Celtics Vs. Knicks Score: Boston Up Big At Halftime, New York Hopes On Life Support

Madison Square Garden is hushed. The Knicks’ defense is tattered. And Boston appears to be on the verge of completing the NBA’s first playoff series win of 2011, leading the Knicks 55-38 at halftime of Game 4 of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinals series.

Rajon Rondo has 13 points and six assists for the Celtics, who have also gotten 12 points from Glen Davis off the bench. But while the Knicks’ defense has allowed Rondo et al. to turn it into Swiss cheese, New York’s offense might have been worse in the first half.

Carmelo Anthony has 19 points on five-of-13 shooting for the Knicks so far; the rest of the Knicks have made just six of 34 shots in the first half. That’s a miserable 17.6% from the field for those Knicks — including Amar’e Stoudemire, who has made just one of 10 shots — and it’s slightly worse than the percentage Butler shot (18.8%) in the NCAA Tournament final earlier this month.

If Anthony — amusingly miscredited with 216 points at one juncture — can get hot, the Knicks still have a chance. If not, it’s hard to see a way back for them, considering their defensive struggles almost require offensive production in lieu of a reliance on stops.

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