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NEW YORK -- Boston Celtics reserve guard Jordan Crawford instigated a postgame flare-up by jawing at New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony after Boston's Game 5 triumph over New York on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.

Crawford could be seen shouting at Anthony as the two teams crossed paths on their way off the floor following Boston's 92-86 win in an Eastern Conference first-round series. Celtics reserve D.J. White initially stepped in to move Crawford along, but tempers flared when Raymond Felton approached in defense of his teammate. Players, coaches and security from both sides stepped in to defuse the situation.

For his part, Anthony said, "I'm not thinking about no Jordan Crawford. Not at this point in time, I'll tell you that. I don't think he deserves for you to be typing [his name] right now."

Anthony had a much-publicized postgame run-in with Kevin Garnett during a regular-season game here in January. Crawford could have stoked that fire with his postgame comments.

Neither Crawford nor White cared to elaborate on the matter, but Terrence Williams, who tried to play peacemaker by bearhugging an angered Felton, downplayed the situation.

"If you watch the replay, I was just the guy to try to separate the teams, I don't know what happened," Williams said. "I was talking to [assistant coach Ty Lue], then I just turned around to see guys pushing and I don't know. I don't know how that started. The good thing is no punches and all that. And we'll see them on Friday."

Celtics coach Doc Rivers said he didn't see what happened, but wasn't thrilled with it, either (though it did afford him the chance to playfully jab former Knicks teammate -- and occasional pugilist -- John Starks).

"I wasn't happy with it," Rivers said. "[Knicks coach Mike Woodson] wasn't happy with it. Let's play basketball. Let's play real physical basketball and let's walk off the floor. I don't know what happened. I'm glad Starks wasn't there."

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NEW YORK -- To truly understand the significance of Terrence Williams logging valuable (nay, critical) floor time in the Boston Celtics' Game 5 triumph over the New York Knicks on Wednesday night, you have to understand just how far he's come since joining the team.

During his Boston debut in late February in Los Angeles, Williams committed a double-dribble, the sort of elementary miscue that typically rears its head in youth basketball games. Fast-forward two months and here is Williams on the NBA's playoff stage, being called upon to be a steadying presence for a Celtics team devoid of a pure ball-handler.

"When I came back from China, I was at home for probably 2½ weeks, I didn't touch a basketball when I was at home," said Williams, the former lottery pick (11th overall, 2009 draft) who signed with the Guangdong Southern Tigers at the start of the 2012-13 season with no viable NBA option.

"Let's be honest, I ran, but I didn't touch a basketball. I don't know if you guys remember, I played in the Lakers game and I double-dribbled because I wasn't used to dribbling the ball again. That's why I carry my ball everywhere now. That's how it happened."

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NEW YORK -- Analysis from the Boston Celtics' 92-86 defeat of the New York Knicks in Game 5 of an Eastern Conference first-round series on Wednesday evening at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks lead the series 3-2:

The nitty gritty: Jeff Green scored a team-high 18 points to pace five Celtics players in double figures, including Jason Terry with 17 points (five 3-pointers) off the bench and Paul Pierce with 16 points after overcoming early struggles. Kevin Garnett finished with 16 points and a team-high 18 rebounds. Carmelo Anthony scored a game-high 22 points on 8-of-24 shooting, while Raymond Felton added 21 points, six rebounds and four assists. J.R. Smith, back after a one-game suspension for elbowing Terry in Game 3, was a nonfactor for much of the night (and maybe even a liability) as he missed his first 10 shots. Smith finished with 14 points on 3-of-14 shooting after hitting a trio of late-game triples.

Turning point: In a one-possession game midway through the third quarter, the Celtics embarked on a 16-4 run spanning into the fourth frame. Pierce and Terry hit 3-pointers late in the third as Boston stretched its lead to nine, but the Celtics opened the fourth on a 6-0 burst that culminated with a vicious one-handed flush by Green that pushed the Celtics out front 75-60 with 9:05 to go. A feverish late-game rally saw the Knicks pull within five (88-83) with 65 seconds to play, but Garnett hit a tough jumper to help fend them off.

I'm still standing: The Celtics reserves typically stand until Boston's first made basket of the game. Still standing four-plus minutes in as the Knicks built an 11-0 run, the backups settled for when Brandon Bass -- the early hero of the game for Boston -- made a free throw to break up the shutout with 7:32 to play in the first quarter. The Celtics managed to trim their deficit to two at the end of the frame, and a more inspired second quarter had them up six at halftime as the momentum swung in their favor.

