NBA -- Boston avoides sweep with Game 4 OT squeaker
By Homer D. Sayson
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 29 Apr 2013
CHICAGO -- The New York Knicks' march to the second round of the NBA playoffs will have to wait at least another game as the Boston Celtics narrowly avoided a first round sweep by scoring a thrilling 97-90 overtime victory Sunday after noon at the T.D. Boston Garden.
The Knicks charged back from a 59-39 third quarter deficit to force overtime but they ran out of steam in the extra session as Jason Terry scored nine straight points as the Celtics pulled away late and sliced their best-of-7 series deficit to 3-1. The Knicks can settle the issue on Game 5 Wednesday night at the Madison Square Garden.
In staving off elimination, the Celtics got a huge lift from their reliable veterans, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. Pierce dropped 29 points, eight rebounds and six assists while KG had 13 and 17 rebounds. Small forward Jeff Green added 26 and Terry had 18 for Boston, which shot 44.7 percent from the field and got hammered off the boards, 54-40.
"We wanted to survive. This is the position we put ourselves in. To continue to play, we've got to continue to win. That's what its all about, Garnett told NBA.com. No team in the history of the NBA playoffs has ever come back from an 0-3 hole to win a series.
Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks with 36 points, but he missed a bundle of shots, 25-of-35. Raymond Felton finished with 27 including 23 in the third quarter where the Knicks went on a 30-14 tear. Iman Shumpert also chipped in 12 for New York.
The Knicks played without Sixth Man of the Year winner J.R. Smith, who served a one-game suspension for a fladrant 2 foul on Jason Terry during the Knicks' Game 3 triumph Friday night. (Homer D. Sayson)
Photo: Paul Pierce (R) and the Boston Celtics lived to fight another day, beating the Knicks in Game 4 at the TD Garden.
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