The New York Knicks defeated the Boston Celtics 89-81 to take Game 1 of the 2013 NBA Playoffs' first round. Carmelo Anthony had 36 points to lead to the Knicks to victory. New York was able to battle back in a game that was probably tighter than many expected.
The Celtics simply didn't hit shots and hold on to the ball enough to get the victory. The Knicks continued to force turnover after turnover, whether stepping into passing lanes or playing tough defense and forcing travel calls, the Celtics were unable to connect with anything late in the game. When shooting, they went cold going 3-11 from the floor in the final 12 minutes of the game.
Jason Kidd was all over the floor forcing turnovers and catching the Celtics' offense on their heels. Kidd finished with eight points, had three assists, five rebounds and three steals. All in all, the Celtics finished with 21 turnovers in this game, 15 of which came via Knicks steals.
The one thing the Celtics could get credit for is hitting their free throws. They mixed up their outside shooting and penetration to the basket well, but at the end they began settling for outside shots, which they wound up missing.
At one point, the Celtics looked to have done a great job quieting the crowd and taking the lead from the Knicks. They led by seven points in the closing minutes of the third quarter as the Celtics went on an 11-1 run. The Knicks did a horrible job playing the paint and were getting burned with cuts to the basket from Celtics players.
The top scorer for the Celtics, Jeff Green dropped 26 points, though he scored 20 in the first half alone. However, because of the Knicks tough defense, the Celtics were held to a historic low, 25 points in the second half.
Had the Knicks shot better from the floor, this game could have been a blowout. The Knicks made 41 percent of their shots and shot 36 percent from three. The good news though, their defense was able to play great basketball when it mattered most.
