Friday, November 30, 2007
BOSTON (AP) — The New York Knicks’ brief winning streak is history, and the Boston Celtics nearly made history ending it.
The Celtics cruised to one of the easiest victories ever on Thursday night, beating New York 104-59 to send the Knicks to their third-worst loss and their second-worst scoring performance of the shot-clock era.
Only Nate Robinson’s 37-foot 3-pointer at the final buzzer saved the Knicks from an even bigger embarrassment.
And unlike the Boston area’s NFL team, the Celtics didn’t even try to run up the score.
Kevin Garnett played just 22 minutes, scoring eight points before leaving the game midway through the third quarter with Boston ahead 69-34. Paul Pierce and Ray Allen also sat out the fourth quarter and played 29 minutes apiece. And Rajon Rondo dribbled out 24 of the final 26 seconds, turning the ball over on purpose rather than go for a 50-point win.
The Knicks were last within 10 points with 4:11 left in the first period. They didn’t come within 20 after the Celtics took a 39-18 lead with 5:27 left in the second. Boston made it 30 points for good with 9:14 left in the third, and then extended it to 40 less than five minutes later.
Eddie House hit a 3-pointer to give Boston a 50-point lead, 93-43, with 8:53 to play in the game.