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New York Knicks Highlights: Knicks Foul Their Way To Loss vs. Boston Celtics

By Kenneth Teape

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Final. 92. 27. 96. 18

New York Knicks Highlights: Knicks Lose As They Send Boston Celtics To Foul Line 43 Times

Coming into the 2014-15 season, who would have thought a late season matchup between the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks would feature the team in green being the one fighting for a playoff spot? Well that is exactly what we had Friday night, as the Celtics picked up a much needed victory over the Knicks, who are more concerned with ping pong balls than wins at this juncture. This makes six straight losses for the Knicks, who are now 2.5 games clear of the Minnesota Timberwolves for the worst record in the NBA.

The game tonight was tough to watch at times, as it could be argued the festivities the Knicks put together for Walt Frazier’s birthday were the highlight of the night, but the Knicks were able to make a game of it towards the end. They didn’t have many players show up tonight for the full game, but one who did was Andrea Bargnani.

Bargnani put together one of his stronger overall games of the season, scoring a season-high tying 25 points on 10-20 shooting, to go with seven rebounds, four assists and two blocks. What is arguably most impressive though is the fact Bargnani made it through 39 minutes without suffering an injury, no small task in his time with the Knicks. He also turned the ball over only twice, which is a nice number for a player that is handling the ball as much as Bargnani is for the Knicks currently.

Shane Larkin joined Bargnani as a positive tonight for the Knickerbockers. Larkin, who has stepped into the starting lineup with Alexey Shved out for the season, is getting as many minutes as he can handle and making the most of it. Tonight he played 44 minutes, scoring 14 points and handing out six assists with one rebound, one steal and only one turnover.

Larkin has a great opportunity through the end of the season to make a positive impression on the Knicks to give him a contract extension, or another team to bring him aboard. He will not have a shortage of minutes, so he if can continue performing like tonight he could be a player the Knicks put into their future plans.

Off the bench rookie Cleanthony Early looks to finally be rounding into shape. A knee injury derailed him at the start, but he finally seems to be gaining some confidence. In the last two games, Early has scored 18 and 12 points, showing aggressiveness in attacking the basket instead of settling for three-pointers and jump shots. Early has a chance to end the season strong as the Knicks are lacking many scoring options, and Early has a chance to really make some noise as Derek Fisher’s confidence in the rookie increases.

The Celtics really didn’t do much to win this game tonight, as all of the stats, except one, are in favor of the Knicks. The Knicks shot the ball better, 43.7 percent compared to 42.0, turned it over less and made more three-pointers. But the Celtics had the edge rebounding, pulling down 44 compared to the 36 for the Knicks.

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Where the real problem laid was at the foul line, where the Celtics attempted an insane 43 free throws. They connected only 34 of them, which was more than enough as the Knicks only attempted only 14, making nine. That was the difference in the game tonight, as the Knicks just handed the Celtics 34 free points, more than a third of the amount they scored in the game. Brandon Bass, Evan Turner, Isaiah Thomas and Jae Crowder all attempted at least seven in the game.

This was the last time this season the Knicks and Celtics will face off, as the Celtics won the season series 3-1. It will be a quick turnaround for the Knicks as well, as they will travel to take on the Chicago Bulls tonight at 8PM ET.

Next: Who is the best PG for the Knicks all-time?

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