25 years ago today, Dominique Wilkins and Larry Bird staged one of the greatest duels in NBA history when they went shot-for-shot in the fourth quarter of Game 7 of the 1988 Eastern Conference Semifinals. Wilkins scored 16 of his 47 points in that quarter, but Bird edged him by scoring 20 of his 34 points in the final …

It almost didn't happen (again), but the Knicks were able to hold off an increasingly uncomfortable fourth-quarter comeback from Boston to advance past the first round of playoffs for the first time in more than a decade.

This is really the only comeback necessary.

OK, so this doesn't rate as high as the "BAR FIGHT!" or the "ANYTHING IS POSSIIIIIBLE!" interviews, but few things in this world do.

You know things have gone horribly wrong when J.R. Smith is the one playing peacemaker.

Sam Gardner of Fox Sports caught up with Matthew Shepard's parents to get their reaction to word that Jason Collins had worn No. 98 with the Celtics and Wizards last season as a quiet tribute to their son. As you might expect, they were quite touched by the gesture.

It's natural to focus on all the Knicks celebrating Raymond Felton's huge, buzzer-beating three at the end of the third quarter of today's Boston win. Melo is pumped up. So is Tyson Chandler. Steve Novak is undoubtedly doing a very subtle and very intense discount double check that we just can't see.

At the end of the first half, Boston owned a 54-35 lead over the Knicks. With 1:18 left in the fourth, Raymond Felton gave the Knicks their first lead of the day at 84-82 on a pull-up jumper just inside the key. Kevin Garnett immediately tied the game and after a couple misses from Carmelo and another one from Paul…

This one looked like the last one. The Celtics came out strong in Game 2, as they did in Game 1. Then, at halftime something happened. Maybe New York mixed up its defensive looks, or maybe Boston felt the effects of its thin roster, or maybe they just forgot how to shoot. But the Celtics once again put up one of the…