The New York Knicks head on the road with a 2-0 series lead over the Boston Celtics, largely due to its stifling defensive pressure in the second half of both games.

“We’ve just been locking down,” said Carmelo Anthony. “Our main thing is the defense. In both games it seemed like the second half is where we made our adjustments.”

The Knicks allowed only 25 points in the second half of Game 1, only to allow 23 points in the second half of Game 2. New York’s second half performance in Game 2 set a new franchise playoff record for the fewest points allowed in a half.

Kenyon Martin led the second half defensive effort for the Knicks with four blocked shots and 11 rebounds in Game 2.

“It’s about making adjustments at halftime,” said Martin. “We knew they were going to make adjustments at the start of the game. We were extra aggressive.”

After Game 2, Doc Rivers was asked if Paul Pierce can continue to carry the Celtics on offense in the latter stages of his career.

“He needs some help,” Rivers said. “I think Paul was playing pretty well. I thought he got a little tired in the second half because he tried to do everything for us.”

The loss of Rajon Rondo continues to plague the Celtics and has caused the offense to become stagnate during the series.

“When (Rondo) is not out there they really don’t know in certain situations who to go to and what plays to run,” said J.R. Smith. “That’s a tribute to losing a great point guard like Rondo.”

Despite the lack of ball movement, Kevin Garnett feels Boston’s defense could help the Celtics turn the tide heading back home.

“They haven’t scored 90 points yet,” said Garnett. “When you’re playing a team like this, that’s a good sign.”

Rivers expects the Celtics to come out with a sense of urgency in Game 3, due to the deficit in the series and wouldn’t use the tragedy as extra motivation.

When Rivers was asked what he would say to his team before heading to Boston, he made a brief joke before getting down to the reality of the situation.

“We’re going back to Boston,” said Rivers laughing. “I guess they say the series hasn’t started, I’ve heard this corny line a million times, until the road team wins. I’m positive the series has started because we’re down 2-0.”

After scoring 70 points to carry the Knicks in the first two games of the series, Anthony wants the team to remain united and maintain composure on the road.

“As a team we’ve got to go in there staying together knowing that it’s going to be a game of runs and very emotional in that building,” said Anthony.