The New York Knicks defeated the Boston Celtics 89-86, earning their 26th win of the season. For the Knicks, this win marked their first win in Boston since November 24, 2006.
This was a close game throughout the night, with 17 lead changes and 15 ties. In the end the Knicks were able to hold the lead with two key defensive stops. Paul Pierce committed two key turnovers for Boston late in this game that really kept them from winning this game.
Carmelo Anthony scored 28 points tonight and grabbed 9 rebounds. Anthony really had some cold streaks in this game, but he was still able find his stroke when the Knicks really needed his points. Overall Anthony really was able to contribute at a high level tonight and he put the team in a great position to win. Tonight Anthony really played a nice game and did what he had to do.
Off the bench the play of Amare Stoudemire was really impressive. Stoudemire scored 15 points and grabbed 9 rebounds. He really did some impressive things in tonight’s game. First was is energy on the defensive end. He was able to record two blocks and those blocks led to some easy fast break points. Secondly, Stoudemire made some nice offensive moves. His postgame was much more fluid tonight and he really was able to get some nice points for the team. Lastly, he was able to get one nice dunk. That dunk really was a nice sign for Stoudemire who has struggled with lift on his dunks. Tonight’s performance was real impressive and a great sign for the Knicks.
Jason Kidd really had a nice performance. Kidd doesn’t record stats in just one category, but he is an all around stat guy. Kidd scored 9 points with 3 steals, 2 assists, and 3 rebounds. This performance was really nice to see from Kidd who continues to provide big performances for this team.
In his first game since being selected to his first All-Star game, Tyson Chandler really came through in the second half of tonight’s game. Chandler grabbed 8 rebounds and recorded 2 blocks in this game. His impact really wasn’t stat worthy, but instead he really was a force on both ends of the floor. He set some strong screens, that really freed up some shooters. Tonight Chandler was important late than he was early in this game.
Overall the Knicks were able to get a great win on the road. Their past history in Boston really made this a tough game already, but they came in wanting to get the win. With all that being said, the Knicks won with excellent defensive execution. Their defense has been their calling card this season and that was on display tonight.
The Knicks will start to prepare for Saturdays game against the Philadelphia 76ers now that this game is complete. That game will be the first game of a back to back.
Photo Credit: Jared Wickerham/Getty Images
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