Carmelo Anthony called Tuesday night a “must-win” and he took that urgency into the start of the third quarter. The Knicks awoke from a first-half slumber with another giant defensive effort to ensure they are heading to Boston with a 2-0 first-round playoff series lead after taking care of home court with a flourish.
With Anthony shooting lights-out in the second half, the Knicks routed the Celtics, 87-71, at the Garden in Game 2. Anthony finished with 34 points, making eight of 13 shots in the second half, pounding the Celtics with jump shot after jump shot. J.R. Smith, newly minted Sixth Man Award winner, added 19 points.
Game 3 is scheduled for Friday in Boston, with a possible chance to sweep Sunday.
The Celtics were held to 23 second-half points after scoring 25 second-half points Saturday. Boston coach Doc Rivers surrendered with about four minutes left.
The Knicks were sluggish in the first half, fell behind by nine in the second quarter and trailed 48-42 at half. But the Celtics fell apart in the third quarter, outscored 32-11 by the rampaging Knicks, who controlled the game late as they did in Saturday’s 85-78 Game 1 win.
The Garden jeered Kevin Garnett all evening as the Celtics star center was riddled with foul trouble and finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
The Garden also rang out with periodic “Boston Sucks’’ chants, indicating the world was getting back to normal eight days after the horrific attack on the city’s Marathon.
The explosive third quarter was highlighted by Anthony’s 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Opening the half down six, the Knicks had renewed energy led by Iman Shumpert, who promptly bagged two straight 3-pointers to ignite an early 10-2 run.
Shumpert’s mojo on both ends became infectious. Shumpert was benched in first half after picking up two fouls in the first four minutes.
Anthony went on a after a poor first half (3-for-11). He made all sorts of buckets: 3-pointers, turnaround jumpers and a hard drive past Paul Pierce for a dunk with 31.8 seconds left in the quarter to put the Knicks up 74-59 after three. He left with 3:20 left to a loud ovation and “MVP’’ chants.
The Knicks got a break when Garnett picked up his fourth foul early in the third after barely nipping Tyson Chandler on a drive.
The Knicks closed the first quarter on a spectacular 11-0 run, punctuated by a spectacular final 6.8 seconds for Smith, to take a 26-20 lead after one.
Smith finished the first quarter 4-for-4 after being feted in a pregame ceremony for winning Sixth Man. He connected on a contested 20-foot stepback jumper with 6.8 seconds left in the period. He raced back on defense when he saw Pierce charging upcourt. Smith planted himself and Pierce charged into him, losing the ball out of bounds for a turnover.
On the inbounds, Smith raced over the half-court line and fired a 39-foot buzzer-beater over Jordan Crawford. Smith celebrated by doing an air-guitar routine and the Knicks had all the momentum and the crowd roaring.
The Celtics bore down in the second quarter despite Garnett picking up his third foul with 5:30 left in the half. Boston made all the hustle plays and got out in transition. Pierce got hot in his matchup against the undersized Felton, and the Celtics twice went up by 9 points.
The Knicks were 37.8 percent from the field in the first half while the Celtics clicked at 55.9 percent. Guard Pablo Prigioni returned to the starting lineup. Tyson Chandler went without a point in the first half after going scoreless in Game 1 but became livelier in the second half.