May 1, 2013; New York, NY, USA; Boston Celtics center Kevin Garnett (5), Boston Celtics power forward Brandon Bass (30), Boston Celtics power forward Jeff Green (8), and Boston Celtics small forward Paul Pierce (34) celebrate against the New York Knicks during the second half in game five of the first round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. The Celtics won the game 92-86. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

The Boston Celtics managed to survive another game against the New York Knicks. They gave their best offensive outing in this series. The Celtics shot 50% from beyond the arch and made every single one of their 17 free throw attempts at the line.

Though the Knicks only had 8 turnovers tonight, the Celtics still managed to come out with a victory. They kept the Knicks right where they wanted them, holding them to 39.5% shooting on the night.

The Celtics kept Carmelo Anthony in check once again holding him to 22 points on 24 shots. Raymond Felton had a nice game penetrating and getting into the paint, but that wasn’t enough to offset the shooting woes of J.R Smith and Anthony.

Kevin Garnett was phenomenal once again and provided the Celtics with the rebounding touch that they needed. He had 16 points on only 9 shots and he coupled that with 18 rebounds. Jason Terry and Paul Pierce combined for 9 three pointers tonight and Terrence Williams also gave key minutes as well.

Jeff Green and Brandon Bass were key cogs tonight as well getting buckets in transition and the half court. That’s something that the Celtics have failed to do in the previous games of this series.

Now with new life, the Celtics will take the series back to Boston and try to tie it up 3-3. If they can, they’ll have a chance to make history becoming the first team to ever come back from a 3-0 deficit in NBA history.

Apr 23, 2013; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (7) is fouled by Boston Celtics center Kevin Garnett (5) in front of forward Paul Pierce (34) and guard Avery Bradley (0) and Knicks center Tyson Chandler (6) during the second quarter of game two of the first round of the 2013 NBA playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The Boston Celtics lost another game to the New York after having offensive consistency at halftime. The Celtics outscored the Knicks 48-42 at the half.  They competed on the defensive end for a majority of the night until the Knicks exploded for 32 points in the third quarter.

Carmelo made 5-6 shots in the quarter and contributed most of the offensive production for the Knicks throughout the game scoring 34 points on 11-24 shooting. Melo was also 10-11 from the free throw line complimenting what he did from the field.

Raymond Felton and J.R Smith chipped in with a combined 35 points on 30 shots. They made 15-30 shots from the field and did a lot of the creating off of the dribble for New York.

This game was all about fundamental basketball on the defensive end. The Knicks were sound when their double team’s came and rotated beautifully when the Celtics tried to swing the ball. Paul Pierce was forced into another awful night with five turnovers–he has 11 total turnovers in the series. Overall, he went 8-19 from the field and scored 19 points.

The Celtics scored 71 points on 70 total field goals. They shot 37% from the floor and only had 14 assists on the night. When you couple that with 11 turnovers you likely aren’t going to have a chance to win that game.

The Celtics did get some bench production with 19 points, but it wasn’t enough in the end. Their defense collapsed in the third quarter when Mike Woodson found a way to counter Melo being fronted when playing in the post.

Instead of having Melo come down the court and try to establish position, Woodson used him as a screener on pick and pop plays from the wing. He also had Melo run through cross screens to get him from elbow to elbow and get him open looks.

Woodson just outcoached Rivers and made the better adjustments in each game after the half. The Celtics don’t just score 48 2nd half points for no reason. There’s a method to his madness and its paying off. The Knicks will be taking a 2-0 series lead into Boston.

Jason Terry called the Orlando Magic “terrible” and they did everything to prove him right. The Celtics (41-39) got one of their easier wins of the season, defeating the Magic 120-88. The 32-point margin doesn’t even do Boston justice as to how much of a blowout it was.

The Magic (20-60) can put most of the blame on their defense, which allowed the Celtics to shoot a staggering 59.5 percent from the field, and 62.5 percent from beyond the arc. Every Boston starter scored in double-figures, but it was Courtney Lee’s 20 points off the bench that led the Celtics.

Lee may be finding his groove again, after he scored 18 in yesterday’s game against the Heat. He had been struggling since returning from an ankle injury, but has looked good in his recent extended minutes.

After sitting out last night’s game in Miami, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett responded by scoring 12 and 14 points respectively. Better yet, with the Celtics taking a commanding lead from the first quarter, Doc Rivers was able to limit the veterans’ minutes.

Garnett played just 19 minutes, while Pierce tallied 27. Terry did not play at all, as he sat out for rest.

One guy who didn’t see his minutes restricted was Jeff Green. There had been some concerns whether Green would be able to play tonight after hurting his elbow in a scary fall last night. Green showed no signs of being hampered though, scoring 17 points in 37 minutes.

This should allow fans to breathe a sigh of relief. His level of play will likely mean the difference between first round exit or deep playoff run.

While it’s been a tough year for Orlando in the win and loss column, they appear headed in the right direction, with several young pieces to build with and an upcoming top five draft pick. Tobias Harris scored 22 in the losing effort, while Nikola Vucevic recorded yet another double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds.

The win tonight has now secured the Celtics into the seventh seed in the East, and a likely playoff matchup against division rival, New York.