Even in losing, Amar’e validates Knicks

Paul Pierce bowed to the boos tumbling down from beyond the dusty, old Knicks banners, smirked on his way to the locker room and blurted loudly to the brokenhearted building.

“They wanted it,” Pierce bellowed.

Here in New York, what they wanted was a rivalry again. Pierce smiled that &$#%#&@!ure Boston Celtics smile and yelled again on his way past the scorer’s table, past the fans starting to bundle to descend into a cold, New York night.

“THEY WANTED IT!”

They did want it here. The Knicks had gone and got good and muscled-up with free-agent talent. They’d gone on an eight-game winning streak, and they wanted the Celtics to see that an old rivalry could breathe again. In the end, Pierce had the final word on Wednesday night, a signature, step-back jump shot over Amar’e Stoudemire with .4 seconds left. This had been Stoudemire’s night, his season, and ultimately it was his 3-pointer a millisecond past the buzzer that spared the Celtics a March Madness moment at Madison Square Garden.