THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013
ISAN
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
PAGE 78
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ANSAN
Boston Celtics forward Paul Pierce (34) and center Kevin Garnett (5) deflect a rebound from New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler (6) in the second half of Game 5 of their first-round NBA basketball playoff series at Madison Square Garden in New York.
GARDEN TO GARDEN
Don't call it a comeback
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NEW YORK (AP) — Back in the series, now back to Boston.
The Celtics are two victories from NBA history, and from extending the Knicks' postseason futility in a most improbable manner.
The Celtics will host Game 6 on Friday night, needing two victories to become the first NBA team to overcome a 3-0 deficit to win a series.
Kevin Garnett had 16 points and 18 rebounds and the Celtics stayed alive in the playoffs, cutting New York's lead to 3-2 with a 92-86 victory Wednesday night.
"We're still down. Our mentality has to be all-out," Garnett said. "It can't be anything (else)."
Brandon Bass added 17 points, steadying Boston as it shook off an 11-0 deficit and pulled away in the second half to stop the Knicks again from achieving their first playoff series victory since 2000.
Jeff Green scored 18 points and Paul Pierce had 16 as he and Garnett, the two franchise stalwarts, extended this season — and perhaps their Celtics careers — at least one more game.
Terry also scored 17 off the bench.
"We didn't panic and that's something we've done, but we didn't," coach Doc Rivers said. "I thought once the game got back to that five, six area, our guys were good again."
J. R. Smith, back from his one-game suspension for elbowing Jason Terry with the Knicks way ahead late in Game 3, missed his first 10 shots and finished 3 of 14 for 14 points.
"Obviously being down 2-0 or 3-0 or whatever it was, we could have folded shop. Nobody in here is going to quit," Terry said.
Carmelo Anthony scored 22 points but was just 8 of 24 in another dismal shooting night for the Knicks, who blew a big lead in this game and now the series. They face an unwanted trip back to Boston instead of the rest this aging roster could surely use before the second round.
If they get there.
The Knicks would host Game 7 on Sunday.
"I think we're fine," Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. "Sure we would've loved to close it out and move on, but nobody said it would be easy."
"I told you from Game 1 that this wasn't going to be a breeze, it wasn't going to be a walk in the park, them guys were going to fight and they're showing some fight right now," Anthony said. "They threw a couple punches at us now and it's time for us to do the same."
The Celtics were the first or the eight NBA teams that have come from 3-1 down, beating Philadelphia in 1968, and put themselves on the short list of teams that have erased a 2-0 deficit the next year in the NBA Finals.
So perhaps it would be fitting if they were the first to overcome 3-0.
"I think so. I mean, I think that would be wonderful, and someone's going to do it and I want it to be us, obviously, since that's the situation we're in," Rivers said before the game. "Someone will do it, and I really want to be a part of that."
He's still got a chance.
The Knicks limited the Celtics to 75 points per game while winning the first three, and nearly came back to win Game 4 on Sunday even without Smith. So they felt good even after missing their first chance to wrap it up, when Anthony was 10 of 35 in an overtime loss.
Point guard Raymond Felton said the Knicks still feel in control of the series "for sure."
"I mean, this is what playoff basketball is about. Yes, we wish we could have swept them, yes we wish we could have won that
game tonight. Sometimes things don't happen that way," he added.
"Things aren't always pretty, things aren't always the way you want them to be. We've just got to grind it out and go get a win."
Though few of these players were here for the streak, the Knicks were perhaps a bit overconfident leading into the game for a franchise that lost an NBA-record 13 straight postseason games from 2001-12.
Smith said Tuesday hed have been playing golf instead of practicing had he played in Game 4, and players wore black to the game Wednesday as if they were heading to the Celtics "funeral."
The Celtics didn't like it, with reserve Jordan Crawford exchanging words with Anthony and Raymond Felton after the final buzzer.
Forget the funeral.
"Well, we was going to a funeral, but it looks like we got buried." Smith said. "Basketball is a very humbling game."
The second halves had belonged to the Knicks in the series, but the Celtics remained steady in the third quarter, opening a 69-60 lead on Terry's 3-pointer with 41 seconds left, and pushed it to 75-60 early in the fourth.
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Royals overcome 5-run deficit
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Kansas City Royals pitcher Luis Mendoza winds up in the first inning of Wednesday's game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Kauffman Stadium.
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Elliot Johnson homered against his former team and the Kansas City Royals rallied from an early fiver-run hole, beating the Tampa Rays 9-8 on a cold, blustery Wednesday night.
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Tampa Bay jumped out to a 2-0 lead when Joyce homered for the second straight game, and
Lorenzo Cain and Jeff Franceeor each drove in a pair of runs for the Royals, who trailed 5-0 in the third inning before slowly chipping away at the Tampa Bay lead.
Bruce Chen (2-0) pitched two scoreless innings in relief of Royals starter Luis Mendoza, and Greg Holland worked a perfect ninth inning in a light drizzle for his seventh save.
They eventually pulled ahead with a five-run sixth off Rays reliever Jake McGee (0-2), and then held on through the final three innings for their second straight comeback win.
Kansas City clawed back in the bottom half when Johnson homered over the wall in right field, his first home run since last September when he was still with the Rays.
Kansas City kept peppering Hellickson in the fifth, this time with a leadoff double by Billy Butler and an RBI triple by Cain. Mike Moustakas followed with a sacrifice fly to center field that allowed Kansas City to get within
Scott answered for Tampa Bay with a solo shot in the fourth, but the Royals scored again in the bottom half when Gordon's two-out base hit the Rays' lead to 6-2.
Zobrist gave the Rays back-to-back homers for the first time this season. The solo shots also gave Tampa Bay at least one homer in 16 straight games, setting a new franchise record.
Kelly Johnson's RBI double and Desmond Jennings' sacrifice fly made it 4-0 in the second, and Evan Longoria's triple in the third turned into another run on James Loney's base hit.
Tim Collins entered for the Royals and coughed up most of the lead on Loney's RBI single and a two-out single by Scott, but Aaron Crow retired Jose Lobaton to escape the seventh inning.
two runs.
Crow pitched a perfect eighth before Holland wrapped up the win.
They loaded the bases with two outs for Butler, who hit a liner right back at McGee that the pitcher managed to knock down but still scored a run. Eric Hosmer then hit a grounder deep in the hole at shortstop, and Yunel Escobar's error allowed the tying run to score.
The Royals finally pulled ahead off McGee in the sixth.
Cain followed with a blooper to center that gave Kansas City the lead, and Francoeur greeted new reliever Kyle Farnsworth with a two-run single that made it 9-6.
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