BOB RYAN
Loss aside, New York passes test
By Bob Ryan
Globe Columnist / December 16, 2010
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The Knicks are flat-out fun. They can shoot, and they can really spread the floor. Had Stoudemire’s shot been ruled good,
he would have been the sixth Knick to hit a 3-pointer in this one. As for Felton, going from Larry Brown in Charlotte to
Mike D’Antoni in New York has had the effect of springing the ex-North Carolina star from offensive incarceration. This
guy was born to run, not walk the ball up the floor.

And believe everything you’ve been reading and hearing about Stoudemire. He is now a consummate inside-outside threat who
has had more than 30 points in each of his last nine games, and whose 39 were the most deposited on the Celtics this season.
The only Celtic who had any remote success handling him was the wily Kevin Garnett, but special props go to Pierce, who got
in front of Stoudemire to help thwart a 4-footer that would have given New York its own 118-116 lead with 12.2 seconds to go.

On the ensuing possession, Doc Rivers called for the obvious: a clear-out for Pierce. He found himself guarded by Stoudemire,
who is a good 3 inches taller. But if you’d like to see textbook execution of a jab step and fallaway jumper, check out this
one. Pierce’s 15-footer from the right wing slid through the cords with 0.4 remaining.

Stoudemire took the throw-in from rookie Landry Fields and got off an impressive shot of his own. It would have represented
classic one-upmanship, but there was no way he could catch and shoot in the required time, although it was surely very close.

The loss hurts, of course, but the Knicks had plenty to hang their hats on coming out of this one. They made Boston empty just
about every bullet in the chamber in order to get the W. Pierce reached deep into his bag of tricks to score 32. Allen hit 4 of 5
threes. They needed a 35-point fourth quarter. The Celtics were even a dazzling 21 for 21 from the foul line.

The Knicks made the Celtics dig very deep to bag this one. The score doesn’t lie: This was an old-fashioned NBA game showcasing
extraordinary offensive skill, the kind of entertainment spectacle that made the league great before the game was hijacked by the
fraidy-cat coaches who were happier when their team did not have the ball than when it did.

Happily, D’Antoni is the polar opposite of those coaches. His Knicks will make it or break it on their own terms. They will be
offensively aggressive and will dare you to match them.

“I think we take away a lot,’’ he said. “I told the guys we had 50, 60 more games left, and this was a test. I thought we matched
them point for point. We just have to get a little better.’’

If this was indeed a Preview of Coming Atlantic Division Attractions, the good news for Rivers is that, unlike last year, his club
will have a little healthy competition. There will be no 27-27 sleepwalk to the finish line this year.

Competition is good. Competition is the American Way. Hey, Knicks, welcome to the race.

NEW YORK -- The look on Amar'e Stoudemire's face was unmistakable, that blank how-did-I-miss-that stare that only appears when you rim off a gimme. For four quarters, the Celtics and Knicks traded haymakers, a 48-minute exchange Kevin Garnett branded "a good backyard scuffle." And, in the waning moments, Stoudemire was given an opening to land the knockout blow. With the game tied and 15 seconds on the clock, Stoudemire found himself with the ball in the lane, four feet from the rim and only the 6-foot-7 Paul Pierce standing in his way. He turned, elevated and released.

And missed.

The rest, as they say, is history. On the next possession, Paul Pierce iced the game for Boston with a jumper that cut through the net with just 0.4 on the clock, the same go-right, step back jump shot the Knicks coaches warned their players to be mindful of before the game. Stoudemire tacked on a double dose of drama to the ending when he buried a 26-foot bomb, only to have it taken off the board after a quick replay showed him releasing it after time expired.

As the Celtics celebrated their 118-116 win, Knicks players slumped their shoulders, despondent. But should they be? They had just stood toe-to-toe with Boston -- an early season title favorite and winners of 11 straight now -- and came within a stunning Stoudemire miss and a fraction of a second from winning. Indeed, lost in the constant Carmelo Anthony watch in Manhattan is one inescapable fact: This Knicks team is already pretty good.

It all starts with Stoudemire. His 39-point outburst against Boston was his ninth straight 30-plus point effort, a franchise record that seems to have no end in sight. Stoudemire's assaults on the rim are what make SportsCenter but it's the maturation of his game that is most impressive. His scoring numbers are at a career high, but so are his assists. He is a terror in the paint, but he has grown so comfortable with his outside shot that he is averaging career highs in attempts from 10-15 feet (2.3) and 16-23 feet (4.3). The Celtics dispatched waves of defenders at Stoudemire on Wednesday, each with little effect.

Said Paul Pierce, "Amar'e was hitting tough shots over [us] all night."

And Stoudemire has had plenty of help. The words "Wilson Chandler" and "trade" shared many sentences in the first month of the season. That was then. Now, Chandler is an indispensable starter, a versatile defender who has become a nightmare for opponents to match up with.

