New York Knicks down Celtics 116-92 in Boston

Buckets

Once again, the Celtics' offense struggled mightily (particularly in the first half). Captain Rondo was sorely missed as the Cs had trouble generating any consistent quality ball movement.

Conversely, the Knicks have now strung together a five game win streak, tempering the intense (but well deserved) criticism they've received throughout the season.

New York blew the game open with a 20-7 start. When Jeff Green settled for a post-up 18 foot fadeaway early in the shot clock, effort for a W seemed futile. Hot shooting by the Knicks led to a 68-48 halftime deficit for the Cs and New York never really looked back.

It wasn't quite all bad for the Celtics, as Kris Humphries (15 PTS, 5, RBS) put a monster block on a Hardaway Jr. fast break to start the third quarter. Jeff Green played 41 minutes and posted a team high 27 points on 10-21 shooting but tallied just 2 rebounds. Green got hot at times in the second half, but maintained his 'tease' reputation by combining strong scoring stretches with some questionable shots and little else.

It seemed anything with a blue jersey was hitting for at least the first half of the game (90% from three), though the Knicks eventually cooled down. Nevertheless, New York (as a team) shot 53% from the field, 58% from three, and 88% at the line. Tough to win ball games allowing those numbers.

Carmelo Anthony dropped 34 PTS to go with 9 RBS while J.R. Smith chipped in 13 PTS, 4 AST, and 3 RBS. Young rook Tim Hardaway Jr. showcased a hot hand with 22 points on 7-11 shooting.

Despite stringing together a couple of runs in a relatively strong third quarter, the Knicks ran away with it 116-92.

The Celtics (22-43) take on the Phoenix Suns (36-27) Friday at 7:30 in Boston.