Celtics Survive Sprewell’s 49

There doesn’t appear to be a big difference between scoring 49 points and scoring 50. For Latrell Sprewell and the New York Knicks, it was the difference between a win and a loss.

Antoine Walker scored a season-high 42 points, and Boston caught a break when Sprewell missed a foul shot late in regulation that would have given him 50 as the Celtics beat the New York Knicks, 102-93, in overtime Tuesday night. It was the Celtics’ seventh win in eight games.

“Coach [Jim] O’Brien told us at halftime, ‘No matter if he scores 50, let’s just win the game,”’ Walker said.

Walker made 14 of 33 shots and had nine rebounds and nine assists. Paul Pierce added 18 points and six steals.

Sprewell scored a career-high 49 points and could have reached 50 to give New York a four-point lead and all but lock up the victory with 6.2 seconds left. But with a few people in the crowd yelling, “We want 50,” Sprewell missed the first of two free throws.

“I wasn’t so concerned about getting the 50 as I was about making the two,” Sprewell said. “It was fun, but it takes the fun away that we didn’t win.”

Walker then got free behind the three-point arc as he received the inbounds pass, and his shot tied it, 89-89, with 3.6 seconds left. Sprewell took the final shot of regulation, but Pierce partially blocked it.

“It was a great call by Coach O’Brien. It was a play we hadn’t run all year. When I saw myself that open, I just let it go,” Walker said.

Sprewell, who surpassed his previous career high of 46, was held scoreless in overtime in Don Chaney’s first loss since replacing Jeff Van Gundy as coach.