Technical difficulties: Smith and Terry -- involved in the Game 3 dust-up that got Smith ejected and later suspended for Game 4 for a flagrant foul 2 elbow -- renewed pleasantries and were assessed double technicals with 6:45 to play in the game. Earlier in the game, referees initially assessed Kenyon Martin with a flagrant foul for hammering Garnett. Upon video review, it was downgraded to a personal foul.

What it means:
Well, we appear to have a series again. With their backs to the wall after losing the first three games, the Celtics responded with back-to-back wins. As Doc Rivers will certainly point out now, this is as close as a series can be after five games. Boston has to like its chances of evening things up when the series returns to Boston for Game 6 on Friday night at TD Garden. But it's still an uphill climb for the Celtics and one that will require winning in New York again on Sunday if they can force a Game 7. But Boston is playing with renewed confidence after these two wins and has put New York on its heels.

NEW YORK -- Following the advice of veteran center Kenyon Martin to wear funeral attire, the New York Knicks arrived at Madison Square Garden with most players decked out head to toe in black suits before Game 5 of an Eastern Conference first-round series with the Boston Celtics.

Informed of their coordinated efforts to wear all black, Celtics coach Doc Rivers quipped about his own attire, "Me, too."

The Celtics had already downplayed the Knicks' plan earlier in the day at shootaround with Paul Pierce noting, "This is basketball. I'm not going to be dead after the game." And Kevin Garnett said he had not paid any attention to New York's "shenanigans."

Many of the Knicks wore all black to Sunday's Game 4 and the Celtics avoided the sweep with a win at TD Garden. With his team still facing an uphill climb with the Knicks owning a 3-1 series advantage, Rivers said his message to his team was simple.

"Win. Really, I don’t think you need to get deep when you’re down, you just want to make sure everybody wants to win," said Rivers. "Like I said before the last game, seventh games are easy; everybody wants to win a Game 7. I’ve always thought, not everybody wants to win when you’re down 3-0 or 3-1. You just want the right guys to want to win. That’s what we have to be; we’ll be ready."

Asked if he thought any team would rally from a 3-0 hole, Rivers said he wouldn't mind his team being the first.

"I think that would be wonderful," said Rivers. "Someone’s going to do it. And I want it to be us, obviously, since that’s the situation we are in. But someone will do it. I really want to be a part of that."

As for what he's seen on film that has hurt his team, Rivers offered, "The clear thing that is obvious is when we start turning the ball over, and, in that stretch, give up offensive rebounds, then force shots, we usually lose leads or get down further. And that’s been pretty much obvious to anybody this year."

The Boston Celtics visit the New York Knicks on Wednesday night in Game 5 of an Eastern Conference first-round series at Madison Square Garden (7 p.m., TNT). The Knicks lead the series, 3-1. Here's what to watch for:

* WINNING ON THE ROAD: Back in a hostile New York environment, the Celtics know the Knicks will be searching for an early knockout punch on their home turf. "We just have to come out ready to play," said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. "They are at home, they are going to try to feed off their crowd and all that. But at the end of the day, it's going to be between the lines. And it's going to be what they do, it's not going to be what anybody out in the crowd says or does. It's going to be between the lines." Echoed captain Paul Pierce: "They're going to amped up, their crowd is going to be emotionally into it. They feel like they've got an opportunity here at home, so I think that's going to be the early focus, is to withstand their early run. We know that we're going to take hits, but we've got to be able to hit back in the early stages, and we've got to maintain that through the four quarters."

* J.R. IS BACK: The Celtics took advantage of the absence of J.R. Smith during Sunday's Game 4 victory, but he's back after a one-game suspension for elbowing Jason Terry. Asked what kind of impact he expects Smith's return to have on New York, Terry said, "Hopefully none. If he comes out here and gets hot early, then it's going to be a long night for us. I'm looking forward to the challenge, as are my teammates." Smith, the league's Sixth Man of the Year, is averaging 16.3 points on 43.5 percent shooting in three games this series.

* IGNORE THE NOISE: From Smith's brash prediction that this series would be over if he had played in Game 4, to Kenyon Martin telling his teammates to wear funeral attire, Celtics center Kevin Garnett said he's tried to ignore all the noise. "I have not paid attention to none of the shenanigans," said Garnett. Pierce downplayed Martin's fashion advice, noting, "This is basketball. I'm not going to be dead after the game."

