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When the Celtics and Knicks ced off in the very first game of the NBA seasonon Christmas Day, they both looked like the trendsetters in the Atlantic Division. Over a month later, both teams have hit hard times, although the Celtics are finally their way out of it. However, Boston still had early problems against a New York team that is now hitting much worse times.
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Robert Dougherty is a life-long Philadelphia resident and 76ers n.
Steal of the Night
Celtics, Knicks Struggle to Move Up Atlantic Division: A Fan 9,This article was created on the Yahoo! Contributor Network, where users like you are published on Yahoo! every day.Learn more
76ers still find themselves square with Eastern elite
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Posted Feb 4 2012
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Chandler Parsons gets the steal and takes flight finishing with the serious one-hand throw down.
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However, this remains the same Celtics club that looked ready to break up the Big Three a few weeks ago. Now it is the Knicks who are on the verge of lling apart and big changes to get out of a horrible slump. Yet Boston has started to win again without tearing its foundation apart so r, although an actual championship run still looks unlikely at the moment.
Posted Feb 4 2012
Al Jefferson scored 18 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to help the Utah Jazz beat the Los Angeles Lakers 96-87 Saturday night.
But struggling this much to beat the Knicks shouldn&39;t be something to be proud of, given how r they have llen since Christmas. The Celtics had to hang around a now 8-15 team until they got hot, as they wound up only shooting 40 percent for the night. Yet even with 26 points from,20 fromand 16 by,the Knicks still didn&39;t have enough to win.
ThePhiladelphia 76erswere playing a real statement game against theMiami Heaton Feb. 3. But while the Sixers tried to take the next step in the Eastern Conference, their closest competition in the Atlantic Division ced off on the same night. Although the Sixers didultimately ll hardto the Heat, ns like myself have to be encouraged at how theBoston CelticsandNew York Knickshaven&39;t caught up quite yet.
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Posted Feb 4 2012
76ers still can&39;t play complete game against Heat
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Despite not getting over their hump against the Heat, the Sixers have to feel confident that they can hold off the Celtics and Knicks. But at this point, it does appear that the Celtics are the team that Philadelphia has to actually worry about - or at least the only one in this division that comes close.
Jeremy Lin scored a career-hig9h 25 points and the Knicks salvaged the finale of a back-to-back-to-back set beating the Nets 99-92.
While the Celtics didn&39;t have their best game, they improved to 12-10 and are now 3 1/2 games behind the Sixers in the Atlantic Division. Although the Knicks appeared to be the Sixers&39; biggest Atlantic competition on Christmas Day, the Celtics seem like they are putting themselves back together. If Philadelphia finally comes back down to Earth - as it just did against Miami - then Boston could be in position to win the division again after all.
The Knicks had a 10 point lead late in the third quarter and looked ready to finally stop their bleeding - and maybe save Mike D&39;Antoni&39;s job for a little while longer. But then Boston woke up in the fourth, ascarried the Celtics over the top just like in the old days. His 30 points and nine fourth-quarter points frompushed Boston to a91-89 victory, avenging its Christmas Day defeat in Madison Square Garden.
