Knicks' Loss Stings Like Decade Of Misery

2010-11 was supposed to be a season of changing fortunes for the New York Knicks. And in a few meaningful ways, it has been. Playoff bound for the first time in seven seasons and with a certifiable big three to call their own, the Knicks seem to have embraced the new decade -- like fans of the new-look squad -- while distancing themselves from the relative misery and disappointment of the one just past.

But when it comes to the Boston Celtics, Monday night's 96-86 humiliating home meltdown was very much the same old story. The Celtics outscored the Bockers 33-17 in a final frame that saw both Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony all but vanish. Boston's big three of Pierce, Allen and Garnett, meanwhile, tallied 25 of their team's fourth-quarter points, as the Celtics seemed to beat the Knicks to every loose ball and critical rebound.

To say the game was a slugfest would be an understatement: Both Ray Allen and Anthony found themselves on the receiving end of errant elbows that drew literal streams of blood.

The fact that it was Melo who inadvertently caught Allen on the top of the head in the second quarter -- only to get the same from Rajon Rondo at midcourt halfway through the fourth -- imparted a karmic irony that was lost on no one, as barbs, barks and elbows were traded as much as butterfly Band-Aids in a truly heated second half.

The loss put the Knicks at .500 for the first time since Feb. 11, a 113-96 home drubbing by the Los Angeles Lakers. At that point in the season, many blamed the Knicks' woes on the incessant Anthony trade talks and the toll it was taking on team chemistry and morale. Now, with New York having dropped six of its past seven and nine of 16 since the Anthony trade, chemistry and morale are again at the heart of the conversation.

Refreshingly, both seemed intact early, as solid ball movement and the efficient shooting of Anthony (15 first-half points on 7-of-12 shooting) and Stoudemire (11 points on 5-of-8 shooting) -- combined with a shockingly staunch stretch of D that included a span of 270 seconds during which the Celtics failed to score -- helped put the Knicks up 14 at the break.

After cutting the Knicks' lead to six entering the fourth, Boston's lockdown defense and patient ball movement began to pay dividends. With Stoudemire and Anthony both looking lost and unsure, the Knicks offense crumbled steadily, mustering a measly four points in the final 7:26, and no points in the final 3:28.

Using the frenzied Garden chants as fuel down the stretch, the Celtics closed the game with a playoff-level intensity unbecoming their typical March malaise. What was a still a two-point game with 2:34 quickly mushroomed to six, then eight, then 10, in a span in which Anthony attempted exactly zero shots and Stoudemire's lone 15-foot jumper clanked off the rim.

All three Knicks-Celtics games have had a palpable playoff feel. But as the season nears the finish line, the likelihood of the first Boston-New York playoff series since 1990 is becoming more of a possibility. The surging Sixers seem poised to hold on to the sixth seed -- if not steal the fifth spot from the stumbling Atlanta Hawks -- and an equally favorable home stretch makes the Chicago Bulls' chances of landing the top seed even more likely. The Orlando Magic, meanwhile, should retain the fourth seed, which they've held for most of the season.

That leaves the enigmatic Miami Heat, who may wish to stand pat at No. 3 -- where they'd face a Philadelphia team they have yet to lose to -- rather than risk a run-in with the Knicks, who seem to have their number of late. The Knicks and Celtics will meet one more time in Boston on April 13, the last game of the regular season for both squads.

The way it's shaping up now, it could be the Knicks' final pre-playoff chance to exorcise their many demons in what will certainly have the look and feel of a de facto Game 1. Monday, they were all on display, with rebounding (44-38), turnovers (13-8), and interior defense (44 points in the paint to 28) all once again finding the Knicks holding the short end of the stat stick.

But one demon more than any other will doubtless loom larger and louder: their fourth-quarter collapse. Having been outscored by a combined 25 points in the last two final frames against their old nemesis, Stoudemire, Anthony and the rest of the Knicks should by then know better than anyone the importance of execution and smart play when it counts.

If they don't, the Celtics would certainly love nothing better than to teach them again.