Knicks 85, Celtics 78: Carmelo Anthony scored 36 points and sparked a fourth-quarter comeback as host New York took the series opener against Boston.

J.R. Smith had 15 points off the bench, Raymond Felton scored 13 and reserve Kenyon Martin contributed 10 points and nine rebounds as the Knicks erased a seven-point deficit late in the third quarter.

Jeff Green scored 26 points - 24 through three quarters - and Paul Pierce had 21 for the Celtics, who were held to eight points in the fourth quarter and shot a miserable 7-of-27 in the second half. Boston had as many turnovers (eight) as points in the fourth quarter to fall into a 1-0 hole heading into Game 2 of the best-of-seven series Tuesday at Madison Square Garden.

Pierce's 3-pointer with 80 seconds left in the third quarter capped an 11-1 spurt and gave the Celtics their biggest lead at 70-63, but Anthony scored six points in a 13-2 spurt to put the Knicks ahead to stay 76-72 with 6:32 remaining.

Anthony hit his first four shots and had 10 points in the opening 4 1/2 minutes, but the Celtics fought back to take a 29-26 lead after one period on Green's buzzer-beating 3-pointer. Green scored 12 of his 20 first-half points in the second quarter to give Boston a 53-49 edge at the break.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Boston did not receive one field goal from its bench and the only points from the reserves came on four free throws by Courtney Lee. The 25 points after the break marked the fewest points in a half in the franchise's storied postseason history. ... Anthony and Pierce each addressed the crowd prior to the game in regard to the Boston Marathon bombings, with Anthony saying "We send out prayers to ... (the) people of Boston and City of Boston" and Pierce offering thanks for the widespread support and vowing that "Boston will rise and run again." ... Knicks PG Pablo Prigioni sat out with a right ankle sprained sustained in the regular-season finale. Felton started at the point and Chris Copeland moved into the starting five.