NBA Recap: Knicks Top Sixers, Celtics Trip Up Pistons

Another busy night in the National Basketball Association…Let’s take a look at some of the notable games:

New York Knicks 94, Philadelphia 76ers 84

Look at this — the Knicks are showing signs of life on the road! Fresh off a 128-94 pounding of the Dallas Mavericks, New York won their second straight road contest with an impressive outing in Philadelphia. Led by Italian sensation Danilo Gallinari (21 points) and a strong effort from rookie Toney Douglas (20 points), the Knicks erased an 11-point halftime deficit to send the 76ers to their fifth straight loss.

The Knicks attacked from the outside early and often, and that proved to be the recipe for success. New York launched a remarkable 25 three-pointers, connecting on 11. Tracy McGrady was especially dangerous from behind the arc, knocking down four of his five three-point attempts to finish with 14 points in the contest.

The 76ers were once again led by Andre Igoudala, one of the few bright spots from a seemingly lost season. Igoudala knocked down 14 points and hauled in 17 rebounds, although his performance wasn’t all stellar. His poor shooting form continued as he went 0-for-7 from three-point land; all told, he’s now 1-for-19 from beyond the arc in his last four games.

Those following NBA basketball betting lines will note that Philly’s struggles at home continued. The Sixers are just 23-44 overall on the season with just 10 of those wins coming at the Wachovia Center.

Boston Celtics 119, Detroit Pistons 93

The Boston Celtics are one of the NBA’s oldest teams, but they seem to have found a way to save their legs for the late season and playoffs — just win games by halftime. For the second time in four nights, the Celts basically locked up a W halfway through the game, jumping out to a 64-35 halftime lead on the Pacers before putting it in cruise control.

The Celtics were led by a great all-around effort from their stars. Paul Pierce scored 15, Ray Allen made six of nine shots and Kevin Garnett had a very efficient evening, scoring 14 points while adding eight rebounds. In the end, Boston ended up registered a season-high 34 assists on 46 made field goals, hammering a Detroit team that looked anemic defensively throughout the contest.

There weren’t many Pistons performances worth mentioning on this night. Guard Will Bynum led all Detroit players with 16 points, while Rip Hamilton chipped in with 14. Those decent efforts were overshadowed, though, by Detroit’s poor defensive effort and a total inability to protect the basketball — the team turned the ball over 18 times and were out-rebounded 36-28.

Tomorrow night should be an interesting one in the Association with eight games being played. The most notable contest will be in Miami, where the Heat will take on the San Antonio Spurs. Miami is looking to keep its playoff chances alive as the race for 8th place in the Eastern Conference heats up. If you’d like to check out this and other NBA basketball betting lines, head on over to the Sports Interaction online sportsbook today!