Boston 110, New York 101

Stagnant, pre-Big Three-style fourth-quarter offense made this one closer than it should have been, but it's nice to win a game over a decent team without KG -- and without Paul Pierce having to play Superman.

[recap] [box score]

Quick hit thoughts:

-I'm the first to criticize Brian Scalabrine, so I should give him some praise when he actually plays well. Starting in place of the suspended Kevin Garnett, Scal contributed, and not just with Scal contributions like rebounds and fouls. He actually hit three jumpers, two at the end of the third quarter, and the game-icer late in the fourth. He hasn't exactly earned all the money we've given him, but it's nice to see he has a good game in him once in a while.

-The bench played great in the second quarter; so great, in fact, that unless I'm mistaken, Pierce and Rajon Rondo sat the entire period. Particularly high marks go to Leon Powe, who I think got all 14 of his points in the second, mostly against everyone's favorite backup power forward, David Lee. Eddie House actually did some point guard-type stuff, including a few nice assists on fast breaks. I believe that the bench players hit their first ten field goal attempts. It helps, of course, that the Knicks have no interest whatsoever in playing defense.

-Nice to see Kendrick Perkins play as aggressively and as well as he did. The Knicks are basically playing without a center, and for all his offensive limitations, Perkins can score over guys like Lee and Zach Randolph. He even channeled KG a few times: hitting a wide-open Rondo for an easy layup; running the pinch post play with Rondo for another easy assist; and then a three-possession stretch where he kicked it out to Pierce for a three, blocked Wilson Chandler on the other end, and then hit an eight-foot turnaround bank shot over his right shoulder on the left side of the court. Not sure where it comes from, but I'll take it whenever we can get it.

-Defense wasn't great tonight, but the Knicks did only shoot 43 percent, and they're a team that likes to push the ball and put pressure on your defense. Considering we were without our best defensive player, I think we acquitted ourselves pretty well on that end.

-Even in victory, I'm not sparing Tony Allen. Tonight's example that he simply has no feel for the game of basketball: Up 12 early in the fourth, Tony gets the ball, wide-open, 17 feet from the basket, with two seconds left on the shotclock. This isn't exactly his shot, and he's been criticized for being a little selfish this year, but this is a time where no one would complain if he put it up. Instead, he kicks it to Glen Davis, 19 feet from the basket at the other elbow, who can barely catch the ball before the shot clock expires.

You can almost see what's going through Tony's head during plays like this: "I'm open, and the shotclock is running down, but Coach told me not to take so many jumpers. Baby's open. I'll pass it to him and show everyone that I'm not selfish."

Generally speaking, good basketball players "get it." There are obviously different degrees of this, but most good basketball players at least show a modicum of savvy about the game. Tony doesn't.

-Last thing: Does everyone on the Knicks have to be a punk now? This post from the weekend mentions the Jamal Crawford-Ray Allen skirmish from last preseason. It also mentions the Crawford-Pierce double ejection last MLK Day, but that was as much Pierce's fault as it was Crawford's. But it's not just Crawford. Nate Robinson is like the quintessential guy who shows up at the playground who no one wants to play with. Always complaining about a foul, always looking for a fight. Some might say it's a short-man thing, but being of rather diminutive stature myself, I'm not going to go there. Randolph started something with Powe in the first half tonight that led to double techs. Later, Randolph had words for Pierce for no discernible reason.

Those guys have always had that edge, though. What surprised me tonight was watching Chris Duhon drain a wide-open three, then turn and say something to the Celtics bench. He hit another wide-open three later, and again was talking smack.

Hey, Chris, I know you're not very used to hitting jumpers, but there's a reason we're letting you shoot: Compared to your average NBA guard, you suck at shooting. Talk all you want; we're not sending anyone out to guard you, because we don't think you can beat us -- and guess what? We're right?

Is this what happens when you let Isiah Thomas near a franchise? Everyone -- even Chris Duhon -- becomes a jerk? You're in the house of the defending champions, fellas, and the champs whipped you four times last year. You also play on a team that, despite a good start this year, has been the laughingstock of the league for the previous couplefew seasons. I'm not saying you have to genuflect, but maybe you shut up long enough to win a game.

EDIT: After I made this post, I saw this Ball Don't Lie post, which refers to this Boston.com blog post, which refers to some interesting post-game comments from Quention Richardson. Okay, Q.