first win at the Garden since January 1993, a span of 
16 games.

During one nine-minute stretch spanning the second and third quarters, 
Pierce scored 21 points as Boston erased a seven-point deficit and went 
ahead by 14.

"Once I hit a couple of shots, man, I felt like I had it going," Pierce 
said. "I tried to mix it up, going to the basket, staying aggressive and 
hitting shots."

The Knicks can usually rely on their defense to keep them in games but 
Boston proved to be too quick and aggressive. Walker toyed with Johnson, 
scoring 23 points and Boston attempting 41 free throws compared to the 
Knicks' nine.

The Knicks had led by as many as 10 in the first quarter and were leading 
35-28 when Johnson converted a running hook in the lane with 8:36 remaining 
in the first half.

But the game changed once the Celtics found Pierce. Boston scored 14 in 
less than six minutes, including a three-point play that gave the Celtics 
their first lead at 37-36.

Pierce scored seven unanswered points to open the second half, increasing 
Boston's lead to 54-40 and ending his incredible run of 21 points in 8 
minutes and 52 seconds.

Rice helped the Knicks cut the deficit to 55-50, but Boston closed out the 
quarter with 14-8 run. In the fourth, the Knicks never got closer than six.

"This is what happens, you lose a couple of games, you've got to revamp, 
unload, blame," Van Gundy said sarcastically before the game. "And that is 
what happens. It is up to me to keep us on track and not to be distracted 
by all the peripheral things.

"With the help of the best players, we are going to try and fight through. 
It is up to me to generate an urgency and hunger to know that every 
possession of every game is important and that is very difficult in the NBA."


Original Publication Date: 12/22/00