Nothing left: Knicks 88, Celtics 80

Kevin Garnett may have walked off an NBA court for the final time.

In the end, they simply did not have enough.

As Jason Terry said after the game, "We just ran out of gas."

The Celtics were overpowered in this one, as their season came to an end after falling to the Knicks, 88-80.

Boston's offensive woes came back to haunt them once again. They scored only 27 points in the first half, the lowest scoring first half in team playoff history. In the series, the Celtics set three franchise playoff records for scoring.

The Celtics offered us a little silver lining, as they always seem to do. The fourth quarter summed up the season for these old, proud Celtics. After being down 26 with 9:49 remaining, the Celtics showed us all why we still believed in this beat up, undermanned group even when Rajon Rondo, Jared Sullinger and Leandro Barbosa went down and Kevin Garnett limped into the playoffs. The C's went on a 20-0 run to cut the lead to as little as 4 points, but that was as close as they would get.

And now begin the questions about the future. Will Doc Rivers return? Will Garnett retire? Has Paul Pierce played his final game as a Celtic? I will give my take on those questions tomorrow. For now, I'll focus on the game and what went right and what went wrong.

The good:

* After taking a huge step backwards in this series, Avery Bradley decided to be Avery Bradley in the fourth quarter. Bradley ignited the Celtics majestic run, scoring 10 points and stealing the ball 3 times en route to making a Game 7 seem like a very real possibility. He forced turnovers, wreaked havoc on the defensive end and drew offensive fouls. The fourth quarter showed the real Avery Bradley. Let's hope that gives him some momentum going into next season.

* If this was indeed his last game, it sure was a good one. For the majority of the game, Kevin Garnett was the only offense this team had. Garnett finished with 15 points on 7-of-10 from the floor. He tallied his fifth-straight double-double as he pulled down 10 rebounds. Like he has all season -- and for his entire career -- Garnett left everything he had on the floor.

* The Celtics once again proved in this series why they consider themselves a defensive team first. They held the Knicks to 90 points or less in every game. They limited Carmelo Anthony to 25-of-82 (30%) from the floor in the final three games.

The bad:

* As been the case all series, the Celtics were careless with the ball. Part of the reasons for their turnovers was the Knicks defensive pressure. Part of it was the lack of a true point guard. The other part was poor judgement. They committed 20 turnovers last night. Over the six games, the Celtics averaged 17.3 turnovers. That, quite frankly, isn't a key to success.

* For as much as he had on his plate, Paul Pierce still looked overmatched. Last night was, in my opinion, his worst game that I've seen him play. He finished with 14 points on 4-of-18 from the floor. The captain was 1-of-9 from beyond the arc. He also committed 5 turnovers. Turnovers were a big problem for Pierce in this series. I'm not sure what Danny Ainge is thinking regarding Pierce's future, but one thing is for sure: he has been a terrific -- and in my opinion, a top five -- Celtic.

Ainge has a lot to think about. Over the coming weeks, we'll find out what the future has in store. Regardless, it was a wild, yet entertaining ride.

Check back tomorrow for my season recap and what I think should happen going forward.