By Ben Hubner

November 29, 2007: SCOREBOARD | IN FOCUS GALLERY | AROUND THE ASSOCIATION ARCHIVE

PHOTO OF THE NIGHT
Stephon Marbury gets a look at the scoreboard Thursday night in his Knicks' 104-59 loss to the Celtics. Elsa/NBAE/Getty Images
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT
"It wasn't about the score, it was about us going out there and getting better. At one point, I didn't even know we were up 40 points."
-- Celtics forward Paul Pierce after his Celtics' 45-point blowout of the Knicks on Thursday at TD Banknorth Garden in Boston.
THE DAY'S TOP VIDEO
Thursday's top play: Marcus Camby cleans up the mess and dunks it home.
  • Haier Play of the Day
  • Dunk of the Night
  • Block of the Night
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  • Assist of the Night
  • Steal of the Night
  • NBA TV Top 10
    • NBA.COM'S FANTASY TAKE
    Though the Knicks are, at the moment, trapped in turmoil, Thursday's loss to the Celtics was as bad as it's going to get. Boston is arguably the NBA's best team, and New York entered the game with back-to-back wins. That is to say, the lack of production on Thursday night, especially on the offensive end, was an abberation. When properly motivated, Eddy Curry and Zach Randolph can put up points in the paint. And win or lose, Stephon Marbury and Jamal Crawford can always break out for a big night. So while, in order to be good, NBA teams must be much, much more than just collections of individual talent, your fantasy can be nothing less. Check out NBA.com's Fantasy Index.
    SHOOTING STUDS
    Carmelo Anthony, Nuggets
    127-99 loss at Lakers
    23 pts, 11-15 FG

    Ray Allen, Celtics
    104-59 win vs Knicks
    21 pts, 8-14 FG, 3-3 FT

    Baron Davis, Warriors
    113-94 win vs Rockets
    27 pts, 9-14 FG, 8-11 FT

    STAT SHEET STUFFER
    With no Jason Kidd or LeBron James in action, Baron Davis was the preeminent mac-of-all-trades Thursday. He scored 27 points, and though he didn’t reach double-digits in any other statistical categories, that at least means he didn’t set any sort of record for turnovers. He had eight assists, five rebounds and, most impressive of all, five steals. Monta Ellis grabbed a surprising 10 rebounds from the guard position which may have cut into Davis' rebound total.
    SHOOTING DUDS
    Zach Randolph, Knicks
    104-59 loss at Celtics
    4 pts, 1-10 FG

    Yao Ming, Rockets
    113-94 loss at Warriors
    10 pts, 4-12 FG

    Eddy Curry, Knicks
    104-59 loss at Celtics
    4 pts, 2-11 FG

    BEATDOWN IN BEANTOWN
    If the Knicks’ roster is a failed experiment, the Celtics’ is a groundbreaking one. How to Stockpile Superstars, Boston’s lab results might be labeled. While New York’s title would be similar, but different: How Not To. And as the Knicks and Celtics played one another on Thursday, the effects of harmony, and conversely, discord, on team performance were on full display. Kevin Garnett and the Celtics, who improved to 8-0 at home, won 104-59, and at one point in the fourth quarter had built a disrespectful-looking lead: 95-43. But, unlike another dominant Boston-area team, they were actually being merciful; not one Celtics starter played in the fourth quarter. The Knicks just played poorly, scoring a season-low 31 first-half points, and then scoring even fewer points in the second half. The only player in double figures, Nate Robinson, only got there after hitting a half-court shot at the buzzer, which, amazingly, helped New York avoid their lowest point total in franchise history.
    YOU PLUS ME, EQUALS BETTER MATH
    Though the Warriors lost their first six games, their record now stands at 8-7. The easiest way to explain this is to say that they have won eight of their last nine games. The math works. (And that is, by the way, the fastest any team that started 0-6 has climbed above .500 in NBA history.) The reason they have begun winning, however, is the return of Stephen Jackson who, yes, makes them better. Thursday they defeated Houston, 113-94.The Warriors were going to improve, with or without him — they have too much talent not too — but, as one of the more stationary offensive players on Golden State, it’s no surprise that he tethers his team and, apparently, sees to it that their pace is with purpose. Even more appropriately, he anchors the defense. In the seven games Jackson missed, the Warriors were giving up more than 116 points per game. In the eight games since his return, they have allowed just barely more than 100.
    ROOKIE WATCH
    In Thursday’s Boston Massacre (decidedly less fatal than the original, yes, but still pretty ugly) the Celtics’ Big Three will get most of the recognition, and the Knicks’ problems with leadership and cohesion will get most of the blame. But the Celtics bench was actually responsible for stretching the already-considerable lead in the fourth quarter. And the second-leading bench-scorer for Boston was rookie forward Glen Davis, who scored 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting. (We would be remiss, probably, if we didn’t mention his nickname: Big Baby.)
    SIXTH MEN OF THE NIGHT
    Though Mike James made an impressive bid, leading the Rockets with 19, tonight belongs to Sasha Vujacic, and the rest of the Lakers bench. Vujacic scored a career-high 22 points, but the Los Angeles bench as a whole was extremely supportive, accounting for 63 points. Leading by six entering the fourth quarter, Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom sat so they would be fresh and ready to pull out a win against a tough Nuggets team. But they never returned, because the bench turned a 6-point lead into a 28-point blowout.
    D-LEAGUE STAR OF THE NIGHT
    There was a chance that Coby Karl would play in his D-League game for his Los Angeles D-Fenders, then be called up and play for the Lakers later that night, just as Jordan Farmar had done last season. But that didn’t happen. And even if it had, Karl still probably wouldn’t have been the D-Leagues best performer of the night. Jeremy Richardson of the Fort Wayne Mad Ants scored more points than anyone NBA-affiliated Thursday night, with 40. He added six rebounds and five assists in his Mad Ants' 125-118 win over the Energy.