BOSTON — If the Celtics were hoping to get the Knicks in the first round, as they did in 2011, they may want to revise their playoff wish list.
Celtics star Paul Pierce said before last night’s tip-off he would like to send a message to the Knicks in their two games this week in case they meet in the playoffs. The message: It won’t be easy.
But last night, it was easy. J.R. Smith barnstormed Boston, combining with Carmelo Anthony for 61 points as the Knicks captured their fifth straight game by walloping the Celtics, 100-85, at a subdued TD North Garden. The Knicks posted a 2-0 regular-season record in Beantown for the first time since 2003-04.
Smith finished with a team-high 32 points in 35 minutes, scoring 21 in the first half. Anthony added 29 on 10-of-30 shooting.
Anthony lost to the Celtics in a four-game sweep in 2011, and the teams are on a collision course to meet in Round 1 in a 2 vs. 7 matchup.
“We want to beat them,’’ Anthony said in the gleeful visitor’s locker room. “Let’s be quite frank about this. We always want to beat Boston. New York in anything always wants to beat Boston, so when you do it, it’s a great feeling.
“It was a great road win for us, especially in this arena. Knowing how hostile it can get here, knowing how well they play here in front of their fans. It says a lot about our team at this moment.’’
It would have been sweeter had Kevin Garnett played, but the Celtics have chosen to rest Garnett for the next two weeks.
The Knicks moved 2 1/2 games ahead of the idle Nets in the Atlantic Division race and all but extinguished any chance of the Celtics making a late run. The five-time defending division champs are 7 1/2 games behind.
“We’re at a great pace and in a great position,’’ Smith said.
There was even sweet redemption for starting center Kenyon Martin, who again filled in for the injured Tyson Chandler with a fiery performance: nine points, including two monster putbacks, five rebounds, and a key block on a driving Avery Bradley.
Celtics coach Doc Rivers admitted the team inquired when Martin was a free agent but passed.
“It’s their fault, they lost,’’ Martin said. “There were talks, negotiations. They chose not to do it. It was out of my control. I’m a Knick now, so they lost.’’
The Knicks (43-26) have had so much heartache over the years on Causeway Street. But last night they moved 17 games above .500 for the first time this season. The Knicks host the Celtics on Sunday to conclude their regular-season series.
“It’s not easy winning in Boston,’’ said Mike Woodson, who never won there as a player. “There’s a reason. It’s hard to win here. Boston has been dominant. The history on this place is phenomenal.’’
The Knicks exploded on a 14-0 run in the second quarter to bust open the game as the Celtics went scoreless for a six-minute stretch. The Knicks led 58-44 at halftime.
They made the new Garden sound as quiet as vacant Fenway Park — save one brief “Cheerios’’ chant to Anthony in reference to his alleged cereal-themed trash-talk tiff with Garnett in January.
Pierce finished with a quiet 16 points and had six of the Celtics’ 20 turnovers (the Knicks had just eight).
Smith’s recent agenda is attacking the basket with a fury, and he was nothing short of a monster. He finished 13-of-24 from the field and made all five of his free throws. Smith sealed his big night by drilling a 28-foot 3-point buzzer-beater at the end of the third quarter, putting the Knicks up 84-69.
“He’s really been mixing up his game as of late,’’ Woodson said. “J.R. is starting to figure that part out.’’
Anthony added 18 points to the first-half cause. On one second-quarter play, he barreled through three Celtics defenders, missed in the paint but muscled for the rebound and laid in the putback.
“My mindset was to be aggressive as I could offensively, defensively, my team fed off me,’’ Anthony said. “J.R. came off the bench and took it over from there. When he’s attacking, it’s kind of hard to stop.’’
The Knicks host the Grizzlies tonight, and Woodson isn’t holding back.
“We’ve been playing for something,’’ Woodson said. “We’ve been at the top of our division all season, and I don’t want to give it away. … I’m going to do what it takes to get that done.’’
marc.berman@nypost.com