NBA

Rivers: Winning division is Knicks’ goal, not Celtics’

When something becomes routine, it loses luster. Like winning a division.

For the Knicks, the Atlantic Division is an important, meaningful goal. For the Celtics, a division title is little more than a door prize.

“That’s not been my focus. I want to win it. Don’t get me wrong. It’s great to win,” coach Doc Rivers said last night before his Celtics stopped the Knicks, 102-96, at the Garden. “But I couldn’t tell you how many we’ve won in a row.”

That would be five. Five in a row, 21 overall for the Celtics (17-17). The Knicks (23-11, six games ahead of Boston, four ahead of the Nets) want their first divisional title in 19 seasons this year – that would be their fifth. Ever.

“That’s not our goal,” said Rivers, forced to face the Knicks without one of his prime pieces, point guard Rajon Rondo who was suspended for one game after making contact with a ref Saturday. “Our goal is bigger. And so (is) the Knicks’ but maybe that’s part of their goal and that’s their first step.

“You ever walked around our practice facility and our arena, have you ever seen anything about a division? There’s nothing. There’s not one divisional banner hanging up in Boston. There’s not even a conference championship banner hanging up in Boston. Maybe we think bigger,” Rivers concluded.

For much of the game, the Celtics thought they’d love to have Rondo who was banned last night for one game without pay – his fourth suspension in 12 months – for “making contact with a game official and failure to cooperate with a league investigation.” Rivers, and most Celtics, admitted surprise over the penalty. But Rondo’s past played a part.

“I saw it when it happened,” Rivers said, noting “the official…didn’t call a tech. But you know the old saying is that you’re not given a reputation, you earn one. And I’m sure that had a lot to do with it as well. Listen, we just move on.”

And in the first meeting of the season between the two division rivals, the Celtics moved on in the second half, erasing what once was a 10-point Knicks lead. Despite Paul Pierce getting slapped with his fourth foul at 8:50 of the third quarter, the Celtics took a 76-72 lead into the fourth. Boston checked the Knicks to 6-of-17 third quarter shooting and outlasted them in the fourth.

“Winning this game here without Rondo just tells you our guys hung in there,” Rivers said. “We didn’t have much of offense…but our defense was fantastic.”