Bradley leads Celtics to win over Knicks

NEW YORK — Soreness in his left thumb prevented Boston Celtics point guard Avery Bradley from dribbling effectively.

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.

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.”