Celtics Drain Knicks of Life, Blood, and the Pursuit of Happiness

March 21, 2011 | 11:03pm

Blood came pouring out of the heads of Ray Allen, Troy Murphy, and Carmelo Anthony throughout the game, but in the end, the only deep gash left uncovered was the one made by Paul Pierce to the contingent of Knicks fans at the World’s Most Famous Arena. His dagger, with 55 seconds left, put the Celtics up six and clinched the win.

What made this loss most difficult to swallow was, just like against the Celtics back in December, the Knicks had this game in their grasps for three and a half quarters, only to blow it when it mattered most.

For all the negatives you’ll hear after the game, there were a tremendous amount of hustle, caring, and all-around good ball played from minute one to somewhere around the middle of the fourth quarter. Right or wrong, that much will go under the rug because the Knicks blew it in the end.

The Knicks only allowed 15 points in the second quarter and constantly played “smart defense”, like leaving the inconsistent shooter in Rajon Rondo wide open. Ronny Turiaf added some hustle with 11 points and four blocks. The team also managed to hold the Celtics (and Ray Allen) to an awful 1-10 shooting from the perimeter.

However one thing jumps off the page when looking at the box score: the game was won and lost in the paint. As much as you’d like to criticize Mike D’Antoni for not calling a timeout here or there, realize that the Knicks were outrebounded 48-38 and allowed 44 points in the paint. How much exactly can a coach do about that?

In the end, it was the Celtics talent that took over, as the more experienced bunch of players won. Kevin Garnett was simply better the Amar’e Stoudemire in the fourth quarter. Nothing more decided this game when push came to shove.