Knicks Falter in Fourth Before Closing Out Celtics - New York Times

Charles Krupa/Associated Press

The Knicks' Carmelo Anthony shooting over the Celtics' Jeff Green.

BOSTON '� The wait had been long, humiliating, often torturous, and it did not end without one final bit of stress, one last anxious sensation before the moment of exhilaration mercifully arrived. Delayed gratification had never felt this good.

The Knicks had blown the chance for a sweep, blown a clinching game at home and extended a 13-year drought for another unfortunate few days. Then they nearly gave away a 26-point lead in the fourth quarter Friday night, flirting with disaster, before steadying themselves for an 88-80 victory over the Boston Celtics at TD Garden and a moment long overdue.

The Knicks closed out the Celtics four games to two and clinched their first playoff series victory since 2000. They will meet the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference semifinals, which open Sunday at Madison Square Garden.

Carmelo Anthony, at the end of another difficult shooting night (7 of 23), hit a 3-pointer down the stretch to turn back the Celtics' final rally. He finished with 21 points and will surely be relieved not to see the Celtics' defense again soon.

'It's a big relief '� for myself, for us as a team, for the organization '� to make that next step, which is getting out the first round,' Anthony said. 'It's something that I've been looking forward to since I came here to New York.'

The Knicks led by 75-49 with 9 minutes 48 seconds to play after Iman Shumpert's thundering putback dunk. A handful of fans headed toward the exits. The Knicks were hopping in anticipation.

Within minutes, the mood had changed radically. The Celtics scored 20 unanswered points, cutting the deficit to 6 points before Shumpert (17 points) finally ended the Knicks' drought with a fast-break layup. Boston, which never led, got as close as 4 points in the final minutes.

Anthony had appeared in two Game 6s in his career and lost them both, the last one in the 2009 Western Conference finals. This is the furthest he has advanced in a postseason since then.

'It's a major step for this organization, for our fans in New York, who's been with this for many, many years,' Coach Mike Woodson said. 'But it's just one step, man. I mean, I'm looking at the big picture. And I'm only in this thing for one thing, and that's to try to win an N.B.A. title. We made a major step today but we got a long way to go.'

After two poor games, the Knicks revived their offense with the basics. They kept the ball moving, found secondary and tertiary scoring sources and reclaimed the all-for-one identity that carried them through the regular season.

Five Knicks scored in double figures, and they made 9 of 21 shots from 3-point range. Woodson tightened the rotation, relying primarily on six players until the game and the series were secure.

'They can beat anybody when they play right, I'll tell you that,' Celtics Coach Doc Rivers said. 'They have a lot of firepower and they showed that in stretches tonight.'

The Celtics fought valiantly and rallied often, but they had trouble with the basics, such as shooting. They missed seven free throws and shot 38.1 percent from the field. Nor could they take care of the ball, committing 20 turnovers, many of them unforced and careless, that led to 17 points for the Knicks.

Paul Pierce (14 points) had another miserable night, going 4 for 18 from the field, looking very much like a Hall of Famer in his sad twilight. Kevin Garnett had 15 points and 10 rebounds.

There had been little to like about the Knicks' week to date '� from J. R. Smith's suspension on Sunday to his subsequent boast that the series should have been over, to Kenyon Martin's virtual guarantee that it would end Wednesday night and then, finally, the unfortunate choice of black funeral wear for Game 5.

Those missteps were quickly rendered a footnote.

The Celtics threatened briefly in the third quarter, cutting the deficit to 12 points. Then Garnett was called for an offensive foul, leading to a Shumpert 3-pointer, and it appeared the tide had turned for good. Boston turned the ball over three more times in the final minutes of the period, while Smith (13 points, 5-of-13 shooting) and Shumpert hit 3-pointers to make it a 20-point game.

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