The Birthday Boy Delivers: The Captain,Celtics Beat The Knicks

The Truth wins it for the Celtics with a vintage Pierce step back jump shot with under 10 seconds left to beat the Knicks last night at MSG. The following from CSNNE.com

The NBA’s crackdown on player reactions to calls was expected to hurt Boston more than any team. Wednesday’s 104-101 win over the New York Knicks gives some credence to that theory.

Paul Pierce, who celebrated his 33rd birthday with 20 points and nine rebounds, scored the game-winning basket to avoid overtime in the preseason.

“I got an 11 o’clock reservation I have to make,” Pierce said. “I didn’t want to stay any longer than I had to.”

Maybe Kevin Garnett, who was tossed in the second quarter, felt the same way.

In the second quarter with 4:39 to play, Garnett pulled up for a jumper while being tightly defended by Amar’e Stoudemire.

After Garnett released the shot, he yelled, “And one!”

Following the play, Garnett continued to chat with the nearest official.

Tech number one.

Moments after it came, Garnett was chuckling about the first tech near an official, which apparently was all it took for official Kane Fitzgerald to hit Garnett with another one and the automatic ejection that came with it.

Celtics coach Doc Rivers said he didn’t need a clarification on exactly what Garnett did to get tossed.

“Listen, the rules are the rules. We have to have more discipline,” Rivers said. “Whether he deserved it or not, I think . . . both sides have use our judgment a little bit better. It’s not just, it shouldn’t be just a tech. Having said that, we know the rules and we have to have discipline.”

While no Garnett for two-plus quarters certainly didn’t help the Celtics, that wasn’t the issue. This wasn’t about calling a game.

It was about sending a message, regardless of your NBA pedigree.

At the half, the officials had called four individual technical fouls on players ranging from Garnett to Jermaine O’Neal to Knicks rookie Timofey Mozgov.

The irony of this edict is that the very thing the NBA is waging war against — players taking the focus off the game and putting it on themselves — is exactly what this crackdown does.

But instead of the players, all eyes are now on the referees. For a league that has made so many savvy business moves, this is a formula for failure.

More technicals by the officials means players will play with less passion. Less passion makes for a less interesting game. A less interesting game means fewer will tune in; or worse, even care.

Before you know it, the NBA is back to practically begging fans to see their product.

“The refs, they’re making a statement here in the preseason,” said Pierce, who along with Rivers and Jermaine O’Neal, were celebrating their birthday on Wednesday. “But players are going to adjust. I didn’t think he warranted getting kicked out. But hey, they’re making a stand here in the preseason. By the time the season starts, we have to make an adjustment. We’ll be fine.”

If the Celtics plan to have the kind of success they’re accustomed to, they have little choice but to rein in their emotions.

As much as the C’s would like to believe that officials will become more relaxed on this new edict during the regular season, Rivers isn’t willing to bank on it.

“We can’t worry about them,” Rivers said. “We have to be better. The first tech on J.O., he got it, he walked away. The first tech on Kevin, he got it, and he didn’t [walk away]. Whether he said anything or not, whether he deserved it or not, it doesn’t matter. We know the rules. We have to respect the rules.”

With no Garnett to start the second half, Amar’e Stoudemire seemingly had his way.

It took less than two minutes for the Knicks to double their five-point halftime lead.

After scoring 14 points in the first half, Stoudemire had 12 against the Garnett-less Celtics in the first six minutes of the third quarter. He finished with a game-high 30.

Making matters worse, the Celtics were also playing without Glen Davis, who Rivers said prior to the game had a sore knee.

Davis told CSNNE.com after the game that one of his knees was sore, and that he was held out “just to be safe.”

“I’ll be ready for Friday [at Toronto],” Davis said.

Even without their main cog defensively (Garnett) and his backup (Davis), the Celtics managed to claw their way back into the game with an unlikely cast of characters getting it done.

Rookie Luke Harangody had his first NBA double-double, scoring 16 points to go along with 12 rebounds. He made a pair of free throws with 5:16 to play that gave Boston a 92-90 lead.

“I think he thought he was in the Big East tournament,” said Rivers of Harangody, who starred at Notre Dame.

New York responded with a 9-2 spurt, but the C’s closed out the game with a 10-2 run that included Pierce knocking down the game-winning basket with eight seconds to play.