Saturday, May 4, 2013

Knicks survive emotional Celtics rally.

In a emotional battle between two rival cities, the second seeded New York Knicks survive a comeback push by the seventh seeded Boston Celtics who came back to won two games after trailing the series 0-3. The Knicks would take the series in six games and advance to the second round for the first time since 2000.

Photos ©NBA

The Celtics managed to come back to the playoffs despite losing their superstar point guard in Rajon Rondo to a season-ending foot injury. Led by their trusted veterans in Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, the Celtics keep themselves above the win column despite getting hit by the injury bug all season long. They also got big contributions from Jason Terry, Jeff Green, Brandon Bass and Avery Bradley all season long. They were down 0-3 in the series and managed to put the Knicks on the brink of a 7th and decisive game back in New York. They trailed by 20 points in the 4th quarter and managed to bring the lead down to four. But the Knicks, made all the stops in the final three minutes of the game to seal the series. Despite bowing out in the series, the Celtics fought with a lot of heart and determination especially coming off the Boston Marathon tragedy which is well appreciated by any NBA fan.

The Knicks, led by the new scoring champion Carmelo Anthony won the Atlantic Division title for the first time since 1994. They showed their dominance in this series by going out with three straight wins on the Celtics, before the Celtics won two straight to extend the series before bowing out in Game 6. Anthony is backed up well by J.R. Smith, Tyson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Steve Novak and the rest of the Knicks roster who have been playing great basketball in the Big Apple. The Knicks now continue their run back into contending for a championship come June.

The Knicks will face the third seeded Indiana Pacers in the second round who wrapped up the sixth seeded Atlanta Hawks in similar fashion. Setting up a rebirth of a classic Eastern Conference rivalry.

As for the Celtics, question now looms on whether Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett on whether they will cap off their careers in Boston together with the returning Rajon Rondo or move elsewhere to finish their illustrious Hall of Fame worthy careers.

Now here are the scores from all games of the series:

Game 1 @ New York: Celtics 78-85 Knicks

Celtics leaders:
Points: Green 26, Pierce 21, Bradley 15
Rebounds: Bass 10, Garnett 9, Green 7
Assists: Pierce 7, Bradley 4, Garnett 3

Knicks leaders:
Points: Anthony 36, Smith 15, Felton 13
Rebounds: Martin 9, Anthony 6, Chandler 5, Smith 5, Shumpert 5, Kidd 5
Assists: Felton 6, Kidd 3, Shumpert 3

Game 2 @ New York: Celtics 71-87 Knicks

Celtics leaders:
Points: Pierce 18, Garnett 12, Green 10, Crawford 10
Rebounds: Garnett 11, Bass 10, Pierce 6
Assists: Pierce 6, Terry 3, Bradley 2

Knicks leaders:
Points: Anthony 34, Smith 19, Felton 16
Rebounds: Martin 11, Felton 7, Kidd 6
Assists: Prigioni 5, Felton 2, Kidd 2, Martin 2

Game 3 @ Boston: Knicks 90-76 Celtics

Knicks leaders:
Points: Anthony 26, Smith 15, Felton 15
Rebounds: Chandler 8, Shumpert 8, Kidd 6
Assists: Felton 10, Kidd 6, Smith 3

Celtics leaders:
Points: Green 21, Pierce 17, Terry 14
Rebounds: Garnett 17, Green 9, Bass 7
Assists: Pierce 5, Green 4, Garnett 2, Terry 2

Game 4 @ Boston: Knicks 90-97 Celtics (OT)

Knicks leaders:
Points: Anthony 36, Felton 27, Shumpert 12
Rebounds: Shumpert 12, Chandler 11, Kidd 9
Assists: Felton 3, Anthony 2, Prigioni 2, Kidd 2

Celtics leaders:
Points: Pierce 29, Green 26, Terry 18
Rebounds: Garnett 17, Pierce 8, Green 6
Assists: Pierce 6, Garnett 6, Terry 4

Game 5 @ New York: Celtics 92-86 Knicks

Celtics leaders:
Points: Green 18, Terry 17, Bass 17, Pierce 16, Garnett 16
Rebounds: Garnett 18, Bass 5
Assists: Garnett 5, Green 4

Knicks leaders:
Points: Anthony 22, Felton 21, Smith 14
Rebounds: Chandler 11, Anthony 7, Shumpert 6, Felton 6
Assists: Felton 4, Anthony 2, Chandler 2, Smith 2

Game 6 @ Boston: Knicks 88-80 Celtics

Knicks leaders:
Points: Anthony 21, Shumpert 17, Prigioni 14
Rebounds: Chandler 12, Anthony 7, Smith 7
Assists: Felton 7, Anthony 5, Prigioni 3

Knicks win series 4-2

K-Smoove

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