ShareThisBOSTON - Of all the stars on the Boston Celtics roster, you'd think guarding Rajon Rondo would be the easiest task.
Rondo, after all, is the shortest of the Celts' starters and he can't shoot. At least that's what the scouting report posted in opposing NBA locker rooms says. He's the guy you back way, way off and dare him to make a 15-footer. Pack it into the paint and help defend Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.
Sounds easy, right? Wrong. Very wrong.
The New York Knicks learned that lesson in Tuesday's 96-93 defeat in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series with the Celtics. After keeping Rondo in check offensively in Game One (10 points, 9 assists, 9 rebounds), the Knicks let the 6-1, 185-pound (maybe) whippet get loose in round two. Rondo responded by running past everyone for six layups, 14 points and all sorts of energy in the first quarter.
But Rondo's start only got the Celtics so far. Thanks to a Superman effort from New York's Carmelo Anthony (42 points, 17 rebounds), the Celtics needed every last ounce of energy down the stretch in order to squeak out an exciting, yet shockingly difficult victory.
Rondo was the man again early in the fourth quarter. He scored eight clutch points with his team on the ropes, but there was more heavy lifting to be done in the final seconds. That's when Kevin Garnett stepped up. Trailing 91-90, Garnett took a Pierce pass and dunked for the lead. The Knicks answered with a hoop but the Celts went right back to KG and this time he flipped in a sweet jump hook with 17 seconds left for a 94-93 lead.
At the other end of the floor, the Celts made 'Melo give up the ball to Jared Jeffries. Garnett instantly reached around him, pulled the ball free and stole it with just 4.1 seconds left. With that, the Celtics had somehow survived.
"We won the game. That's all we got out of this," said a relieved Boston coach Doc Rivers. "I thought we were lucky to win."
In the other locker room, the Knicks packed their bags as they were shaking their heads. In the final seconds of Game One, they lost point guard/leader Chauncey Billups to a thigh injury. In the warmups to Tuesday's game, big man Amae Stoudemire said that as he tapped the backboard with his left hand and dunked with his right, he felt a twinge in his back. He started and played nine minutes in the first quarter and nine more in the second. But he shut it down at halftime. "I couldn't hardly move," he said.
That reduced the Knicks' Big Three to the Lonely One. But Anthony nearly broke the Celtics' hearts all by himself. He hit 3-pointers, leaners, floaters, and even fought inside for some key offensive rebound hoops. He finished 14-of-30 from the floor and made 10 of his 11 free throws but couldn't close the door.
"I knew they were going to double-team me, without a doubt," Anthony said of his decision to pass inside to Jeffries on the final play. "I made the right play. I thought Jared was going to lay it up. I made the right play. I can live with that."
Coming off their win Sunday, the Celtics knew they needed a faster, more energized Rondo. For all the talk of Boston's Big Three, Rondo is the most important player on the team. When he's running, the creaky legs of the veterans follow along. When he's changing directions and slicing his way to the hole, Garnett or Pierce know they could be set up for bunny layups. When he's spinning his way into the lane, Allen is toeing the 3-point line and waiting for that bullet pass assist.
All of that was on display in Game 2. Rondo literally ran past the Knicks in the first quarter with his six layups. "That first quarter was like a track meet," Rondo admitted.
The Knicks adjusted their defense and slowed Rondo in transition but he ended up setting a career playoff high with 30 points and dished for 7 assists.
Now up 2-0 in the series, the Celtics will walk into a major hornet's nest in New York City. It's been seven years since Madison Square Garden hosted a playoff game and much longer than that when a game in April really mattered. Billups remains questionable but Stoudemire pledged his back would recover for Game 3 Friday. Anthony is clearly ready to go off at any moment, especially in front of the beautiful people lining the front row at the Garden.
They say no playoff series truly begins until the home team loses a game. The Celtics held serve in two dramatic wins. Now it's time to see what the Knicks can do.
(Contact Kevin McNamara at kmcnamar(at)projo.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
columnMust credit The Providence Journal