* ONE POSSESSION AT A TIME: Rivers has preached a one-game-at-a-time philosophy after his team lost the first three games. But now he's stressing an even narrower focus: One possession at a time. "Really, I think that's what you should do every game," said Rivers. "Obviously, it's easier to do in the playoffs, because you do have single-game focus. But I do think, to be really great, you have to get to not only one quarter, but one possession at a time. And play forward, and not play in reverse. I think that's where players get lost -- if they have a couple bad possessions and they are thinking about that, or thinking about the last game and the team made a run on them. You can't do that. It's hard, but you just can't. You have to play to the next possession, then the next possession, then the next possession. And that's difficult to do, but it's what you have to do."

NEW YORK -- Boston Celtics captain Paul Pierce said he hasn't spent too much time pondering his future, but with his team fighting to keep its season alive, he acknowledged a murky summer lies ahead.

One thing Pierce knows for sure is that he wants to play at least one more season and he'll examine his future from there. The question is whether he'll be back in Boston for the 2013-14 campaign.

Pierce is scheduled to make $15.3 million in the final year of a four-year, $61.3 million extension inked in 2010. But only $5 million of that is guaranteed, which makes it no guarantee the Celtics bring him back for a 16th season with the team. Boston could also ponder using its amnesty clause if it desired to initiate a roster makeover.

"Truthfully, I haven't put too much thought into [the future]," Pierce said at the team's morning shootaround at Madison Square Garden. The Celtics and Knicks clash in Game 5 of an Eastern Conference first-round series on Wednesday night.

"The organization is going to do what they're going to do. There's nothing that's stressing me out. That's what it is. Every year they've got decisions to make and those are their decisions. So I'll leave it to them."

Pierce said he'll take a hands-off approach with Boston's decision and is at peace with whatever his future holds.

"I've always been a guy that said, 'Things happen for a reason,'" said Pierce. "I was the No. 10 pick [in the 1998 draft], I didn't anticipate that. I've just always felt like, throughout my whole career, everything is going to fall into the right place for me. So I don't really put much thought into after the season. But I know at the end of the day, whatever they do, whatever I do, it's going to fall in the right place for me."

Pierce reaffirmed a desire to play his entire career in Boston and said it's likely that -- one way or another -- he'll finish his career in green.

"Well, I always said I want to end my career as a Celtic," said Pierce. "But they're the ones -- I have a contract for next year, but it's not guaranteed. So the decision is in their hands. Whatever decisions they make, maybe if they trade me somewhere or I end up somewhere else, maybe it can be a situation where I come back for a one-day deal and retire a Celtic."

Pierce's more immediate focus is on Game 5. Boston staved off elimination by winning Game 4 at TD Garden, but the Celtics know New York, which owns a 3-1 series lead, will be looking for a knockout punch Wednesday night on its home turf.

"They're going to amped up, their crowd, they're going to be emotionally into it," said Pierce. "They feel like they've got an opportunity here at home, so I think that's going to be the early focus, to withstand their early run. We know that we're going to take hits, but we've got to be able to hit back in the early stages, and we've got to maintain that through the four quarters."

With the Celtics' season on the brink, Kevin Garnett is battling age as much as the Knicks:


And a look at how the C's responded to former teammate Jason Collins' revelation that he is gay:

WALTHAM, Mass. -- A handful of practice leftovers after the Boston Celtics met with the media on Tuesday before a morning session and afternoon flight to New York in advance of Wednesday's Game 5 of an Eastern Conference first-round series against the Knicks:

* C'S ARE COLORBLIND: Informed that Kenyon Martin told his teammates to wear "funeral colors" to Wednesday's Game 5, Jason Terry brushed off the suggestion that Boston's season will end then. "That's good. I thought they wore that last game, too," said Terry. "I mean, for us, it doesn't change. Whether they wear white, pink, blue, black, green -- it's Game 7 for us. So we know what mindset we have to be in and if you lose you're going home. That's what it is."

* KG NOT THINKING ABOUT HIS FUTURE: Asked if he had considered that Wednesday's Game 5 could be his last NBA game, Kevin Garnett said retirement isn't on his mind at the moment. "I'm thinking about the game Wednesday and pretty much that. I haven't thought about post, after -- I'm focusing on what it's going to take to get to the next game."

