Knicks Win in Loss to C's

Take a bow, Paul

Madison Square Garden returned to being the Mecca, at least for one night, on Wednesday evening.  A team has not earned more in a loss since the New York Football Giants were beaten by the Patriots in Week 17 of Season XLII.  In the past few seasons, the Knicks would have lost to the Celtics before the ball even went into the air for tip-off.  But last night, the Knicks competed as if they genuinely expected to win.  The team has not competed on a daily basis like this since the days of Sprewell and Larry Johnson.  The crowd appreciated the Knicks effort by getting behind them early and often, causing  Garnett to admit after the game that "there was a lot of energy at the Garden, the atmosphere was great."

The Garden once again took its rightful place as center stage for opposing players to put on a show.  Despite laughing at the idea of a Knicks-Celtics rivalry, Paul Pierce's body language told the true story.  After putting the dagger in the Knicks hopes with his patented step back jumper, he took a bow as if beating the Knicks still meant something and doing it at MSG was still basketball's biggest stage to do it on.