Knicks 118, Celtics 110
NEW YORK -- The Boston Celtics have to wait a little while longer to clinch their fifth straight Atlantic Division title. The New York Knicks are still hanging onto a long-shot chance of winning their first in 18 years.
Behind a triple-double by Carmelo Anthony, who had 35 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, and a barrage of three-pointers, the Knicks took a 118-110 victory on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden.
The Knicks (32-29) moved within 3 1/2 games of the division-leading Celtics (36-26), as interim Knicks coach Mike Woodson has said the team's goal is to challenge Boston for the division.
Paul Pierce led all scorers with 43 points, including 17 of Boston's 31 in the third quarter. Boston, which played without Ray Allen (ankle) for a fifth straight game, trailed by 19 at the half, but cut the deficit to six in the final five minutes. Anthony then found Steve Novak (25 points) for a pair of three-pointers to finally put the Celtics away.
Novak hit 8 of the Knicks 19 three-pointers, which was one shy of the franchise record. J.R. Smith had seven threes en route to his 25 points, while Tyson Chandler had 20 points to be the fourth Knick to hit for at least 20.
Kevin Garnett had 20 points and Rajon Rondo, who took a hard fall in the third quarter, finished with 11 points and 13 assists.
Former coach Mike D'Antoni is long gone from the Knicks sidelines but his shoot-'em-up offense remained, especially on this night. The Knicks drilled an astonishing 14 three-pointers -- which tied an NBA record -- on 21 attempts in the first half to take a commanding, 72-53 lead against the overwhelmed Celtics.
The Knicks missed their first three attempts from downtown, but fittingly it was Smith who got the three-for-all started when he drained his first attempt with 3:19 left in the first quarter. That cut the Boston lead to 24-20 and sparked a wild 40-16 run by the Knicks, who drained nine threes in that stretch, capped by a four-point play by Novak. That gave the Knicks a 60-40 lead with 3:12 left in the half.
The Knicks hit 11 of those 14 first-half threes in the second quarter.
Smith had 21 points at the half, but it was Anthony who led the way as usual with 19 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds. Avery Bradley, who was 4-for-4 from long range, had 14 points at the half for Boston, which was 7-for-11 from three.
NOTES: The Milwaukee Bucks hit 14 three-pointers in one half against the Phoenix Suns on March 28, 2006 . . . Smith's seven threes in the first half tied a franchise record held by Shawn Williams and John Starks . . . Celtics guard Ray Allen went through the team's shoot-around in the morning and was expected to play in the game, but after the workout his ankle swelled up again. Mickeal Pietrus was sent back to Boston to have his knee examined . . . Knicks forward Amar'e Stoudemire (bulging disc) missed his 13th straight game and is expected to miss at least one more, Wednesday at New Jersey. Mike Woodson said the "possibility" for Stoudemire's return is Friday at Cleveland . . . Knicks guard Jeremy Lin was named the recipient of the NBA Sportsmanship award for the Atlantic Divison. He is among six finalists for the award.
