A night after taking down Lebron James the much hyped Miami Heat in the regular season opener, the Celtics were stunned by James’s former team the Cleveland Cavaliers as they came from behind to record a 95-87 win in their season opener. The Celtics had control of this game throughout most of the first three quarters, leading 64-55 midway through the third. However, that wasn’t enough to stop the Cavs who were on a mission to prove they can indeed play and win with James
Rajon Rondo led the way again for the Celtics with 18 points and 9 assists, while Paul Peirce chipped in with 13 points and Ray Allen added 12 for the C’s who admitted taking the Cavs lightly entering tonight’s match. "We took them a little bit too lightly," said Shaquille O’Neal, who spent last season with Cleveland.
New Knick acquisition Amare Stoudamire posted a double double in his first game with his new team as he led them to a 98-93 win over the Toronto Raptors in Wednesday’s season opener. The Knicks' prize free agent had 19 points and 10 rebounds while Wilson Chandler came off the bench to top score with 22 points for the Knicks who held off Toronto’s late rally’s to record the first up win.
The Knicks raced out of the gates to an early lead, up by as many as 16 points early in the second quarter. However, the Raptors would respond with a run and close the gap to 51-47 at the major break. The teams would then stay close for the majority of the second half until the Knicks came away with the victory. The Knicks other key signing Raymond Felton finished the game with 15 points while forward Danilo Gallinari chipped in with 12 of his own.
Head to head, the Celtics are 17-7-1 in the last 25 meetings and 5-1-1 ATS in the last seven meetings in Boston. The home team is 6-2 ATS in the last eight meetings while the over is 4-1 in the last five in Boston.
The Celtics and Knicks met twice in the preseason, with Boston coming away winners on both occasions. In the first match up, the Celtics won 104-101 at the Garden. The second meeting was a little more lopsided as the Celtics came away winners 97-84 on a neutral court, although Amare Stoudamire was missing in action for the Knicks.
Despite the fact that the Celtics and Knicks have been at opposite ends of the standings in the last couple of season, that hasn’t stopped them from playing some tight contests in recent times. Watch Live Online Watch Live Online
