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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.

BOSTON -- Set to return to action on Wednesday night, Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo again downplayed the bump that led to his one-game suspension earlier this week and couldn't resist a little playful needling of the league when informed of a similar-length ban for Carmelo Anthony's postgame antics on Monday night.

"Oh man, I get suspended for a phone hang-up and people just get away with anything in this league," said Rondo, alluding to the league's noting his suspension was for bumping a game official and failure to cooperate with a league investigation.

A reporter then noted that Anthony earned a similar one-game ban for confronting Kevin Garnett outside the Celtics' bus in New York.

"Oh my goodness, so that’s the same thing, huh?" quipped Rondo.

Rondo was suspended for Monday's game, but could be seen standing near Anthony in a video of the postgame incident around the Celtics' bus. A jovial Rondo again kept it light with reporters.

"I’m in the video. What do I have on?" asked Rondo. "You can tell it’s me? Yeah, I had the hood on, didn’t I?"

Rondo scoffed when asked if he felt the situation might have turned physical between Anthony and Garnett if others didn't intercede.

"Uncomfortable? I’m a nice guy. I was pretty comfortable. I didn’t want anything to happen to the big fella. I had my teammate's back," said Rondo. "Nobody was looking for a fight or anything. We just tried to break it up and I wanted to be there for my teammate. Just because I got suspended doesn’t mean I’m a bad person. Why can’t I be a peacemaker?"

Right before Rondo addressed reporters, Celtics coach Doc Rivers said he's no fan of suspensions, but admitted the league had to do something with Anthony.

"I don’t believe guys should ever be suspended," said Rivers. "[Teams] get in trouble for sitting players, then we suspend players -- it’s the same thing. If you're a fan, you’re not happy with that."

Asked about a different penalty, Rivers said: "That’s called money. It’s a tough one. Obviously, you gotta take action and you gotta do things. But this suspension stuff, I’ve never liked. It’s just the way I think. I think: Let them play and take money away from them. But you have to do something [with Anthony]; obviously, you don’t want that type of situation."

Rondo, who has endured four suspensions in the past 12 months, couldn't help but take his coach's side.

"I agree with Doc. Fans come to see the players, their favorite players," said Rondo. "I happen to be some fans’ favorite players -- a couple. The fans still love me. They don’t really judge me as much as the media does. It’s part of the job. It’s part of the role."

Even before the Celtics slowed Carmelo Anthony from trying to get on their team bus, Boston boxed up Anthony on the floor at Madison Square Garden during Monday's win. From our friends at ESPN Stats and Info:

The Celtics used six different defenders against Anthony on Monday night, en route to holding him to his worst shooting night on the season (23.1 percent). Paul Pierce did most of the damage, holding Anthony to 3-for-10 shooting and forcing his only two turnovers. Carmelo struggled the most on shots inside of 15 feet, shooting 1-for-9, and failing to make a shot from inside of five feet for the first time this season.


What did the Celtics do to bottle up an MVP candidate?

"I think we got into his body, we didn't give him a lot of space," said Pierce. "When he got into the paint, we tried to send another man at him. We tried to get him different looks from the zone, putting a bigger guy on him. So I think that was key, helping making it tough on him all night long. We really did a great job. In my eyes and a lot of people's eyes, he's probably the most valuable player in the league right now. For us to play him that tough tonight, it was great work."

Added Kevin Garnett: "We just tried to put a hand in his face. Melo's such a good scorer that -- scorers, man, you just try to slow them down. We didn't run a lot of schemes today. We just tried to run him off the 3 and then, again, attack him."

Celtics coach Doc Rivers liked how his team tightened up that defense in the second half.

"[Boston's defense on Anthony was] terrible in the first half, honestly; he had three point-blank 3s when we were 1-on-1 coverage and we backed up and let him get rhythm 3s," said Rivers. "Carmelo is a great player and in shootaround I kept saying, 'He’s going to make shots.' But we did a better job in the second half, he had to make shots that we wanted him to make. Instead of the ones he wanted."

NEW YORK -- New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony reportedly charged the Celtics' locker room after Boston's 102-96 triumph on Monday night at Madison Square Garden, but if he was hoping to engage Kevin Garnett after some on-court flare-ups between the two, he was unsuccessful.

Anthony sprinted from the floor after the game and all indications are he attempted to pursue the Celtics toward their locker room.

Garnett said there was no altercation, noting, "No, no, man. Just basketball. Just basketball."

Contrary to Garnett's words, sources told ESPN New York that Melo and KG got into an altercation in the bowels of MSG that required building security to intervene.

"It was like being in the school yard," one witness to the incident said.

After the game, Anthony angrily approached the Celtics locker room and was screaming, according to one of the sources with knowledge of the incident. It is unclear if his ire at the time was directed at Garnett.

Anthony then approached Garnett near the Celtics' team bus. (VIDEO HERE.) MSG security intervened, according to a source.

Celtics coach Doc Rivers didn't exactly deny the whispers that quickly spread in the hallways when asked whether Anthony came in search of a confrontation.

"I’m going to let y’all figure that one out," Rivers said. "I’m going to stay out of that. If it was the playoffs, I’d tell on him, but since it’s not, I’m going to just be quiet."

