Foul line trips up Knicks, Celts Give belated Thanks

The whistles have gotten quite a workout on the three occasions this season when these oldest of NBA rivals have waged what Johnny Most used to call Basketball Battle.

NBA teams take 23 free throws apiece this season, just under one FTA per minute of play. (The per-game rate fell to 21 during Week 5.)

But New York and Boston have collectively and cumulatively attempted 182 FTA’s – the C’s 28.3 per game, the Knicks 32.3 per game. That computes to 1.25 FTA's per minute of play -- the ratio for today's Q3 was a smidgen under 2:1 (23 FTA's).

Dave Fizdale’s guys – courtesy of their 17 – 10 margin in FT conversions – earned one more “stop” for the afternoon than did the Stevens Gang. But 11 FT…