Knicks Lose to Celtics 97-89 in Poorly Officiated Game

Tuesday night the New York Knicks looked to bounce back after a blowout loss to the NBA Champions Golden State Warriors , despite Stephen Curry having an off-game.

New York got out to a good start, starting the game on a 9-0 run. But then a very questionable flagrant-one foul was called on Carmelo Anthony for clearing out Jae Crowder (face) as he got ready to make his offensive move, completely changed the momentum of the game.

Head coach Derek Fisher thought it was an inadvertent elbow and argued the referees, receiving a technical in the process which compounded to a 9-0 Boston run to quickly tie the game up.

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A couple of minutes later Anthony picked up his second foul of the game while being foolishly overly aggressive defending Crowder (possibly because Crowder was so aggressive defending Melo), forcing him to take a seat on the bench. Although, New York’s offense did not suffer (at least in the first quarter…) as Arron Afflalo stepped up offensively. Boston had the 5’9″ Isaiah Thomas guarding the 6’5″ Afflalo, who took full advantage of the situation; scoring 11 of his 18 points in the first quarter.

Afflalo off to a scorching start w/ 7 of the #Knicks 9pts. 9-0 lead for NYK! #NYKvsBOS pic.twitter.com/TsDgNrdONi
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) February 3, 2016

New York Knicks

It was a back and forth, grind it out game, with 10 ties and 13 lead changes. The game was very physical, which is normal for a Boston game; who averages the most fouls per game in the league, but the most frustrating part of this was the inconsistency of the referee’s calls.

Midway through the third quarter the referee’s inconsistency benefited the Knicks as Amir Johnson was called for a questionable flagrant-one foul in a scuffle with Anthony. Another problem surfaced from the referee’s poor officiating, the review for the flagrant foul call took forever… Seriously… what is the point of the NBA Replay Center in Secaucus, New Jersey… Either way… this helped ignite a mini 6-0 run for New York, which tied the game up at 59.

The game was tight throughout three quarters but a late push by the Celtics in the third quarter gave Boston a lead that they would not relinquish. New York played poor defense, allowing three layups in the final three minutes of the third quarter.

Tyler Zeller with the fast break jam! This 7-footer can run the floor! https://t.co/drfsR0o0M4
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) February 3, 2016

A quick 6-0 run to start the fourth quarter gave Boston their largest lead of the game, 76-65. New York could not overcome the deficit as Kelly Olynyk‘s 11 fourth quarter points kept the Knicks at arm’s reach. Boston went on to win the game 97-89.

It was a very frustrating night for Anthony, who fouled out for the first time this season and shot 4-for-16 from the field. Anthony did however picked up his 14th double-double of the season with 16 points and 14 rebounds.

Robin Lopez also picked up a double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds, his fifth of the season. Although… most of the rebounds came from his own misses… attempting like a million put-backs… Lopez had 11 offensive rebounds Tuesday night…