Carmelo Anthony scored 28 points as the New York Knicks ended their 11-game losing streak in Boston by registering a 89086 victory over the Celtics.
The game saw Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Garnett facing each other for the first time after the verbal clash, which led to Anthony being suspended for one game.
"No grudges between me and KG. Whatever happened, happened," the Associated Press quoted Anthony as saying. "We spoke about it and it's over."
It was the 27th game in a row in which Anthony scored 20 or more points. He is behind only Richie Guerin (29 )and Patrick Ewing (28) in franchise history.
"He responded exactly like he was supposed to," Knicks center Tyson Chandler said. "The best way to get back is by getting a victory, especially in a place where we haven't won in a long time."
For the Knicks, Amar'e Stoudemire added 15 points and nine rebounds, while Jason Kidd had 12 points. Iman Shumpert finished with 10 points and five rebounds.
For the Celtics, Rajon Rondo scored his fourth triple-double of the season by adding 23 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and 11 assists. Paul Pierce had 22 points and six rebounds while Garnett contributed eight points and 12 rebounds.
New York out-rebounded Boston 49-46. The Knicks hit eight 3-pointers in the game, whereas the Celtics had only three. The game saw a total of 17 lead changes, but there was none in the final quarter.
"When you need buckets, when the game is tight, you can't turn the ball over," Pierce said. "That's what we did down the stretch."
Boston got off to a good start as they scored 24 points in the first quarter while their defense stopped the Knicks at 20 to take a four-point lead in the game.
New York bounced back by outscoring the Celtics 30-24 in the second quarter for a two-point halftime lead.
Jeff Green made a 3-pointer with 2:22 remaining in the third quarter to put the Celtics in the lead position 66-65. However, with the help of Tyson Chandler's three-point play, the Knicks ended the third quarter with a 72-66 lead.
"We gave them a 10-point lead (80-70)," Rondo said. "You're fighting back the entire fourth quarter."
New York extended their lead to 84-76 in the beginning of the fourth quarter. Garnett and Rondo completed three baskets together to cut the Knicks' lead to two points.
Then Kidd missed a shot from beyond the 3-point arc with 14 seconds remaining. Boston's Pierce could not control the ball while receiving a pass with just 7.1 seconds remaining in the game.
"The play was broken up and I tried to flash to the ball," Pierce said. "Really (I) didn't get a good hand on it."
The Knicks' defense limited the Celtics to 17 while their offense finished with 20 points in the fourth quarter to win the game by three points.
"What we did defensively was great," Stoudemire said. "Garnett didn't score well. Paul didn't really have a huge game scoring."
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