Rivers took two subtle jabs with that remark: While offering a non-denial on Anthony, he made reference to reports that Hawks general manager Danny Ferry snitched on Rajon Rondo for bumping a game official during Saturday night's game at Atlanta, which led to Rondo being hit with a one-game suspension that forced him to miss Monday's game in New York.

(Read full post)

US PresswireStat sheets may favor Carmelo Anthony, but Paul Pierce's intangibles may give him an edge.

Who's the better small forward: Paul Pierce or Monday's foe, the Knicks' Carmelo Anthony? ESPN Insider breaks down the matchup:

--WHO'S BETTER: PIERCE OR ANTHONY --

There is nothing quite like a New York-Boston rivalry. Allow us to add yet another page to the storied feud. While the New York Knicks are assembling a team they hope will contend for titles for years to come, the Boston Celtics look to claim one more trophy with one of the best groups they've ever had. The linchpins to both efforts are a pair of sweet-shooting, 6-foot-8 small forwards. Carmelo Anthony arrived in Gotham riding a wave of possibility, spreading hope throughout the boroughs. Paul Pierce has punched his ticket for Springfield thanks to a career that has become the annual key to Boston's title hopes. Pierce's résumé is long enough to wallpaper Anthony's new Manhattan condo. But does Melo have enough game to prove he's better?

ESPN the Magazine's Chris Palmer breaks the matchup down in four categories, with Pierce earning advantages in secret skill (off-balance shooting) and intangibles (motivation). But the overall winner? For the second straight week, Boston fans are sure to disagree.

If nothing else, the star power in the Atlantic Division has jumped up a notch this week. After losing out to the New York Nicks in the Carmelo Anthony Sweepstakes, the New Jersey Nets appeared to counter Wednesday by hauling in All-Star point guard Deron Williams from the Utah Jazz in what might be an even more impressive haul.

The number of Rajon Rondo vs. Williams battles just doubled and adds another horse to the "Who is the best point guard in the East?" race (And just imagine if Chris Paul ever finds his way to New York to join Anthony and Amare Stoudemire).

As we noted in the aftermath of the Anthony trade, the Celtics probably don't have much to fret this season, but the road to the postseason is getting decidedly more difficult to navigate in future seasons. No longer is the Atlantic Division such a breezy stroll, and the lower half of the Eastern Conference is improving, which will make the early rounds of the playoffs no cupcake, either.

Before the first meeting with the surging Knicks this season, Celtics coach Doc Rivers was asked if he liked the idea of a little in-division competition.

But asked if he liked having a little divisional competition, Rivers playfully squashed that talk as well.

“No, I kinda liked it the other way,” joked Rivers. “Let’s hope it goes back that way."

Sorry, Coach, it looks like it's only going to get tougher.

Maybe it's Boston's sizable lead atop the Atlantic Division. Maybe it's the amount of time this whole Melo Drama dragged out. Maybe it's the big ransom New York paid to bring Carmelo Anthony to the Big Apple. For whatever reason, Monday's trade doesn't have Bostonians shaking in their Nikes, but things just got a lot more interesting in the Atlantic Division.

--MELO MAKES CELTICS-KNICKS A RIVALRY AGAIN--

As the Carmelo Anthony trade drama enveloped All-Star weekend, even Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers seemed resigned to the fact that one of the NBA's elite was bound for the Atlantic Division. Rivers spent much of Saturday's joint practice teasing Anthony, then a member of the Western Conference All-Stars, and didn't shy away when reporters asked if he had any thoughts on seeing Melo in a Knicks uniform. "None that I like," quipped Rivers. "It'll make [the Knicks] very good. They'll be terrific."

WALTHAM, Mass. -- Celtics guard Ray Allen provided one of the lighter moments of Tuesday's practice session with a slight slip of the tongue that suggested jail time was in his future.

Asked in advance of Wednesday's Celtics-Nuggets showdown about the ability of Denver's Carmelo Anthony to play through recent trade rumors, Allen tried to suggest that it wasn't like Anthony was about to be sent to the slammer, but Allen inadvertently suggested he was headed there himself.

"You still get to play," said Allen. "Your address may change, but you still get to play. I'd worry if someone told me I was about to be shipped away to prison, then I might have a little pressure on me. I don't know when that's going to happen..."

Reporters quickly interjected, saying, "Wait, when?" as Celtics media relations czar Jeff Twiss, standing nearby, added to the laughter by asking, "Is there something I don't know about here, Ray?"

Back on the serious side, Celtics captain Paul Pierce suggested that great players like Anthony can battle through those rumors.

"I think it’s easy for guys, once they step on the court, because you don’t really think about that stuff," said Pierce. "Most guys who are in his position just go out there and play the game, not worrying about the trade here, the trade there. You see it in a lot of cases where guys tend to forget that that’s what’s going on once they step onto the court, and they’re playing one of their best games or they’re having their best year ever, and you see that in Melo. He’s not really worried about that, but he’s still out there having a fantastic year, an MVP candidate."

Celtics coach Doc Rivers said trade rumors wouldn't change Anthony's impact on the court.

"He’s a professional scorer," said Rivers. "He’s like Paul. There are not a lot of professional scorers in our league. Carmelo and Paul are two of them. They can score in any situation and nothing fazes those guys. They know how to score. They do it on their own tempo and time. Carmelo is going to be Carmelo, whether he is in Denver or anywhere else."