Bring out the brooms. As a matter of fact, the electricity bill was paid last month, so bring out the vacuums.
With the Knicks and Celtics going back to TD Garden for Games 3 and 4, Knicks fans aren’t crossing their fingers and hoping for the best anymore.
They have the street sweepers on deck.
NY is steam-rolling Boston. Someone needs to put out an APB on KG and Paul Pierce. The trash-talking Hall of Fame frontcourt looks feeble and is finding little luck in recreating past Knicks conquests.
Boston is entering what has got to feel like an alternate reality. They are balling on the same MSG floor that they traditionally spank the Knicks into submission on. Only, this time, it’s the Knicks that are leaving lasting impressions with the victory belt.
These Knicks win games in myriad ways and can count on blessings like 11-rebound performances from reserve forward Kenyon Martin as well as clutch point guard play by Raymond Felton.
The questions that have been asked since the Knicks got off to an 18-5 start are, “Are they legit and can they close against a playoff-tested squad?”
For the second game in a row, the Knicks put the second-half beats on a Celtics team known for their resiliency and late-game savvy.
It was the “new” Knicks who showed championship caliber, lacing the kilts with a 32-11 third-quarter run and sending them limping back to Beantown.
The Knicks know not to sleep on the Celtics’ pride and pedigree. Boston might be looking at a sweep, but they won’t hop in the dustpan for the Knicks. Doc Rivers surely already has them at mama’s house eating that home cooking. It usually helps them in situations like this.
That’s all the more reason the Knicks won’t show any mercy, and will look to end the series on Sunday in Boston.
These games have resembled a mob flick, to an extent. In both, the Knicks and Celtics were playing evenly matched playoff games until Carmelo “The Don” Anthony and a swarm of smothering henchmen surfaced and wacked Boston on the head with a baseball bat.
It was a sight to behold for a Madison Square Garden crowd, basking in the glory of long-time nemesis KG stumbling back to the bench – in and out of foul trouble – looking aged and defeated.
The nostalgia was suffocating as Spike Lee gyrated and taunted opposing players in his orange hat – like he did during the Patrick Ewing-glory days.
In the NBA, having the best closer on the court is a distinct advantage. The Celtics and Pierce know this better than anyone. He has daggered the Knicks’ dreams more times than DMX has been arrested.
’Melo has jacked that title with his scoring assaults. On Tuesday, he hit eight of 13 second-half shots, stamping his status as the “man” in this series.
Strategically, Mike Woodson is smacking Rivers upside the head with match-ups, defensive alignments and inspirational half-time tongue-lashings.
“I thought we attacked them in the first half, but they hung in there,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers told the Associated Press. “They didn’t let us throw a knockout punch and I thought in the second half they turned that on us and they threw a knockout punch.”
With the usually-loyal Boston media already throwing in the towel, the Knicks vets are talking title-tough.
“I think guys know what’s at stake,” forward Kenyon Martin said. “Guys know what it’s about right now and it’s about winning a championship.”
Champions have a wolf’s mentality, and the best way for the Knicks to start marking their territory is to sweep Boston. That would send an emphatic “guard ya grill” message to their next-round opponent.
