Knicks 97, Celtics 109

Game Highlights

Photo of the Game

Kendrick Perkins slams one home for two of his nine points against the Knicks Wednesday night.
Brian Babineau/NBAE/Getty

By Marc D'Amico
Celtics.com

Key Moment

The TD Garden is becoming synonymous with blowout victories.

Thankfully for the Celtics, they're winding up on the right side of those victories nearly every night.

Boston followed up their annihilation of Detroit Monday night with another dominating performance tonight, this time against the New York Knicks, who were riding a two-game win streak. Two sentences will sum this game up for you: 1- There were zero lead changes in the game; 2- There were zero ties in the game.

Kendrick Perkins got the ball rolling for Boston with a conventional three-point play in the paint, which wound up as the first three points of the game. Kevin Garnett followed that up with an alley-oop layup from Rajon Rondo and then Ray Allen scored another layup for the C's. Those buckets made it 7-0 Boston, with all seven points coming in the paint with complete ease.

Despite Paul Pierce picking up his second foul only 1:51 into the game, which led to Marquis Daniels replacing him, the Celtics continued to build on that lead. Garnett's 5-for-5 start to the game played a huge role in that, and when Allen added in a 3-pointer at the 5:32 mark of the first, Boston was already up by 12 points.

The Knicks never climbed closer than eight points from there on out, and the lead eventually ballooned to 27 in the third period. The Celtics starters were given a chance to rest in the final quarter yet again, and that's of the utmost importance as they head into their final extended road trip of the season this weekend, which will take them to Houston, Dallas and Utah, respectively.

Key Box Score Line

It's a good night when you can pour in 29 points on 11-of-17 shooting. It's a great night when you can do that in only 24 minutes of playing time.

The Truth has one of the most effective games of his season, dominating offensively while also pulling down six boards. When he was on the floor tonight, he played the role of aggressor, and that's exactly what Doc Rivers wants to see out of him down the stretch of the season.

Box Score Nuggets

• Boston led from start to finish and by as many as 27 points. There were no lead changes and no ties in the game
• The C's racked up 28 assists, but also committed 19 turnovers.
• David Lee scored 29 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished out seven assists for the Knicks.
• Lee also shot 9-of-9 from the free throw line.
• The Knicks had more players scored in double-figures (four) than the Celtics (three) but still lost by 12.
• Paul Pierce (29 points) and Kevin Garnett (22 points) combined for 51 points tonight.
• Kendrick Perkins broke out of his slump with 12 rebounds and nine points.
• Rajon Rondo recorded a game-high 12 assists.
• The Celtics shot 50.6 percent (41-of-83) from the field and 90.0 percent (18-of-20) from the free throw line.
• All five Celtics were on the court for 27:54 or less, while four reserves played at least 20:06.
• New York shot only 41.4 percent (36-of-87) from the floor and 30.8 percent (8-of-26) from 3-point range.
• Bill Walker scored eight points and J.R. Giddens scored four points in their second appearance in the Garden as members of the Knicks.
• The C's outrebounded the Knicks 45-37.

Quote of the Night

Kevin Garnett on the Celtics grabbing consecutive blowout wins: "When we string wins together, it creates some momentum that's unspeakable. You have confidence within that momentum."