To be honest, it took me several hours
to decide which of the first two games against the Celtics was more agonizing
to watch. After going back and forth
with myself, I decided this game was more agonizing for one reason and one
reason only:
No, it didn’t match Jordan’s 63
against the Celtics in ’86, but it was still extraordinary. It’s not hyperbole when I say it is the
greatest Knick offensive performance in the playoffs I have ever seen. [i]
He finished with 42 Pts, 17 Rebs,
literally carrying the entire team on his back, like Bernard King did back in ’84.
Where was Amare? He finished with four points on 2-9 shooting.
Let’s give him a break though, he did miss the second half due to back spasms
he suffered doing a dunk before the game. And like I mentioned in the previous game,
Billups did not play due to a strained left knee and wouldn’t play another game
in a Knicks uniform.
The Knicks lineup during crunch
time consisted of: Carmelo Anthony, Toney Douglas, Jared Jeffries, Bill Walker,
and Roger Mason.
Think about that for a second….
The Knicks still had a chance to
win this game; Jeffries converted with 19 seconds left, putting the Knicks up
by one. But Kevin Garnett hit a tough shot putting the Celtics back up one with
13 seconds left. On the ensuing
possession, Melo gets the ball, and passes it to a WIDE OPEN Jeffries,
who inexplicably fumbles the pass and loses the ball out of bounds. Of course, it should have been Amare down
there, instead of Jeffries, but still, Jeffries is an NBA player (who led the
Hoosiers to beat my Blue Devils back in 2002) and he should be able to at least
attempt a shot. He had just made a more difficult layup 15 seconds earlier.
No one he was frequently booed
during his tenure with the Knicks.
As a result of the play, the Celtics
had the ball with about four seconds left.
Melo inexplicably forgets he has to foul Rajon Rondo and nearly lets
time expire before fouling with .9 seconds left.
How the hell does he forget to foul
in that situation? That play doesn’t negate Melo’s magnificent performance, but
one can argue that is his career in a nutshell.
The Knicks lost 96-93, a game they
should have won and because of that game, the Knicks were demoralized and ended
up getting swept and being the only team who qualified for the playoffs,
but didn’t win a game.
God, I hate the Celtics….
Up Next: 17. Game 7 1984 NBA
Eastern Conference Semifinals Knicks vs. Celtics
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