For a meaningless, regular season finale, Wednesday night's matchup between the Celtics and Knicks sure was entertaining.
With seven members of their regular rotation sidelined, the C's still had enough to beat their soon-to-be playoff opponents, using career nights from Avery Bradley and Sasha Pavlovic to beat New York, 112-102. Pavlovic scored 19 points and hit 4-of-5 from long distance in 35 minutes off the bench while Bradley, seeing extensive time at the point due to the absence of both Rajon Rondo and Delonte West, put in 20 points on 10-of-16 shooting, along with three rebounds, two assists and two steals in 27 minutes. The C's led by just two after three quarters but ran away in the fourth, leading by as many as 16 before cruising to victory and finishing up at 56-26.
Glen Davis led Wednesday's starters with 17 points and eight rebounds while Jeff Green had his second straight solid game, finishing with 14 points, eight boards and three assists.
The Knicks, who will return to TD Garden for Game 1 of their first round playoff series with the Celts on Sunday, rested Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups, but gave their other star, Amare Stoudemire, some run after the big man had missed their last three games with an ankle sprain. Stoudemire hoisted 15 shots in just 20 minutes, making six of them and ending up with 14 points and four rebounds. Rookie guard Landry Fields led the Knicks with 18 points and seven boards, while former Celtic Bill Walker started and chipped in 12 points in 24 minutes.
Nenad Krstic, who will likely be coming off the bench once the games matter again, started on Wednesday and 13 points to go with six rebounds. It's expected that Shaquille O'Neal will be available for Game 1 on Sunday, as will Jermaine O'Neal, who was one of the spectators on Wednesday. Game 1 will be played at 7 p.m. EDT, on Sunday and can be seen on TNT.