Paul Pierce refused to acknowledge the existence of a Knicks-Celtics rivalry before last night’s game at Madison Square Garden. Pierce, the longest-tenured Celtic on the defending Eastern Conference champions, was right. The two teams hadn’t played a meaningful game in two decades.
But after the Celtics escaped with a 118-116 win on Pierce’s game-winning jumper with 0.4 seconds remaining, he can’t say that anymore. If this was just another game, then New York is just another city.
“It’s a start. You’ve gotta start somewhere,” said Pierce, who finished with a team-high 32 points. “Who knows where it’s gonna take us, but definitely it’s a good start if you guys want to call it a rivalry. That’s how they start, two elite teams going at it. They played great basketball. I can’t take anything away from them.”
Rarely did the Celtics. Heading into the game, Boston was tied for the league-lead, allowing just 91 points per game, but it got sucked into the Knicks’ running attack and allowed a season-high 116 points. The Celtics trailed early and often, but battled back, showing the resolve that has sent them to the Finals in two of the past three years.
“They test our defense,” Pierce said. “They go small and they’ve got four shooters and an elite scoring big man who can pretty much shoot from anywhere. They really challenge our defense.”
The Celtics snapped the Knicks’ eight-game win streak and extended theirs to 11. Though the Celtics beat the Knicks by four in their third game of the season, what they encountered last night was a Knicks team they had never seen, one with a winning swagger. It was evident to everyone in the re-energized building, including to two players who have seen as much as anyone in the league.
“This is a more confident Knicks team than I’ve seen in a long time,” Kevin Garnett said. “A good backyard scuffle, if you will. This feels great; great basketball.”
“They have more unity,” Ray Allen said. “As a team, you can tell they expect each other to be good and they count on each other and everybody does what they do well on the floor. They’re definitely playing a lot better.”
The Knicks often played magnificently, their balance and timely scoring, reminiscent of the Celtics.
Boston finished with five players scoring in double-digits, three with at least 20, and it shot 21-of-21 from the free-throw line. The Celtics, who were outplayed for the majority of the game, realize the Knicks are a contender for the Eastern Conference crown.
“It’s never gonna get better for us or easier,” Allen said. “We set the standard in the Eastern Conference the last two or three years, so teams are building against us.”