NBA

Anthony, Knicks confident they’ll finish off Celtics tomorrow

TIME TO FINISH: Carmelo Anthony, who finished with 36 points despite a 10-for-35 shooting performance in Game 4, said the Knicks will win the series tomorrow at MSG.

TIME TO FINISH: Carmelo Anthony, who finished with 36 points despite a 10-for-35 shooting performance in Game 4, said the Knicks will win the series tomorrow at MSG. (NBAE/Getty Images)

No sweep. No problem.

The Knicks get J.R. Smith back tomorrow for Game 5 at the Garden and the Knicks believe they will close out the Celtics in five games and give James Dolan’s franchise its first playoff series win since 2000.

“We have to be confident going back home,’’ Carmelo Anthony said after Sunday’s 97-90 overtime loss in Game 4 in Boston. “We look forward to bringing this back home to the Garden. The Garden will be rocking on Wednesday. We’ll be prepared.’’

The Knicks lead the series 3-1 and might have swept Boston Sunday if Smith had not been suspended for elbowing Jason Terry in the jaw. Anthony had called a sweep of Boston “a dream come true,’’ but winning 4-1 is big, too.

The Celtics played with renewed confidence, knowing the Knicks were without Smith. Anthony laid an egg, shooting 10-of-35 (including 0-for-7 from 3-point range) with seven turnovers. That isn’t likely to happen tomorrow, not with Smith back by his side to alleviate the scoring burden.

“We missed J.R. and look forward to having him back,’’ Anthony said.

PLAYOFF SCHEDULE

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There’s lots of evidence the Celtics have just one last game left to their seasonand maybe the Big 3 era. They were desperate not to get swept by their arch-rivals on the parquet. Now the Knicks go for the kill.

The Knicks’ domination of the boards should continue because of Tyson Chandler, who lost 10 pounds while stricken with the flu late in the regular season and was a zombie to start the series. He is getting stronger and more active. The Knicks pounded the Celtics on the glass 54-40 Sunday — holding a 16-3 edge on offensive rebounds. And that was without Smith, an excellent rebounding guard.

The Anthony-Smith 1-2 punch can’t be matched by the Celtics. Raymond Felton is playing out of his mind offensively at point guard and fellow starter Pablo Prigioni is a demon on defense with nine steals in two games. Iman Shumpert is resembling his menacing self from his rookie season.

“We obviously missed J.R., but we still had our shot,’’ said Chandler, who had 11 rebounds in the Game 4 loss. “We’re motivated as a team. We’ll come back and hopefully finish the job come Wednesday.’’

The Knicks trailed by 20 points Sunday before Felton’s frantic third quarter.

“The fact we came back from a 20-point deficit in that building shows a lot about our team,’’ Felton said.

Boston’s Jeff Green said the Knicks have the pressure on them to win tomorrow or face a return to Boston.

“We don’t feel [any] pressure,’’ Felton said. “We’re going back home so that’s where we’re more comfortable at.’’

Chandler said the Smith suspension is behind them. Smith left Boston early Sunday morning and watched from his place in New York. The Knicks didn’t practice yesterday. The loss cost them a chance of having at least a week off. They are lined up to face the winner of the Indiana-Atlanta series.

“It’s disappointing,’’ Chandler said. “You can’t cry over spilt milk. Now we just have to finish the job.’’

Boston’s Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett looked like fossils in the first three games but got their mojo back Sunday. The key also was Terry, who has a championship ring from Dallas but had a horrible regular season. He punched the Knicks in the jaw in overtime, scoring the Celtics’ last nine points.

“We have guys who’ve been in this position multiple times,’’ Terry said. “They have the feeling we could still win in New York and come back home.’’

Don’t count on it.