NBA
Celtics able to top Knicks without Garnett
BOSTON — It was quiet — too quiet — in the Boston locker room before the game. On the floor, the Celtics managed to replace Kevin Garnett’s intensity just fine.
“Not having a great player out there, you definitely miss him,” point guard Rajon Rondo said after Boston beat the New York Knicks, 110-101, on Tuesday night while Garnett served a one-game suspension. But we tried to go out and get the ball moving and that’s what we did.”
Starting in place of Garnett, Brian Scalabrine hit a three-pointer with 1:14 left to help Boston recover after its 15-point, fourth-quarter lead was trimmed to four. Paul Pierce scored 22 with eight rebounds, Kendrick Perkins had 16 points and eight rebounds and Rondo had 15 points, eight boards and seven assists.
“It was kind of a different atmosphere in the locker room, a little bit quieter than usual,” Pierce said. “Thank goodness we were able to take up the slack for one game and get the win.”
Garnett did not miss a game last season until Jan. 27, when he began a nine-game stint in street clothes because of an abdominal strain. But he was suspended for throwing a punch at Milwaukee’s Andrew Bogut on Saturday and forced to sit out one game.
Wilson Chandler scored 23, and Zach Randolph had 18 points and eight rebounds for New York. The Knicks tried to muscle their way closer in the Atlantic Division — they were called for three technicals — but instead lost to Boston for the seventh consecutive time.
