By A. Sherrod Blakely
CSNNE.com
BOSTONFor three-plus quarters, Amar'e Stoudemire terrorized the Boston Celtics defense.
Jumpers. Dunks around players. Dunks on players. 360-degree lay-ups.
He gave the C's a little bit of everything on Sunday. But a funny thing happened down the stretch.
The dominant one just disappeared, which was just what the Celtics needed to rally for an 87-85 win to go up 1-0 in their best-of-seven series with the Knicks.
Stoudemire led all scorers with 28 points, but didn't score a single point over the final 2:47.
That allowed the Celtics to close the game out with a 9-3 run.
Boston Celtics
"I think the last four, maybe five possessions Kevin Garnett started denying the ball and started really forcing me baseline and not allow me to get the ball," Stoudemire said.
As Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni pointed out, it wasn't as if New York intentionally went away from Stoudemire in the final minutes of play.
"Kevin was draped all over him and pushing him down," D'Antoni said. "We tried something else. We just couldn't give him the ball I guess. I have to look at the tape to be more specific about it. It wasn't the game plan. I didn't say, 'Okay, that's enough, Amar'e. We'll go away from you.' That just what happens."
Carmelo Anthony, who had 15 points on 5-for-18 shooting, said getting Stoudemire the ball down the stretch was indeed the game plan.
"Towards the end, I think the Celtics made some adjustments, but as far as Amar'e having it going and getting him the ball, I thought we was doing a great job of doing that," Anthony said. "Whenever he has it going like that, that's the guy we want to go to, and tonight was one of those nights he had it going. He made some big plays for us, and some big shots."
But not enough, as the Celtics continue their dominance over New York.
The Celtics swept the season series 3-0, and have won 17 of the last 19 games against the Knicks.
But as much as Game One will be remembered for Ray Allen's game-winning 3-pointer with 11.6 seconds to play, those who witnessed will also recall how Stoudemire, the most dominant player on the floor, didn't score a single point in the game's closing minutes.
A. Sherrod Blakely can be reached at sblakely@comcastsportsnet.com. Follow Sherrod on Twitter at http:twitter.comsherrodbcsn