There is Danilo Gallinari, whose confidence grows by the day. Or the half. Gallinari was scoreless in the first half against Boston. He finished with 20.

There is Landry Fields, the Knicks second-round draft steal who has blended seamlessly into coach Mike D'Antoni's system and never takes off a play. There is Ronny Turiaf, whose energy the Knicks seem to feed off.

And then there is Raymond Felton, the portly point guard who was deemed expendable by Charlotte and snatched up in the Knicks post-LeBron spending spree. Unshackled from Larry Brown's controlling hand, Felton has thrived. He ranks third among NBA guards in double-doubles, a number that swelled to 12 after Felton's 26-point, 14-assist output.

On a team that has long lacked confidence, Felton oozes it out of his pores. Stoudemire may be the face of these Knicks, but Felton is its voice.

"Real basketball players and people who understand the game know we have a good team and we can play with anybody when we play our game," Felton said. "We play the same teams everyone else plays and I feel this team can play with anyone in this league."

It's an opinion that's hard to argue with. Sure, the Knicks inflated their record by beating up on the likes of Detroit, New Jersey, Minnesota and Washington. But they outplayed Denver on Sunday and very nearly tripped up Boston. Miami comes to town Friday and you will be hard-pressed to find anyone who think the white-hot Heat are going to roll.

These Knicks, these Carmelo-less Knicks, are for real. They are young, hungry and have a winning-starved fan base emphatically behind them. The team has suddenly given the city a reason to watch. As two middle-aged men headed toward the exits Wednesday, the emotion was palpable in their voice.

"Great game," one said.

"Great?" said the other. "That was the best game I've seen in my life."

martin wrote:

Vmart wrote:The Knicks lost at home. Sorry guys but that is the bottom line. There is no silver lining.

Word, Knicks shouldnt even show up Friday, they gonna lose anyway.

I didn't say that did I.

Vmart wrote:The Knicks lost at home. Sorry guys but that is the bottom line. There is no silver lining.

Yeah, so we should just lay back, grab our legs and pull them up real high, so LeDouche and the Heat can apply lubrication and rape our arses.

Dude, can't you see ANYTHING positive in last night's game? Dang, that was freakin awesome, yet for you it's just another L?

nixluva wrote:...This was actually a true moral victory, cuz to a man the team is even more confident after that game and the rest of the league including the Celtics gained respect for this team.

Word. W or L, this one will only serve to enhance the team's confidence and chemistry.

Vmart wrote:The Knicks lost at home. Sorry guys but that is the bottom line. There is no silver lining.

Exactly, for some reason, im just really piss off we lost that game, we couldn't make a single stop in like 7 staight possesions in the 4th..there wasn't a large dissparity in any of the stats, but BC made all of there FT's and got 3 really tough offensive rebounds to edge us by 4 in that dept.

How many times have PP taking a shot like that to beat us, especially in the MDA era...Now I am aware that the coaching staff warned them about the same shot, yet they went for the old fasion switch, and got burned..I kid you not when I sat in my living room a called the play out right before it happen. All i could do is SMH in disgust, thats why I don't understand why people say defense wins game, then turn around and say great defense (which amare did play) but even better offense.

And I'll defend the moral victory. I honestly believe that close loss at Denver jump-started this team in some way. They realized they could compete with the best in the league in their own gyms and then reeled off that great streak. No reason to think that can't happen after last night's gut punch.

martin wrote:

Vmart wrote:

martin wrote:

Vmart wrote:The Knicks lost at home. Sorry guys but that is the bottom line. There is no silver lining.

Word, Knicks shouldnt even show up Friday, they gonna lose anyway.

I didn't say that did I.

Here's the thing: If there is even .3 more seconds on the clock, the Knicks win. And they wouldn't have played an once differently the entire game. Why would that have changed the silver lining?

All you are talking about is standings and not focusing on anything that happens within the game itself.

Martin to be fair all your see is the last second shot by Amare and saying if there was more time. You remember the Titans-Rams super bowl. I'm sure the Titans wished for more time. The point is it should never of come to that point where Amare had to bail the Knicks out with any last second shot they had a lead and lost the lead. They couldn't stop the celtics. If the team can't up the defense in the last few minutes of the game at home. Big teams are gonna have their way with the Knicks. Celtics just used the solution that has been rearing its ugly head again and again that interior players can get whatever they want vs the Knicks.

I like the direction that the Knicks are going in, I love the winning, but I see trouble in that the Knicks can't stop the interior play of opposing teams that kills any silver lining for me. We got outscored in the 4th quarter. KG was able to get he ball a couple of feet from the basket on numerous possessions. There were no adjustment on defense. When you have a lead going into the 4th and lose its not a good loss anyway you look at it.