Boston Celtics' Delonte West saves the ball from a back court violation during the fourth quarter of last night's game in Boston. (AP/Winslow Townson)

After leading for much of the game, the Knicks needed one defensive stop to put a bow on Game 1 in Boston. Instead they left Ray Allen, of all people, open, and Allen made them pay with a 3-pointer. Carmelo Anthony missed one on the team's final possession as the Knicks, playing in their first playoff game since 2004, fell, 87-85, in the Hub. Anthony had 12 points in the first half but finished with only 15. (He was also called for a questionable offensive foul with under a minute remaining, but that didn't hurt the Knicks nearly as much as giving up an alleyoop dunk of an inbounds pass on the previous possession.)

Amar'e Stoudemire appeared poised to carry the team on his shoulders in the second half. He had 28 on 12-of-18 shooting. Chauncey Billups hit a big 3-pointer but also left with with a strained knee and is not a sure thing to be back in this series. If the Knicks take anything from this game, it's that first halves of NBA playoff contests don't mean much. And don't run out of timeouts and force yourselves to run a last-ditch play after running the length of the court.

Well, the Rangers aren't dead yet. Twice they took the lead against the Capitals, and twice they gave it back. But Brandon Dubinsky scored the decisive goal with 1:39 remaining to keep the Rangers away from the precipice of elimination with a 3-2 win over the Capitals. His goal deflected off Karl Alzner, goalie Michal Neuvirth and then the stick of Alex Ovechkin. Erik Christensen opened the scoring (on the power play, no less) in the second period, and Vinny Prospal scored with an assist from Dubinsky in the third period. The Rangers almost entered the second intermission with a lead, but an apparent goal was waved off when replay indicated it crossed the goalline after time had expired. Game 4 is Wednesday back at the Garden.

The Yankees exacted a small measure of revenge for their loss in the American League Championship Series with a 6-5 win over the Rangers on Sunday night. They took two of three from the Rangers in the series. Eric Chavez had the go-ahead single in the eighth inning, and Robinson Cano, Russell Martin and Curtis Granderson had home runs. CC Sabathia is winless in four starts this season. Remember when people were campaigning for him to win the AL Cy Young Award last season because he "knew how to win"? Did he forget, or was that a silly argument?

Hey, the Mets won! Dillon Gee pitched 5 2/3 innings fresh off his callup from the minor leagues with in a 3-2 win over the Braves. The victory snapped a seven-game losing streak that included back-to-back doubleheader sweeps against Colorado and Atlanta. Josh Thole had a pair of RBI singles, and Ike Davis added a third. Chris Capuano and R.A. Dickey, who both pitched Thursday, filled in by pitching out of the bullpen before Francisco Rodriguez closed it out.