The pass zipped from Carmelo Anthony to Kenyon Martin down low with 40.6 seconds left. Martin was wide open near the hoop. Anthony’s pass, however, was thrown high.
“Terrible pass,” Martin said afterward, good-naturedly. “Melo said thanks for bailing him out.”
Indeed, Martin hauled in Anthony’s high heave and dropped in a layup, putting the Knicks ahead 85-78 and helping to clinch their Game 1 victory over the Celtics Saturday at the Garden. Martin’s bailout was critical as he replaced an ineffective Tyson Chandler.
Returning from a five-game absence because of a sprained ankle, Martin delivered 28 solid minutes, scoring 10 points, grabbing a team-high nine rebounds and blocking two shots — one of them an emphatic rejection of a Jason Terry dunk. Martin was the Knicks’ center in the fourth quarter — not Chandler.
“The way Kenyon was playing, he didn’t deserve to come out,” Chandler said.
Chandler also returned from an injury absence. The center had missed six straight games and 16 of 20 with a bulging disk in his cervical spine. Chandler said he felt fine yesterday, but added his conditioning was an issue. He had minimal impact, not attempting a single shot while pulling down five rebounds in only 20 minutes.
“I knew I would be rusty,” Chandler said. “I would be a little winded.”
Chandler said he expects he will fare better in Game 2, but Thursday.
“It’s the best I’ve felt in a long time,” he said.
As for Martin, after sitting out all year as a free agent, the 35-year-old signed with the Knicks on Feb. 23 and has developed into an instrumental part of the rotation.
“To be here from where I started at the beginning of the season,” Martin said, “it’s a great feeling.”
As it must have been when Martin caught Anthony’s pass down the stretch — or as Chandler called it, referring to the fact Anthony is a Baltimore Ravens fan, “Carmelo’s [Joe] Flacco-to-[Anquan] Boldin hook-up.”
“I don’t know if [Martin] wants to be called Dez Bryant, but that catch he made from Melo was incredible,” Jason Kidd said. “That was a big play for us, and that kind of sealed the game.”