Celtics are coming of age

10:23 AM EST on Thursday, December 23, 2004

BY CAROLYN THORNTON
Journal Sports Writer

Slideshow

View photos from last night's game against the Knicks

BOSTON -- It was coming down to crunch time, right about the time that Gary Payton would normally be re-inserted into the lineup to help ensure that a hard-fought lead didn't slip away.

But with six minutes left and the Boston Celtics finally leading, the veteran point guard turned to coach Doc Rivers and said, "Don't worry about me. Let the kid play."

Though the rest of his coaching staff voted against it, Rivers decided that Payton was right and took a chance on Marcus Banks, feeling that a win with him running the show could go a long way toward building the young point guard's confidence.

Although there were some tense moments when New York cut Boston's lead back down to three in the waning seconds, the Celtics survived with Banks at the helm, defeating the Knicks, 114-109, last night at the FleetCenter.

"Marcus was playing really well," Payton said of his protégé, who finished with 11 points, including two free throws with 7.8 seconds left that helped seal the win, to go along with his three assists and two blocked shots. "A young guy like himself (who has) been having (some) struggles in his first two years, he needs a game like that to keep himself in there and keep his confidence. He was getting to the basket, was making mistakes, was doing really well, so I think he deserved to play the minutes. And I went up to him and told him he deserved it. Then he finished it out. And it'll make him have a Merry Christmas, you know, thinking about the way he's playing."

AP photo

Knicks forward Kurt Thomas, right, beats Al Jefferson of the Celtics to a rebound during the second half of last night's game at the FleetCenter. Boston prevailed, 114-109.

It was a good night for all of the Celtics' youngsters. With Raef LaFrentz resting his sprained left ankle, rookie Al Jefferson -- or "Big Al," as Rivers likes to call him -- made his first NBA start, collecting 12 points and 5 rebounds.

LaFrentz's absence from the lineup also opened the door for Kendrick Perkins to get more minutes. The second-year big man responded with a career-high 13 rebounds and 4 points in 25 minutes, also a career-high.

"That was a positive thing for us, to see these young guys (contribute)," said Payton, who certainly did his part with 17 points and 5 assists. "Now really, like the 25th game into the season, they're starting to understand how much we need them and how much they need to be effective."

There was plenty of motivation on both sides to play well last night given performances Tuesday night that left Rivers and Knicks coach Lenny Wilkens describing their teams as being outworked and outhustled.

The Knicks allowed Dallas to come into their house and embarass them from the opening tip, trailing by as many as 46 and eventually falling to the Mavs, 123-94.

It was New York's second-worst loss of the season -- second only to the 107-73 drubbing handed to them at the Garden by none other than the Celtics early last month.

Meanwhile, down in Miami Tuesday, second-year guard Dwayne Wade and Udonis Haslem were making everyone forget that Shaquille O'Neal was on the sideline nursing an injured left calf, as the Heat defeated Boston, 108-100.

Early on, it looked like New York was on track to avenge its earlier loss to the green and white. Boston trailed for three quarters, falling behind by as many as 14 in the first period.

But the Celtics never let the Knicks feel comfortable, twice cutting their deficit to one before New York extended its lead back to eight, 58-50, heading into the break.

Paul Pierce -- who had a relatively quiet first half (scoring just 7 of his 21 points) because of two early fouls -- completed a three-point play after being fouled while putting back his own miss, then stole the ball from Stephon Marbury and dunked off the break to cap a 14-4 run that evened the score at 74 with 3:53 left in the third quarter.

The Knicks closed the period with a 10-6 run to pull ahead, 84-80, but Walter McCarty hit a trey, then stole the ball to set up Ricky Davis for an 18-footer, as Boston opened the fourth quarter with a 9-0 run to take its first lead of the game, a lead it would never relinquish.

With second-stringers Perkins, Banks, McCarty and Davis logging most of the minutes, along with Pierce, Boston outscored New York, 34-25, in the final frame to clinch the victory.

Some defensive breakdowns in the final minutes allowed the Knicks to get back within single digits, but the Celts did just enough to hang on.

"I thought the key was we never let them get away," said Rivers. "At the beginning of the game there were some crazy lineups we had out there. When Mark (Blount) went down [briefly after getting hit in the eye], Paul Pierce is in foul trouble, Raef LaFrentz is sitting on the bench, we had some young guys out on the floor. And they were able to keep us close."