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Melo gets triple-double as Knicks win

Source: http://ppt.cc/TPw3 NYDN
Frank Isola Tuesday, April 17, 2012, 11:26 PM

Maybe the Knicks will be a dangerous first-round opponent. If they shoot like
they did against the Boston Celtics last night you can be sure of it.

The more the Knicks shot, the more they made. And made. And made.

A blistering second quarter broke the game open as the Knicks held on for a
118-110 victory that keeps their slim chances of catching the Boston Celtics
in the Atlantic Division very much alive.

At 32-29, the Knicks are in play for the sixth seed in the Eastern
Conference. The most plausible scenario, however, is that the Knicks will
finish seventh overall which would likely result in a first-round matchup
with the Miami Heat.

The Celtics are 36-26 with four games left.

With Indiana beating Philadelphia Tuesday night, the Knicks are one game
ahead of the eighth place Sixers with five games left. Plus, Philadelphia
plays all of its remaining games on the road.

Also, the Knicks are expecting Amar’e Stoudemire back at some point this
week which means Carmelo Anthony's days as a high-scoring power forward are
about to come to an end.

The Celtics ran into the same problem Miami and Chicago had when they faced
the Knicks. Anthony is an offensive force at power forward and Tuesday night
he recorded the Knicks first triple-double of the year with 35 points, 12
rebounds and 10 assists.

But unlike Sunday’s loss to Miami when Anthony received little support from
his teammates, he got plenty against the Celtics. Steve Novak and J.R. Smith
each scored 25 points had eight and seven 3-pointers respectively as the
Knicks shot an astounding 19-for-32 from behind the arc. The team record for
3-pointers in one game is 20.

The Knicks bench outscored Boston’s reserves 55-2. All Celtics starters
scored in double figures led by Paul Pierce’s 43 points. Kevin Garnett added
20 points and Rajon Rondo finished with 13 points and 13 assists. Tyson
Chandler added 20 points for the Knicks, who shot 57 percent.

One year ago Tuesday night, the Knicks lost to Celtics in Game 1 of their
playoff series. They weren’t nearly as lethal or accurate last year as they
were on Tuesday.

The Knicks 14 first-half three-pointers tied an NBA record set by the
Milwaukee Bucks in 2006. Smith was a one-man wrecking crew, knocking down 7
of 9 threes from a variety of angles. He nearly converted on a half court
heave at the buzzer.

Steve Novak made 4 of 6 three-pointers as the Knicks scored 40 points in the
second quarter and 72 in the half.

Boston, playing without Ray Allen, simply couldn’t keep pace. The Knicks
bench, led by Smith’s 21 points, outscored the Celtics reserves 39-0 in the
first half.

Boston trailed by as many as 21 in the second quarter and closed to within
81-71 in the second half before Woodson took a gamble and handed over the
keys to the offense to Smith, who is far from being a prototype point guard.
And yet, Smith did well getting into the lane and creating scoring chances
for his teammates. Woodson eventually paired Smith with Mike Bibby and the
Knicks took a 96-84 lead in the fourth.

Baron Davis was once again ineffective but Boston had point guard issues of
its own. Rajon Rondo took a nasty fall when he collided with Chandler while
jumping for a rebound. Rondo, unable to brace his fall, landed on his back
and stayed on the ground for three minutes before being helped to his feet.

Rondo remained in the game and started the final period with the Celtics
trailing by 12. Behind Pierce, the Celtics got to within 112-106 before Novak
hit back-to-back 3-pointers to seal the win. Anthony’s recorded assists Nos.
nine and 10 on the baskets but a huge assist went to Rondo who inexplicably
refused to even defend Novak.

On Novak’s 3-pointer that made it 118-108, Rondo didn’t even bother chasing
Novak, who calmly drained a long jumper from the wing.


重要的一勝，一定要感謝今天勝利的三位功臣。
瓜瓜：http://imgur.com/k1s0z
丁尺：http://ppt.cc/QP;v
腰帶王：http://i.imgur.com/bIMgY.gif

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