Kevin Garnett Tripped Toney Douglas to Free Ray Allen for Winning Shot
By Larry Brown April 17, 2011 - Posted in Basketball

How did Ray Allen get so wide open for his winning shot in Game 1 of the Celtics-Knicks game Sunday evening? The answer is he was the recipient of a dirty or savvy play by Kevin Garnett, depending on how you look at it. Check out the final 20 seconds of the game courtesy of Mock Session and keep your eye out for KG when he trips Toney Douglas:

I’m not saying Ray Allen couldn’t have made the shot with a hand in his face, but I do know he had a much better look at the basket after Douglas ate hardwood. Unfortunately for New York, that wasn’t the only the only call the refs blew.

On Carmelo Anthony’s airball to end the game, he was hit on the wrist by Ray Allen. Even Doc Rivers recognized the Celtics got away with a foul on that one. Obviously it’s not the referees’ fault the Knicks lost, but they certainly played a role.

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5 Comments
  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_E3UYJBTUNCH43YEPINRIAMONSY markmannnx

    Yes, Douglas tripped but you have no evidence whatsoever that KG did anything to trip him. I saw this on the video and the best I could see from the tape is that Douglas got his foot caught against KG’s heel. Nothing savvy, nothing sinester and certainly not a foul. People trip all the time Larry. Plus, no one hit Carmelo at the end of the game. Even if there was some contact, no referree worth his salt would call such a bush league call on the final shot of the game. There were plenty of times that Pierce and Allen were smacked on the way to the rim and there was no call. The real hit on Carmelo was that he ignored a wide open Douglas on the play so that he could take a double-teamed 28 footer. He’s lucky his coach didn’t come out and hit him on the arm!

  • http://profiles.google.com/anthonyjs Anthony Serino

    KG did trip him. I’m a Celtics fan too, but I don’t feel the need to argue reality to defend my team. KG probably saw the refs no-call the blocking foul on Melo at the beginning of that video, realized its the last seconds of a playoff game, and expected the same no-call. as soon as TD hit the ground though, i thought for sure it was gonna be a turnover.

    I don’t see Ray’s hit on Carmelo on that last shot though, maybe the vid’s just too small.

  • Anonymous

    It’s that time of year once again when the NBA is more about WHO advances to the next round instead of who should advance. Once again the refs will manipulate and make all the right calls to get the big named teams to the next round. Yep, NBA players are great athletes, it’s just a shame that a non athletic commissioner has all the power and say so.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_E3UYJBTUNCH43YEPINRIAMONSY markmannnx

    You have to stick your leg out to trip someone. Just because the guy tripped over KG’s leg doesn’t mean KG “tripped” him. But, it’s such a non-issue. No one gave the Celtics a huge break here. There were plenty of times that Pierece and Allen drove to the basket and were hacked and there was no call. If you’re going to question a call, the offensive foul on Melo moments before the 3 could just as easily not have been called. The Knicks lost in the end becasue Melo took a bad shot, ignored his open teammate who had just drilled a 3 and wanted to be a hero. He didn’t need a 3 but he wanted to win it all. Instead he showed himself to be the selfish player he often is.

  • Anonymous

    Whining about no-calls in the closing seconds is nothing new by the losing teams and fans. Your clip starts with a foul by Anthony that was ignored because of the situation. I didn’t see any reaction by Carmelo to your observed foul on the last shot. Pretty lame post for someone with experience covering sports.