WILD BILL: Bill Walker celebrates late in the Knicks’ 106-104 season-opening win over the Celtics. (EPA)
Carmelo Anthony began his first full season in New York yesterday by saving Christmas.
The Celtics were without Paul Pierce. The Knicks were without a killer instinct. They blew a 17-point first-half lead and sweated it out until the final ticks as Anthony willed them to a season-opening 106-104 nailbiter before an amped crowd at the transformed Garden.
Anthony racked up 37 points, 17 in the fourth quarter, rescuing the Knicks when they looked headed for a disastrous holiday after falling behind by 10 to start the fourth.
“As a new team, we showed something today,’’ Anthony said. “We came together as a team even when we got down and we willed our way through this win today.’’
The win was bittersweet because impressive rookie guard Iman Shumpert sprained his left knee in the third quarter. The club announced he will miss 2 to 4 weeks.
Anthony sank the winning free throws with 16.4 seconds remaining to break a tie before Kevin Garnett’s 14-foot potential game-tying pull-up was a brick. The Knicks held Boston to 17 fourth-quarter points and made big stops in the final minute, but fell short of making the definitive statement the Atlantic Division is now theirs.
After KG’s missed shot, Garnett and ex-Celtic Bill Walker, who defended the last shot, got into a scrap, with Garnett shoving Walker’s face and squeezing his hand. Both players were jawing at each other and were restrained for a half-minute.
Welcome to the new Boston-Knicks rivalry. The Celtics had won all eight meetings last season, including the first-round sweep.
“It’s going to be a rivalry now,’’ Mike D’Antoni said. “They are not going to back down and we are not going to back down. It is going to be a great series with them. We want to get to their level and think we can get there.’’
When Anthony headed to the bench with foul trouble in the third quarter, the Knicks fell apart, as Toney Douglas did a lousy job of keeping the club together and was outplayed by Rajon Rondo (31 points, 13 assists).
“When your best player comes out of the game and when you are playing against a team that won a championship, you are going to have trying times, especially now when we are not very fluid,’’ said D’Antoni, who had never referred to Anthony as the club’s “best” player before.
Anthony committed his fourth foul with 8:12 left in the third, accidently elbowing Rondo in the face. But it was the Knicks who became bloodied, outscored 20-2 at one point in the quarter, drawing the season’s first boos.
“Third quarter was a complete blackout,’’ D’Antoni said. “But the fourth quarter when he had to shut them down, we did.‘’
Amar’e Stoudemire was Melo’s efficient sidekick, even draining two 3-pointers in the first half when the Knicks took a 52-44 intermission lead. Stoudemire scored 21 points on 8 of 11 from the field, had six rebounds and two blocks, including a mammoth rejection of Brandon Bass with 51 seconds left.
But it was all Anthony down the stretch, taking advantage of not having to defend Pierce (who was out with a heel injury) and feeling fresh from sitting most of the third. Boston coach Doc Rivers admitted he got outfoxed.
“I made a game-planning mistake,’’ Rivers said. “We didn’t go get the ball out of Carmelo’s hands and I thought we probably should have.’’
With the score tied at 104 late, the ball swung to Anthony, who made a move on Marquis Daniels with the Celtics guard putting his hands all over him for a foul. Anthony sank the go-ahead free throws, erasing his turnover with 53 seconds left when he dribbled the ball off his foot out of bounds.
“He is a phenomenal offensive player,’’ Stoudemire said. “On his team, it is an honor because he is one of those guys where in the fourth quarter or the last few minutes in the game, he is able to get a shot off anytime and has the focus to make it.’’
New center Tyson Chandler’s Knick debut was a mixed bag, as he allowed Bass (20 points, 11 boards) to feel too comfortable inside. Though Chandler had only three rebounds, he had six blocks and kept a handful of balls alive and provided defensive grit. Chandler finished with seven points, taking only two shots from the field.
“Tyson does an unbelievable job of going straight up, keeping his hands up and not giving them easy shots,’’ D’Antoni said. “That’s what we gave up years before.’’
The Celtics had a chance to send it to OT. Daniels missed an open left-corner trey, but Rondo got the long rebound and called time out with 4.4 seconds left. The Knicks had a foul to give and made Boston inbound again with 3.9 seconds left. Garnett got the ball, but bricked the shot with Walker contesting.
Garnett wouldn’t talk about his tiff with Walker but seemed impressed by the Knicks.
“They seem to have a little swag and confidence behind them,” Garnett said. “It’s good for the city. It’s good for the Knicks. I’m going to see how consistent they are with that, but for the most part Carmelo played really well.”
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