The Basketball Palace: Knicks defeat Celtics 116-92

The New York Knicks defeated the Boston Celtics 116-92, earning their fifth straight win. From the start the Knicks had their best offense as they jumped out to an early 36-24 at the end of the first quarter. They would just build off their great start and just dominate the Celtics. The Celtics, to their credit, did make a run to come within nine points in the third quarter, but that was as close as the Celtics would come in this one. The Knicks would win in wire-to-wire fashion tonight.

Carmelo Anthony was strong for the Knicks tonight as he came out ready to play. Anthony scored a team high 34 points. His shot was really effective tonight as he took advantage of some poor mismatches. He did play 39 minutes tonight, but overall he had a very strong game.

The unsung hero tonight was Cole Aldrich. He replaced Tyson Chandler, who missed his second consecutive game due to personal reasons, in the starting lineup and he didn’t disappoint. Aldrich was strong inside and really was solid on the boards. He scored 12 points and grabbed ten rebounds in his first career start. He utilized both of his hands and made plays inside that really helped the Knicks.

Tonight was a complete game for the Knicks. They were able to play strong from the start and that led to a very important win.

The Celtics fought in this game, but mistakes and inconsistent offense made for a tougher game. They did get an excellent game from Jeff Green. He scored a team high 27 points, 17 in the third quarter. He got hot in the third quarter and made the Knicks pay for lackluster defense. Without Green tonight, Boston would have had an even greater challenge, but he stepped up and gave the team everything he had. His teammate Rajon Rondo didn’t play tonight for Boston as the team continues to rest him on back to back games.

Tim Hardaway Jr continued his stellar play as he scored 22 points. He played at such a high and efficient level tonight. He has stopped shooting the three and instead has settled for the mid-range jumper. Tonight he did make three three-pointers, but none of those were forced shots. He is a very important player for New York because he has the scoring touch that they need off the bench. If he can continue to improve on the defensive end, his playing time will increase.

This was a very nice win for New York. They now move into the ninth spot in the Eastern Conference and are now three games back of the Atlanta Hawks. They have played well and now have an opportunity to save their season. With wins like tonight they’ll continue their climb back up the standings.