Proud Celtics making stand against Knicks

It might be the last Celtics stand for the tandem of Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett but they showed their class and determination as Boston humbled the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday.

Teetering on the brink of elimination down 3-0 in their best-of-seven series, the Celtics won an overtime thriller in Boston to stay alive and followed with a 92-86 win on Wednesday to send the series back to Boston for Game Six on Friday.

Pierce, 35, who has played all 15 years of his NBA career in Boston, matched his running mate with 16 points and logged more than 44 minutes on court as the Celtics outbattled the Knicks using just seven players.

“Every game since we’ve been down 3-0 has been Game Seven for us,” said Boston coach Doc Rivers, whose team fell behind 11-0 before clawing back for another do-or-die win.

Another defeat in this series could also mark the last game for the Boston partnership of Pierce and Garnett.

Before the Miami Big Three of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh took the NBA by storm, there was the Celtics Big Three formed in 2007 when Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen were acquired in trades by Boston to join Paul Pierce.