* FAITH IN BASS: Celtics coach Doc Rivers said it was Brandon Bass' success guarding LeBron James during the Eastern Conference finals last season that gave him the confidence to put him on Carmelo Anthony in this series. And why has he been so successful, particularly on the perimeter? "[Bass] has a lot of size. Shooting over size, I jokingly said in 2009 or 2010, one of those years we were playing the Lakers, we were getting a lot of wide-open shots, why are we missing them? And then you watch the film, a lot of 7-footers are standing in front of them and you have to shoot over them, and, even though it’s not a tight, contested shot, it’s still a 7-footer. In Brandon’s case, he’s not that, but he’s bigger than guys that normally guard Melo."

* EYE-OPENING PERFORMANCE? Asked if he thought the league might take notice of his play, particularly given his exploits this round against the Knicks, Jeff Green offered, "I hope so. I’ve been working hard. The playoffs are where players are made. Hopefully people are starting to take notice of what I can do. I mean, I know what I can do. I don’t care what other people think. It doesn’t matter to me. I’m just trying to win games and win for my team."

GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- J.R. Smith thinks the New York Knicks would have swept the Boston Celtics if he had been playing in Game 4 of the division rivals' playoff series.

"Oh yeah, it would've been over," Smith said after Tuesday's practice. "I'd have been playing golf today."

The NBA suspended Smith for Game 4 after the star guard threw an elbow at Jason Terry's chin late in Game 3.

Smith watched on television Sunday as the Celtics defeated the Knicks, 97-90, in overtime to avoid elimination and extend the series. Smith also watched Terry score nine points in overtime.

Asked about Terry on Tuesday, Smith said, "Who? I don't even know who that is."

The Knicks' bench scored just seven points in the loss, a clear indication that they were hurt by Smith's absence. Carmelo Anthony shot just 10-for-35 and seemed to miss Smith, who draws attention from opposing defenders.

"It was very tough to watch," Smith said. "Especially that first half. I mean, from the turnovers to missing shots. ... It wasn't the easiest thing ever.

"I wasn't pleased with it. My teammates wasn't either. I'll get the chance to make up for it tomorrow."

WALTHAM, Mass. -- The Celtics still have a ways to go before they hope to force a Game 7, but the team is taking a winner-take-all mindset to Wednesday night’s Game 5 against the Knicks in New York.

"Like I told them, what’s the difference between being down 0-3 and being in a Game 7?" asked coach Doc Rivers, whose team is down 3-1 in the Eastern Conference quarterfinal series and is facing elimination for the second straight game. "It’s no different. It’s an elimination game. The difference is your mindset. In a Game 7 you’re thinking, 'Let’s win it to win it.' When you’re down 0-3, you never know. You may have a couple guys making vacation plans, thinking you can’t do it. It’s all about the mindset. And that’s what I told our guys before the game the other night and that will be the message still. Each game you win, it is a Game 7. If you advance, you just advance to another game instead of to the next round. That’s got to be our mindset.

The team stressed the importance of consistency and execution heading into Game 5, but also the sense of urgency that will be needed to prolong the series.

"It's more about us and how we approach the game," Jason Terry said before Tuesday’s practice. "We've got to come out, again, Game 7. It's every possession, it's every shot, it's every defensive stop. I mean, it means that much. And so if you come in with that approach, you're going to put yourself in a position to win."

Added Kevin Garnett: "You know, Game 7s are all out. It's just what they are. They're your last opportunity to survive and your mentality can't be anything different. ... We have no pressure at this point. It should be an all-out mentality and you should play with a free mind and an aggressive mind and take this thing one game at a time and see what happens. Other than that, we put (ourselves) in this position. Can't (complain) about too much."

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The Boston Celtics are asking Avery Bradley to be something that he's not and he hasn't been himself on the court because of it:


And a look at offday headlines from our friends at ESPN New York:

Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers released the following statement on Jason Collins, who revealed in Sports Illustrated that he is gay:

"I am extremely happy and proud of Jason Collins. He’s a pro’s pro. He is the consummate professional and he is one of my favorite “team” players I have ever coached. If you have learned anything from Jackie Robinson, it is that teammates are always the first to accept. It will be society who has to learn tolerance. One of my favorite sayings is, 'I am who I am, are whom we are, can be what I want to be it's not up to you, it’s just me being me.'"

Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers despised the idea of trading away Jason Collins when his team moved him at the February trade deadline, but with a glaring need for a bench scorer, Collins became a necessary inclusion in a swap for the Washington Wizards' Jordan Crawford.

When Collins returned to Boston in early April as a member of the Wizards, Rivers showered him with praise noting, "He’s just honest. And he’s honest with the coaching staff, with what he sees, but he’s honest with players. Player will complain about something, he’ll tell them the truth and a lot of guys don’t want to hear the truth."

