NEW YORK - In a cut-throat Manhattan poker game last night, the Celtics essentially said to Latrell Sprewell: ``We'll see your career-high 49 points . . . and raise you in overtime.''

The Celts were holding 42 points from Antoine Walker, and they threw down some defense on Sprewell and the Knicks when it mattered most. In an evening of big plays, Walker created the extra inning with a trey and Paul Pierce arose from an awful offensive night to accept the Sprewell challenge, holding him scoreless in OT as the Bostonians cleared the table, 102-93.

Proving it's not always what you do but when you do it, the Celtics never led in the fourth quarter and never trailed in OT