Carmelo Anthony needed five stitches to his left eye that was still bleeding in the locker room after his late fourth-quarter TKO.
The Knicks need more than stitches to repair the bloody emotional wound from last night's fourth-quarter collapse in their 96-86 loss to the Celtics.
As the final 25 seconds ticked down and the Celtics had weathered perhaps the Knicks' best punch, Kevin Garnett turned to the Garden crowd behind the baseline and shouted at the top of his lungs:
"Yeah . . . dammit!!!."
After the buzzer, Anthony sat alone on the Knicks bench long after his teammates left the court. Asked what he was thinking, the Brooklyn native said, "This ship is going to turn right."
For now, the ship be sinking -- to borrow Micheal Ray Richardson's famous Knicks quotation.
This Knicks-Boston battle was a bloody affair, a physical defensive struggle, a game more suited for the gritty Celtics than the newly assembled Knicks, who blew a nine-point lead in the final seven minutes, 36 seconds as they were outscored 23-4 -- with Anthony forced to sit out the final 2:06.
In what was a potential first-round playoff preview, the Celtics began their monstrous rally with a 13-0 run before scoring the game's final 10 points to send the Knicks into further freefall at a roaring Garden filled with a boatload of Boston rooters.
"It was just a Boston-New York classic; everybody trying to win," said Garnett. "This felt like a playoff game to me. It felt like you were in a ballfight."
The Knicks fell to 7-9 since the Melo blockbuster and to the .500 mark overall (35-35). They've lost sixth of their last seven games after last night's 35-point second half.
Anthony, after a spunky first half, scored just five points in the second half, without a field goal, to finish with 22. He was 0-for-5 in the final two quarters and was one of three players who bled during the roughhouse night after his collision with Rajon Rondo on a key inbounds play went horribly wrong.
Boston (50-19) didn't come away unscathed, with Ray Allen receiving seven stitches also after getting sliced up by Jared Jeffries' elbow.
"It was a bloodbath," Boston coach Doc Rivers said.
In the night's final turning point, Rondo's elbow crashed into Anthony's face at midcourt as he moved to intercept the inbounds pass, sending Melo to the floor as blood trickled from his eye.
No foul was called as play continued, with Anthony staying down. Glen Davis scored on a layup to make it 90-86. Anthony was still down as the teams went back upcourt and Rondo collided into him again.
After a timeout, Anthony returned for 28 seconds, then departed because of the bleeding.
"I thought it was cool until I got in there and I guess it started seeping into my eye," Anthony said. "I couldn't open my eye after that."
Asked if it was a foul, Anthony said, "The way they was calling, it ain't no telling."
The Knicks had distinguished themselves for three quarters, building a 15-point lead early in the second half before they gave it away.
"We just got to a point where I thought we panicked," coach Mike D'Antoni said. "This is a work in progress and we have a month to get this thing figured out. If we can figure out fourth quarters, we can get a lot smoother. With two scorers on the floor like Carmelo and Amar'e, we just have to figure it out."
Chauncey Billups, who made a key turnover during the Celtic surge, said, "That's the sign of a veteran team that knows when to do what. That's where we need to get to."
The Knicks are 1-5 since Billups returned from a thigh injury, 1-5 since the season-ticket price hike.
Billups made a terrible mistake when he drove the ball down baseline and his pass flew right into the hands of Garnett, who then buried a top-of-the-key jumper as the shot clock expired for a 86-82 lead, capping the 13-0 spree.
After the Knicks tied it at 86 on two Anthony free throws, Toney Douglas was pick-pocketed by Rondo and Pierce nailed the killshot, a 20-footer for a 92-86 lead.
"I think we got stagnant offensively," Stoudemire said. "We didn't get into our plays or our rhythm. The first half showed how good we could be. We are a much better team than we are showing."
It was a rough fourth quarter all around for the Knicks. Stoudemire, who 16 points but without a fourth-quarter field goal, drove baseline and his dunk attempt was blocked by Davis on a play in which he appeared to be clobbered. Stoudemire complained furiously, though he was spared a technical foul.
"We're going to get it right," Anthony said. "There's no need to panic."
