Ailing Celtics down angry Knicks as Anthony ejected

New York (AFP) – New York star Carmelo Anthony was ejected in the second quarter as the Knicks fell 115-87 to the injury-depleted Celtics in Boston.

Anthony, who scored all 12 of his points of the night in the first quarter, was whistled for a non-shooting foul on Boston’s Amir Johnson with 4:44 remaining in the second period.

Handed a technical for arguing the call, he continued to protest to referee Tony Brothers who tossed him.

The ninth ejection of Anthony’s NBA career — the first since the 2012-13 season — came with the Knicks down 44-38 and things didn’t get better for them from there.

Boston’s Isaiah Thomas was one point shy of his season-high with 29. Kelly Olynyk scored 19 points and Avery Bradley added 15 for the Celtics, who were again without center Al Horford, who is recovering from a concussion, and forward Jae Crowder, who has a sprained left ankle.

Guard Marcus Smart and center Olynyk justified Boston coach Brad Stevens’ faith in their defensive abilities. The Celtics played with energy on the defensive end, forcing four of their 25 turnovers in the first six minutes and holding the Knicks to 35.1 percent shooting overall.

The frustration was evident in six Knicks technical fouls.

“I can’t comment on that stuff, except some of those I don’t blame guys,” Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek said.

Joakim Noah received a technical from the bench. Kristaps Porzingis, whose 14 points led the Knicks, received one in the fourth quarter for punching the ball in the air.

Brandon Jennings was handed a technical for slamming the basketball and drew a second for continuing to argue to get ejected from the game as well.

“I was just frustrated,” Jennings said. “We were getting blown out. I felt like we got punked tonight. I was just frustrated.”

Added Hornacek: “We can’t comment on any of that stuff. They outhustled us. They got the calls. They were more aggressive.”

In addition to the victory, the Celtics got encouraging news about Horford. Although he missed his fifth straight game, he participated in non-contact practice drills on Thursday and said he plans to travel with the team to Indiana for Saturday’s game against the Pacers.

“It’s a really good sign,” Horford said.