Jason Collins told the truth in the May 6 issue of Sports Illustrated when he penned a first-person article announcing that he is gay. From SI:

I'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay. I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport. But since I am, I'm happy to start the conversation. I wish I wasn't the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, "I'm different." If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I'm raising my hand.

Rivers on Monday applauded the announcement.

"I am extremely happy and proud of Jason Collins," he said in a statement released by the team. "He’s a pro’s pro. He is the consummate professional and he is one of my favorite 'team' players I have ever coached. If you have learned anything from Jackie Robinson, it is that teammates are always the first to accept. It will be society who has to learn tolerance. One of my favorite sayings is, 'I am who I am, are whom we are, can be what I want to be it's not up to you, it’s just me being me.'"

Signed to a one-year, veteran-minimum contract last summer, Collins appeared in 32 games for Boston, including seven starts. The biggest number in his stat line was his fouls per game (2.3) and he averaged 1.2 points and 1.6 rebounds over 10.3 minutes per contest.

The Celtics had hoped to retain Collins, but Chris Wilcox used his impending Bird Rights to veto a deal that would have sent him and Leandro Barbosa to Washington in exchange for Crawford. With really no other option, Boston reluctantly sent Collins instead of Wilcox.

On the day of the swap, Rivers said, "Let me just say this: We lost a very important guy in our locker room in Jason. You take away that, and then you add something else. You just never know with your locker room. That was difficult for me. Because... I protect my locker room. To let a guy go like that out of your locker room, for me, that was hard to do. Really hard. And honestly, if Barbosa doesn’t go down, it wouldn’t have happened. But he did go down, and we had to do something."

Before that April visit, Rivers continued to praise Collins, whose twin brother Jarron played with him at Stanford and was drafted in the same class.

"He literally is one of the best -- I’ve said it before -- he’s one of the best guys I’ve ever had in the locker room, player or coach. He is," said Rivers. "It’s funny, I didn’t know him very well until we got him, I literally didn’t. I used to call the two twins, I just called them the same name -- Jason -- both of them because I didn’t know which one was which. He’s just good. He’s a good guy and what he says is the truth."

In his essay in Sports Illustrated, Collins said the recent marathon bombings impacted his decision to come out.

The recent Boston Marathon bombing reinforced the notion that I shouldn't wait for the circumstances of my coming out to be perfect. Things can change in an instant, so why not live truthfully? When I told [former Stanford roommate and current Massachusetts congressman] Joe [Kennedy] a few weeks ago that I was gay, he was grateful that I trusted him. He asked me to join him [at Boston's Gay Pride Parade] in 2013. We'll be marching on June 8.

Ironically, two days after he gushed about Collins in that visit from the Wizards, Rivers was asked what would happen when a current professional athlete came out amidst news that four NFL players were considering doing such as a group.

“Nothing. I really don’t think anything," said Rivers. "I think it’ll be a lot of talk about it and then I think it’ll go away. It’s funny, we, as a team, I took the team to see '42’ yesterday and, there was a lot of talk, and then all of a sudden everybody started playing. And I think the same thing will happen. So that’s the way I look at it."

Celtics captain Paul Pierce was not willing to accept a series sweep and Jason Terry helped him keep Boston's season alive:


And a look at how things are playing at ESPN New York:

BOSTON -- Kevin Garnett probably didn't understand the gravity of his statement. Neither did Paul Pierce.

Not long after Pierce admitted the Celtics sometimes forget about Garnett on the offensive end, Garnett emerged from the training room and stressed that getting shots on offense isn't what's needed from him.

Really?

That is, frankly, ludicrous for a team that's been as anemic on offense as Boston has been for the majority of its Eastern Conference first-round playoff series with the New York Knicks. But for 17 vital minutes of Boston's 97-90 overtime victory in Game 4 on Sunday, it went out the window, as Garnett suddenly emerged as a needed factor on offense and helped propel Boston back into the series.

Garnett finished Sunday's win with 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting, but seven of those came in the fourth quarter and overtime, amid a stretch when Boston's offense once again imploded and the Knicks rallied from a deficit that was as high as 20.

"That's what Kevin has been bringing us when he's out there, when he's not in foul trouble," Pierce said. "But I thought we did a better job of making an effort to go to him. Sometimes we forget about him in the offense, we get too perimeter-oriented taking a lot of jump shots. But Kevin, he's our bread and butter down in the post and we've got to give it to him and play inside-out. Most of the time when we get the ball to Kevin, good things are going to happen."

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