The Boston Celtics staved off a sweep Sunday afternoon against the New York Knicks, winning a tough game in overtime 97-90, over a Knicks team without suspended Sixth Man of the Year J.R. Smith.
Smith was suspended for one game after committing a flagrant 2 foul on Jason Terry in the fourth quarter of Game 3. With Terry guarding him very tight, Smith flung an elbow his way that earned the ejection and suspension. With Smith out, Carmelo Anthony, the league's leading scorer, took it upon himself to shoot even more than usual.
Anthony launched 35 shots but only made 10 of them. He still wound up with 35 points though, due to frequent trips to the free throw line where he went 16-of-20. Knicks point guard Raymond Felton did a reasonable Smith impression, giving his team 21 points on 10-of-21 shooting, including several spectacular shots that drew a reaction even from the tough Boston Garden crowd.
The efforts of Anthony and Felton were not enough to stop Paul Pierce's turn-back-the-clock performance though. Pierce scored 29 points to go with eight rebounds and six assists in a do-or-die Game 4. "We established our defense and we made shots," Pierce said. "I thought it really gave us confidence when we got out to the fast start because our offense has really been struggling."
Jason Terry had a nice day as well, including major shots in overtime. Terry scored 18 points in 41 minutes, but said getting elbowed was not the prime catalyst for his big game. "It wasn't really the elbow," he said. "It was more (like) this is it. I mean, the season's over. You can leave it all out here tonight and go home for a long summer or you can live to play another day."
The Knicks will return to New York for Game 5, which will take place Tuesday at Madison Square Garden, and Smith will be back in action.
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