Celtics 101, Knicks 104

Game Highlights

Photo of the Game

Earl Barren, playing in only his second NBA game, tries to save the ball as his momentum takes him out of bounds.
Paul Bereswill/NBAE/Getty

By Marc D'Amico
Celtics.com

Key Moment

If the Celtics would have won tonight's game, their 10-0 run to start the fourth period, which took them from an eight-point deficit to a two-point lead, would have easily been the key moment of the game.

Unfortunately for the C's, this one wound up in the loss column. So instead of a great run by Boston keying a come-from-behind win, a play that the Knicks made is what stands out from the rest.

With Boston leading by one and less than a minute remaining in the game, New York had possession of the ball with a shot to take the lead. The Knicks ran a play that wound up causing some switches by the C's on defense, and as a result, Bill Walker was left wide open behind the 3-point line. He fired up a shot from behind the arc, but his one was off the mark. That's when the league's second-leading rebounder made his biggest play of the night, as David Lee hauled in his third offensive rebound of the game (and 11th overall) to preserve possession for the Knicks.

Lee corralled the rebound and kicked it outside to allow his shooters to win or loose the game instead of him, and that wound up being a great decision. Tonight's best player wound up with the ball in his hands and he wound up making the play of the game.

Danilo Gallinari took possession of the ball from a few feet behind the arc and used a pick to free himself up just to the right of the top of the key. As his toe hovered right over the 3-point line, he rose up and let the deep shot fly as he was pressured by Celtics defenders. At first, the desperation shot seemed to be way off the mark, which would have preserved the Celtics' lead. Instead, the shot banked off of the backboard and through the net. His jumper was initially ruled a 3-pointer, putting the Knicks up by two, but was reviewed during the Celtics' ensuing timeout and changed to a two-pointer that left the score at 102-101 with 36.8 seconds remaining.

When the C's came back onto the court from their timeout, they ran an isolation play for Paul Pierce, but his eventual pass attempt in the lane was tipped by Gallinari and Chris Duhon stole the ball. After David Lee made a bucket at the other end, the C's couldn't get off a final shot off before the buzzer sounded to try and tie the game.

Key Box Score Line

Playing in only his second NBA game in the midst of a 10-day contract, Earl Barron played like an All-Star tonight against the Celtics. He may not have finished with the New York's top point total, but he certainly made an impression to everyone watching the game with his 17 points and 18 rebounds.

You don't see NBA Development League players get called up to the NBA very often, and you certainly don't see performances like this when those call-ups do happen. But tonight was one of those nights -- a special one for the newly-minted Knick that he'll remember for the rest of his life.

Box Score Nuggets

• Four Celtics starters scored at least 13 points, but none scored more than Ray Allen's 17.
• The Celtics committed 18 turnovers.
• Danilo Gallinari scored a game-high 31 points on 10-of-15 shooting.
• Two Knicks finished with double-doubles: Earl Barron with 17 points and 18 rebounds, and David Lee with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
• Rajon Rondo finished with only six points, three rebounds and six assists.
• Gallinari shot 10-of-11 from the free throw line.
• Glen Davis scored 12 points off the bench and Michael Finley also chipped in eight.
• Nate Robinson returned to the lineup and finished with five points, three rebounds and five assists.
• All of Boston's starters were in the negative in the plus/minus statistic, while all of the reserves were in the positive.
• The Celtics were outrebounded by a count of 44-34.
• New York grabbed 15 offensive rebounds.
• Rajon Rondo did not record a steal in the game
• Boston shot 54.8 percent from the field compared to New York's 44.3 percent but stil lost.
• The C's also outshot the Knicks from 3-point range, making 38.9 percent of their attempts compared to New York's 24.0 percent.
• Boston outscored New York 52-36 in the paint.

Quote of the Night

Doc Rivers on the team's focus in tonight's game: "The bank shot that (Danilo) Gallinari hit was the Basketball Gods punishing us for not having great focus. You can see their intensity. I just thought that we absolutely deserved that. I would have liked to win, but when you play with that kind of focus, you lose basketball games."