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 Every time Bradley released a shot, he did his best not to think
about the soreness on his non-shooting hand.
It probably helped that most of his shots went in on Tuesday.
Bradley made his first seven shots and scored 26 points, leading the
Boston Celtics to a wire-to-wire 108-97 victory over the New York
Knicks.
Bradley shot 11-of-14 while playing with a left sleeve on his thumb
that team trainers gave him after he had X-rays on the thumb in the
third quarter of Sunday's loss to the Miami Heat. Bradley has been
playing with it ended that game by missing four of five shots in the
fourth quarter.
"I can't really dribble with my left (thumb) with how it's taped,"
Bradley said. "It's kind of hard for me to but I wasn't trying to
think about it -- just go out and play. Because if I'm thinking
about it, it's going to stop me from being aggressive."
Against the Knicks, it was a different story.
Before he missed, Bradley knocked down two 3-pointers, had a layup
and three other jumpers and even his first miss indirectly led to
points for the Celtics.
 That was when Bradley missed wildly on a dunk attempt with 6:39
remaining in the third quarter. Three seconds later, center Brandon
Bass grabbed the rebound and knocked down a jumper for a 67-55 lead.
"Obviously it didn't affect his shot today," Boston coach Brad
Stevens said. "He was smoking from everywhere. He had the best pass
I ever seen when he missed that dunk and it went right to Bass. He's
going to play through some of that stuff. He's sore, he's got some
pain and I commend him for the effort that he gives. He wants to
play and it takes a lot for him to sit out."
The Celtics led by double digits most of the way after opening the
game with a 14-2 lead. They were briefly threatened in the fourth
while Bradley rested but each time it seemed the Knicks had
momentum, forward Jared Sullinger had an answer offensively.
"They set the tone from the beginning of the game," New York forward
Carmelo Anthony said. "They got in the passing lanes and were
aggressive on the defensive end and they played off of that."
Sullinger scored eight of his 22 in the fourth quarter and spent
most of the night exploiting his matchup with New York forward Lou
Amundson. His biggest shot of the night came with 7:50 remaining
when he responded to a layup by New York guard Shane Larkin with a
layup of his own for an 88-82 lead.
A little under two minutes later, Sullinger knocked down a mid-range
fadeaway for a 92-82 lead. Bradley put the finishing touches on
Boston's 17th win with a 19-footer, a 22-footer and a 3-pointer in
the final minute.
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Bradley and Sullinger led five players in double figures for Boston,
which nearly matched its season high and shot 54.5 percent. Rookie
guard Marcus Smart and reserve forward Jae Crowder added 13 apiece
while Bass contributed 12.
"We came out with energy right out the gate," Smart said. "That is
what we have been lacking."
While Bradley and Sullinger formed an effective offensive tandem for
the Celtics, the Knicks had a four-game home winning streak stopped
and never could get any key defensive stops when Boston made
12-of-18 shots.
Anthony struggled at the start, missing seven of his first 10 shots
and scored 21 points on 9-of-23 shooting. Point guard Jose Calderon
added 17 for New York, which actually shot 48 percent despite being
down 12 in the opening minutes.
NOTES: New York F Amar'e Stoudemire missed his fourth straight game
with a sprained left ankle though coach Derek Fisher was hopeful of
a return this weekend. ... In a New York Times story, team president
Phil Jackson labeled his first season being an executive as "an
experiment that has fallen flat on its face."Asked about it before
the game, Fisher said: "I think leaders aren't afraid to step out in
front of it and that's what he did. It stops with him but I'll tell
you guys the same thing it stops with me. Hopefully we'll have more
guys in our locker room that will tell you it stops with them. I'm
not surprised that he's doing what leaders do and that's taking the
responsibility for this group." ... Boston G Marcus Smart made his
fourth start of the season but coach Brad Stevens said it was more
about finding a group that played well together. ... Stevens also
lauded the improvement of rookie swingman James Young in the weight
room, practices and during individual sessions. ... "He's really
improved," Stevens said. "The biggest thing for him and I'll be the
first to tell you, it's more of a shock to his system than he
thought but he really has stayed the course."
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