Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Playoff Schedule 

Game 1 – Saturday, April 20, Boston at New York, 3 p.m., ABC

Game 2 – Tuesday, April 23, Boston at New York, 8 p.m., TNT

Game 3 – Friday, April 26, New York at Boston, 8 p.m., ESPN

Game 4 – Sunday, April 28, New York at Boston, 1 p.m., ABC

Game 5* – Wednesday, May 1, Boston at New York, TBD

Game 6* – Friday, May 3, New York at Boston, TBD

Game 7* – Sunday, May 5, Boston at New York, TBD

Season Record

New York Knicks (54-28, Atlantic Division Champions) vs Boston Celtics (41-40, third in Atlantic Division)

Season Series: New York Knicks 3-1

January 7, 2013 (102-96 for Boston)

January 24, 2013 (89-86 for New York)

March 26, 2013 (100-85 for New York)

March 31, 2013 (108-89 for New York)

Key Matchups

Carmelo Anthony vs Paul Pierce

Tyson Chandler vs Kevin Garnett

J.R Smith vs Avery Bradley

Stat Leaders

Points: Knicks – Carmelo Anthony (28.7), Paul Pierce (18.6)

Rebounds: Knicks – Tyson Chandler (10.7), Kevin Garnett (7.8)

Assists: Knicks – Raymond Felton (5.5), Paul Pierce (4.8)

Fun Fact

Up until this season, the Boston Celtics had won the Atlantic Division every year Kevin Garnett had been with the team.

Why the New York Knicks will win this series:

There are just too many question marks on the side of Boston. The health of Kevin Garnett is still up in there, Avery Bradley will likely start out-of-position at point guard, and the Celtics second-unit (Williams, Crawford, Randolph, Wilcox) has no playoff experience whatsoever. Carmelo Anthony has been lights-out as of late, finishing the season as the leagues leading-scorer at 28.7 points a night. If not for LeBron James and Kevin Durant, Anthony could easily be the MVP of the NBA in 2013. Boston is going to focus a lot of their defensive pressure on Carmelo, but with his recent hot streak, that may not be enough. The Knicks roster is full of battle-tested, hungry veterans who are ready to take that next stride in the East and compete with the likes of the Miami Heat for that top spot. Fans and experts have made fun of their age in the past, but in the postseason, it will all pay huge dividends for the Knicks. New York is still extremely deep, despite key injuries to guys like Amare Stoudemire and the now retired Rasheed Wallace.

How the Boston Celtics can pull off the upset:

They have the backing of an entire country behind them. With all due respect to the city of New York and their Knicks, each and every American citizen will have a soft spot for these Boston Celtics heading into this series, after the tragic events that took place Monday afternoon at the Boston Marathon. It could become very uplifting, and almost be the extra boost the Celtics need to push the Knicks to the prink. From a basketball standpoint, Boston is in the top-10 in the NBA in both opponents field-goal percentage (44.1%) and opponents three-point field-goal percentage (34.2%). In their only win against the Knicks this season, Boston held New York to just 40% shooting, and Carmelo Anthony to just six made shots on 26 attempts. Outside of Anthony and J.R Smith, New York doesn’t have many guys who can create their own shot. Contain those two, and this series becomes a heck of a lot easier.

Final Prediction: New York Knicks in seven

Chris Walder is the Editor of Sir Charles in Charge. You may follow him on Twitter at @WalderSports

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Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports

“If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere”. (New York, New York by Frank Sinatra).

I think scoring 54 points in Madison Square Garden qualifies as making it in “The Big Apple”.

Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors finished the game with a career-high 54 points (NBA season-high) on 18 for 28 shooting as the Warriors came up just a little bit short at Madison Square Garden, losing a hard-fought game to the New York Knicks by a final score of 109-105 Wednesday night.

His previous career-high was 42.

33 of Curry’s 54 points came from behind the arc, as he nailed a franchise-record 11 three-pointers. He also added seven assists, six rebounds and four steals.

“I felt good all night. Obviously played the whole game, so was just trying to keep my legs underneath me on the offensive end, and you know, just stick to the game on the defensive end,” Curry said. “Once I started seeing that 3-ball go down in transition, all sorts of spots on the floor, I knew it was going to be a good night.” (Yahoo)

Kobe Bryant and Donyell Marshall are the only other players in NBA history to have hit more three-pointers in a regular season game.

Curry’s 54 points were the most by an NBA player in a loss since Bryant scored 58 in a 133-124 three-overtime loss to the Charlotte Bobcats back in 2006.

Leading the way for the Knicks was Carmelo Anthony, who finished with 35 points and eight assists. Tyson Chandler had a double-double of 16 points and a career-high 28 rebounds.

Curry was fined $35,000 earlier in the day for his role in the Warriors/Indiana Pacers skirmish from the night before.

In 24 hours, Steph Curry went from being thrown down by Roy Hibbert to throwing down on the Knicks defense in Madison Square Garden.

— Not Bill Walton (@NotBillWalton) February 28, 2013

David Lee was out for Golden State, as he had been suspended for his involvement in the brawl.

Chris Walder is the Editor of Sir Charles in Charge. You may follow him on Twitter at @WalderSports

Be sure to “LIKE” the Facebook Fan Page for Sir Charles in Charge by clicking here