Knicks’ free fall continues as Celtics stage comeback
Knicks' Kristaps Porzingis shoots over Celtics center Jared Sullinger during the second half at TD Garden in Boston on March 4, 2016. Credit: EPA / CJ GUNTHER
BOSTON — One of the most painful weeks of the Knicks’ season took another unpleasant turn Friday night when the Celtics rallied in the closing minutes for a 105-104 win at TD Garden.
Carmelo Anthony was forced to take a desperation three- pointer at the buzzer at the end of a disjointed series of events after Avery Bradley’s layup with 17.7 seconds left put the Celtics up by one.
The Knicks, who had led by eight points with 3 1⁄2 minutes left, were out of timeouts but had plenty of time. Anthony, who said he knew the Celtics had a foul to give but thought he could get a shot up, was fouled with three seconds left, and the Knicks had to inbound again.
With no time to draw up a play, the Knicks didn’t seem to have a plan for the situation. Lance Thomas inbounded the ball to Anthony, who heaved it up. It hit high on the backboard and never even touched the rim.
“We obviously didn’t have a timeout to get organized and Melo had to take a very tough shot,” interim coach Kurt Rambis said. “There was a lot of confusion out there . . . It’s on me.”
Anthony (30 points) said it was confusing down the stretch, but he said that’s not what cost the Knicks. “We put ourselves in a position to win this basketball game,” he said. “We have to close games out like this . . . It’s hard to hear anything from the sideline when you only have a few seconds. We wasn’t connected the last few seconds, but that wasn’t the cause of the game. I don’t think the game should have come down to that.”
The Celtics took their first lead of the fourth quarter with 36.4 seconds left when Evan Turner hit a 15-footer. Anthony countered with a fallaway jumper with 21.4 seconds left to give the Knicks a 104-103 lead. But Bradley then spun through the paint for the final points of the game.
Isaiah Thomas had 32 points, Turner 21 and Jae Crowder 20 for the Celtics. Aaron Afflalo had 17 and Kristaps Porzingis 15 for the Knicks.
On Jan 22, the Knicks were 22-22 and a half-game behind the eighth-place Celtics, but the loss was the Knicks’ 16th in 19 games since then. Now the 13th-place Knicks are seven games behind the eighth-place Pistons.
The Celtics have won five straight and 16 of 20. “They figured out who they are,” Rambis said. “That’s what the really good teams in the league, besides having talent, do.”
Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.
