Knicks 80 - Celtics 91

December 7, 2002

BOSTON (AP) -- Paul Pierce didn't give Allan Houston a chance to beat the Boston Celtics.

Pierce held Houston, the league's sixth leading scorer, to seven points on 3-of-13 shooting in the Celtics' 91-80 victory over the New York Knicks on Friday night.
 
 
Houston scored 39 against the Celtics earlier in the season.

``I just tried to get up close to him and not give him any breathing room,'' said Pierce, who scored 19 points and had nine rebounds and eight assists. ``I take a lot of pride in my defense. Coach is putting me up to the challenge and giving me the other team's best player night in and night out.''

Houston was 0-for-7 in the first half before finally hitting a jumper 33 seconds into the third quarter.

``Paul did a wonderful job on Houston, making sure he was under his chin every time he caught the basketball,'' Celtics coach Jim O'Brien said.

Antoine Walker scored 25 points, and Tony Delk added 20 to lead the Celtics to their sixth straight victory over the Knicks. The Celtics have not lost to New York since March 1, 2001.

``This is a big win for us, after a tough loss, to come back and play the way we did,'' Walker said. ``I remember when we couldn't beat this team.''

Tony Battie added 11 points and nine rebounds, and Walker had nine rebounds.

The Celtics used a 10-2 run in the third quarter to take a 65-47 lead and extended it to 22 points, 75-53, on Vin Baker's two free throws with 33 seconds remaining in the quarter.

Latrell Sprewell led the Knicks with 15 points, and Lee Nailon scored 12 points.

``The energy level just wasn't there,'' Knicks coach Don Chaney said. ``I don't know why, but we just never got it. Boston has big players who can score from the perimeter. But, we never stepped out to challenge them.''

The Celtics led most of the game. The Knicks' last lead came with 8:44 remaining in the first quarter when Howard Eisley hit a 3-pointer to put them up 7-6.

The Celtics used a 9-2 run to close the second quarter and take a 48-38 lead at halftime. Tony Delk, who made a 3-pointer with 30 seconds remaining to put the Celtics up 10, led the team with 16 points, including 3-for-4 from behindthe arc.

Notes

Celtics forward Kedrick Brown made his first appearance of the season after missing 18 games with a sprained right ankle. He played 12 minutes and scored two points. ... The NBA announced the top 10 selling jerseys of the 2002-03 season, with Pierce leading the way. ... Celtics forward Ruben Wolkowyski did not dress for the game due to a right rotator cuff strain. ...Houston had a string of seven straight games of 20 plus points snapped.

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