It was a valiant effort, however, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo were too much Sunday for the New York Knicks, who lost 115-111 in overtime at the TD Garden. Piece netted a game-best 34 points, including a game-tying 3-pointer that helped force an extra session with less than 5 seconds to go in regulation, while Rondo tallied a monstrous triple-double (18 points, 20 assists and 17 rebounds) to propel the Boston Celtics (19-17) to a their fourth straight victory.
Down eight points to begin the fourth quarter, the Knicks rallied behind Jeremy Lin and Carmelo Anthony, who's bucket with 35 seconds to go gave New York a 101-100 lead. After a defensive stop and two free throws from Steve Novak, the Knicks led by three, but Pierce pulled the trigger on a contested 3-pointer and nailed it.
In overtime, the deciding factor was Rondo, who netted five points and dished out two assists, and the Knicks poor shooting, which featured missing their final eight shots.
Anthony finished the game with a team-best 25 points, while Amar'e Stoudemire tallied 16 points and 13 rebounds. Lin scored seven of his 14 points in the fourth quarter and dished out just four assists.
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