On big stage, Knicks come up empty

It began with buzz, unlike any heard in the old place in years.

It ended with boos, too much like the sound of many recent seasons.

So it was Friday night that the Knicks turned their most anticipated postseason game in a decade into a deflating flop.

It was a pity. The Knicks had put two huge scares into the favored Celtics in Boston.

Then they came home, 10 years to the day since their last playoff victory at Madison Square Garden, to a raucous crowd so supportive it remained upbeat even when the Knicks fell behind 9-0 and 22-5.

The fact that they briefly made a game of it with Chauncey Billups on the bench and Amar'e Stoudemire not himself because of a sore back was further evidence of their spunk.

But there was no excusing what happened in the deciding third quarter, when Carmelo Anthony faded, the Knicks were exposed on defense and the Celtics scored 34 points.

Final score: 113-96.

Afterward, the Knicks acknowledged the seemingly inexplicable: They were sluggish.

"I don't think we came out with, for whatever reason, the necessary pop,'' coach Mike D'Antoni said. "We weren't real sharp. We didn't have from everybody the necessary energy we needed.''

Said Stoudemire: "We played stagnant.''

Said Anthony: "We came out a little bit too slow.''

Now they are reduced to trying to overcome a 3-0 playoff series deficit.

Good luck with that, given that no NBA team has managed the trick, that Paul Pierce looked 10 years younger Friday than he had in Boston, that Ray Allen is on a torrid shooting streak and that Rajon Rondo is coming off a triple-double that included 20 assists -- two more than the entire Knicks roster.

Anthony said it was a "domino effect'' once Pierce and Allen got hot.

Meanwhile, Anthony was a shadow of the player who wowed the basketball world with 42 points and 17 rebounds in Game 2, managing 15 points and shooting 4-for-16.

Most of the time, Pierce drew the primary defensive assignment on Anthony, often with help from his friends.

Anthony said the Celtics paid more attention to him than ever. "That makes it tough when you catch the ball and you're looking at two or three guys,'' he said.

Stoudemire for the second game in a row was hampered by that sore back, totaling seven points, shooting 2-for-8 with three rebounds. "His body was a little bit dead,'' D'Antoni said.

The Knicks' maligned bench outscored their starters 52-44. Not a good sign.

In the early going, fans expressed disgust with some curious officiating. But by the end, their ire was reserved for the Knicks themselves.

Deservedly so. It was the flattest performance imaginable in arguably the most important game of the season, difficult to accept even given the injuries.

A victory would have set up another dramatic afternoon Sunday. Instead, even a win would feel a bit empty now.

This postseason never was about winning a title, but it was about building on the excitement surrounding the acquisitions of Stoudemire last summer and Anthony in February.

That excitement will be back come autumn. But Friday night, that seemed a long way away.