Knicks fall to Celtics for 8th loss in row

BOSTON - Perhaps in a few weeks, with his legs under him and the rust gone, Tracy McGrady wins this game on his own. But at this point it is a mere victory that he was able to play his third game in four nights and second of a back-to-back.

That's the only kind of success the Knicks can celebrate these days, after a 110-106 defeat last night to the Celtics at TD Garden extended their losing streak to eight. The new-look roster is 0-3 since six players were exchanged last Thursday.

It was the second game of a back-to-back for McGrady, who had six points and eight assists in 26 minutes. He shot 3-for-8 and missed all four of his three-point attempts, including the final one: a potential game-tying shot with 27.9 seconds left with the Knicks trailing 109-106.

After the miss, McGrady turned away from the rim and clapped his hands in disgust.

The former All-Star clearly played at his own speed and didn't push himself too much in this game. The good news was that he was healthy enough to play after he banged his surgically repaired left knee in Monday's loss to the Bucks and was limping in the second half. He didn't show a limp last night, but also spent most of the game deferring and setting up others.

Ray Allen led the Celtics (39-19) with 24 points and had a huge block on a Wilson Chandler cut with 48.9 seconds left with the Knicks trailing by three. David Lee had 28 points and 15 rebounds and Sergio Rodriguez had 18 points and six assists for the Knicks (19-37).

Mike D'Antoni was asked before the game if he was concerned that Nate Robinson, who made his debut in Celtic green, would have one of those trademark scoring explosions at the expense of his former team.

"You know, I really thought more about Garnett and Ray Allen and Paul Pierce and Rondo and Perkins," D'Antoni said. "Then Nate."

Robinson played the backup point guard role behind Rajon Rondo (15 points, 16 assists) that the Celtics envisioned when they made the deadline-day trade with the Knicks last week. He had four points in 16 minutes and shot 2-for-7. He hit a jumper with 6:17 left to give the Celtics a 105-100 lead.

In addition to Robinson facing his former team, the game also included the homecoming for Celtics fan favorite Eddie House, who was part of the five-player trade for Robinson. House, a key member of the Celtics' 2008 championship team, was welcomed back by the Boston crowd in the first quarter with a standing ovation. House blew kisses to the crowd as they chanted, "Ed-die! Edi-die!" There was no such tribute to Bill Walker, another piece in the trade, when he made his Knicks debut a few minutes later. Walker then threw down an emphatic dunk on the break and played an active 13 minutes with four points.

The Celtics played without All-Star Paul Pierce, who has a right thumb strain and also is dealing with a flu.