McDaniel Coming On Strong for the Celtics

Xavier McDaniel still sounds like the prototypical New York Knick. Just listen to ...

X on mixing it up under the basket: “I’m probably an average basketball player if I don’t play physical. I need to work harder to make up for what I lack.”

X on fighting: “When I get in a fight, I make it a fight -- not like that Derrick Coleman (a-swing-and-a-miss) stuff. I know I’m going to get fined, and I want to get my money’s worth. So, somebody hits me, I’m gonna get up and hit ‘em back. That’s my motto.”

X on ... that’s like Exxon, as in spilling petroleum.

Thursday night, when the Boston Celtics meet the Knicks at Madison Square Garden, McDaniel’s past and present converge once again, like crude oil and seawater.

Many eyes will be trained on the the 6-foot-8 forward; McDaniel, it seems, has a lot to do with the temperature of things.

As a Knick, McDaniel was at his hottest in the playoffs last season, when he averaged 18.8 points and 7.1 rebounds in 12 games. It was his play that helped the rugged-but-underrated Knicks push the Chicago Bulls, eventual champions, to seven games in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

As a Celtic, McDaniel, 29, also has marked the time, especially against his former teammates.

He was just getting comfortable as a starter when the Celtics lost 85-80 to the Knicks Nov. 14. At the time, the Celtics were in the middle of a six-game losing streak, their longest of the season.

On Dec. 18, McDaniel was befuddled into 3-for-11 shooting as the Celtics lost to the Knicks, 113-87. Throw out the dramatic Game 5 playoff victory in 1991, and it was the first time in 23 regular season games that the Knicks had beaten the Celtics in Boston.

On Jan. 10, McDaniel played 16 minutes off the bench as the Celtics beat the Knicks 100-97 in New York. The victory lifted the Celtics to 17-17, and they hadn’t been at .500 since they were 2-2.

They haven’t been under .500 since. As McDaniel has emerged as a valuable sixth man, the Celtics have learned to play toward their potential.

The Celtics (42-30) have won 30 of 43 games since January. Over the past 10 games, McDaniel has averaged 16.3 points and scored nearly half his points in fourth-quarter situations. Most important, McDaniel finally has been delivering the kind of measured toughness he promised when he signed as a free agent six months ago.

McDaniel had 27 points and 13 rebounds in a four-point loss to the Phoenix Suns Friday; thus ended a nine-game winning streak. Two days later, McDaniel had 25 points in a 101-89 loss to the Bulls.

“This week, we played the No. 1 team in the West, the No. 1 team in the East, and now, we’ve got the No. 2 team in the East,” McDaniel said. “We have to realize we can’t be satisfield with just staying with these guys. We’ve got to beat them.”

Although McDaniel has slotted them into the No. 2 hole, the Knicks (51-21) remain a game ahead of the Bulls (50-22) in the race for the best record in the Eastern Conference. But will that hold up? These are odd times. Just Tuesday night, the Knicks lost in Atlanta, the Bulls lost in Milwaukee and the Dallas Mavericks picked up their eighth victory of the season, in Seattle.

“For us, we’ve just got to stay ahead of New Jersey,” said Celtics Coach Chris Ford, whose team is attempting to hold off the Nets, and hold on to home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, which begin in less than three weeks.

“A couple of teams are having exceptional years, but you still can get knocked off,” Ford said. “There’s a very, very fragile balance.”

The Celtics will try to upset that balance Thursday night against the Knicks, who have been averaging more than three victories and one major brawl a week.

Never mind the brawls, McDaniel said.

“People are just harping on (the fights) because it draws news,” he said. “It’s like when you see people talking about (controversial) rap groups; the more you fight them, the more records they sell.

“We’ve got to hold on to the ball. They’re gonna grab, and they’re gonna push you around. If they’re going to give you a hard foul, you’ve got to keep driving because sooner or later they won’t be able to foul you anymore; they’ll be on the bench with too many fouls.

“They’re going to come out and play hard, play physical, and there’s nothing left for you to do but match it.”