Boston Celtics Fall to Hobbled Knicks

The Boston Celtics continue down the worst slide of their season as they blew another great opportunity to win a game. The New York Knicks, particularly Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis, came out firing and took a commanding lead, Anthony then left the game with an injury and slowly but surely the Celtics crawled their way back. Porzingis then fouled out and the Celtics had chances to take the lead.

Isaiah Thomas lead the way with a phenomenal performance. He scored 34 points with 8 assists, including 11-12 from the free throw line. Thomas was at his best in every phase of the game. He struggled shooting from three but other than that he put the Celtics on his back for portions of the game.

Jared Sullinger found a way to get hot late in the game, finishing a solid 60% from the field. The problem is that Sullinger struggled to see the floor down the stretch and finished with 14 points.

The Celtics actually did a solid job on offense. They shot over 50% as a team and had a solid 25 assists. Problem is their defense completely let them down against one of the less talented lineups they will face late in a fourth quarter this year.

The Knicks hit 120 points, shot over 50% and the Celtics had just five steals.  The team played well enough on offense to win but they depend too much on defense to be confident when they play like that.

The Knicks do deserve their fair share of credit. They had multiple players that were on fire and had plenty of guys step up when Anthony and then Porzingis were off the court.

Anthony left with 17 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists on 70% shooting. Porzingis had one of his best gems as a pro with 26 points, 2 blocks, 2 steals, 2 assists and 6 rebounds. Afflalo stepped up with 24 points on 50% shooting and the bench did their part too.

Derrick Williams collected a 15 point double double and wound up playing the third most minutes by the end of the game. Jerian Grant then may have come in as the MVP of the game. He scored 15 points on 5-6 shooting from the free throw line and 5-6 from the field. Throw in his 8 assists and he was making plays every time he touched the ball.

This was one of the most exciting games of the season but the same problem continues to come up for the Celtics. They simply cannot win close games because they fail to make hough plays down the stretch. The Celtics continue to have too many things to figure out and they need to make a lot more progress.

Balance and consistency has been a problem for the entire season and they were both problems in this game. They had the hot hand on offense but couldn’t combine that with the kind of defensive game that they play the majority of the time.

The rotation continues to be a complete mystery. Zeller and Lee once again did not get  single minute of playing time. The Celtics are spending a lot of time figuring out which players they want to keep on their roster and it has prevented them from having continuity in their rotation.

More from Hardwood Houdini

• Boston Celtics’ two-way contract decision will be made after training camp
• Proposed trade sends Boston Celtics playoff killer to the Cs from rival
• ‘Face of Germany’s stunning run’ in FIBA World Cup not the only ex-Boston Celtics player to win gold
• Proposed Boston Celtics trade target pitched for reunion with fired coach
• Battle For Banner 18: Will Boston Celtics battle historical foe in 2024 Finals?

The Celtics are falling further out of the playoff picture and are looking no better on the court. The Celtics have a lot of work to do and you know the trade rumours are going to be all over the place. Things need to settle down for the Celtics before they can be at their best  but for now they have to find a way to win with all the change.