With Chauncey Billups sidelined, Toney Douglas faced the daunting tasks of dealing with Rajon Rondo and running the point for the Knicks yesterday in Game 4 of their first-round clash with the Celtics. Douglas failed at both, eventually getting pulled for Anthony Carter in a move that proved too little, too late.
With Douglas suffering from a painful right shoulder injury, Carter led a late rally that fell just short in a 101-89 elimination defeat. Behind Carter’s dogged game-changing defense against Rondo, the Knicks cut a 23-point third-quarter deficit to four, before running out of gas — and time.
“Guys did a great job of coming in and making sure we didn’t go out like that. We fought too hard and these fans wanted to see a better game than what we were putting on the first two or three quarters,” said Carter, who came in with the Knicks trailing 74-54 with 5:37 left in the third quarter, and never left the floor.
After Rondo (21 points, 12 assists, five rebounds) had dominated an injured and ineffectual Douglas, Carter matched up more effectively. Instead of laying off and giving way as Douglas did, allowing Rondo to run Boston’s offense with impunity, Carter picked him up three-quarter court, harassing him and helping the Knicks climb within 84-80.
“It was my job to come of the bench and give a spark,” Carter said. [Pressuring Rondo] wasn’t instructions; I just got tired of seeing that the whole series.
“We had to try something different. Make him work a little bit, because he had so much energy when he was coming across the court with no ball pressure. Anybody can play 48 minutes like that. We just wanted to get into him. That was my whole mindset when I went in.”
It worked, with Carter (11 points on 5-of-7 shooting with five rebounds and four assists) posting only his second double-figure outing of the season and first since March. But the Knicks had dug too deep a hole, and Douglas’ struggles were a big reason.
“I’ll have this feeling in my mouth every time I work out, losing four in a row,” said Douglas. “I don’t feel like I had a difficult time. Boston, they just handled their business, played great defense.”
Douglas has suffered through a back injury and then hurt his right shoulder, which has bothered him almost all season. He re-aggravated the shoulder going for a steal in Game 3, and admitted it affected him yesterday.
“I played,” Douglas said, “but I wasn’t going to miss this game for nothing.”