Good morning, New York-area sports fans! Let's get right to our first look at the regional sports scene.
The New York Knicks got a lesson in winning Monday night from the Boston Celtics. Trailing most of the night, the Celtics rallied late in the fourth quarter for a 96-86 victory, making the Knicks look like a bunch of stumbling, bumbling junior high school players over the final few minutes.
Our Knicks writer, Chris Celletti, was right on the mark in his assessment:
The Knicks showed no organization or discipline down the stretch. Boston made all the right plays. The difference was stark. The stats for this game are irrelevant. All you needed to do was watch the fourth quarter, and you saw the difference between a championship contender and a far-off pretender.
Over the final few minutes the Knicks could barely get the ball inside the three-point line, while Boston was slicing them apart and coming up with all of the rebounds and loose balls. This was a really ugly night for the Knicks.
The New Jersey Nets are also trying to learn how to win. They did not do that either on Monday night, falling to the Indiana Pacers, 102-98. At least, however, the Nets were rallying late in the game rather than falling apart.
New York Mets fans have to be smiling today. That's because Oliver Perez is no longer a Met. He was released on Monday. How can a Mets fan complain these days? Both Perez and Luis Castillo are now ex-Mets. That makes it a great spring.
New York Yankees fans might need to get used to the sight of Bartolo Colon in pinstripes. The portly right-hander continued his impressive bid for a spot in New York's starting rotation with six terrific innings Monday night.