Tag: Bradley Beal

Wizards Clamp Down in 4th, Beat Knicks 108-95

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The fire was there from the Knicks rookies, but the execution faltered in the fourth quarter against the Washington Wizards, who snapped their five-game losing streak behind 26 points from John Wall to hand New York a 108-95 defeat on the road.

As I stated in my Dallas game recap, I viewed this as a trap game. The Wizards were motivated after getting booed off the court in their last defeat. Although Allonzo Trier and Mitchell Robinson took the fight right to the Wizards, particularly Wall and Dwight Howard, this game showed the value of having All-Star level talent in crunch time.

 

SECOND HALF FIGHT: The first half was mostly fought on even terms with the Knicks trailing 50-58 at halftime. The third quarter started rough and the Wiz jumped out to a 13-point lead. The Knicks then powered back behind a 14-4 run powered by the efforts of Trier (9 pts), Robinson (10pts, 6 rebs) and Enes Kanter (18 pts, 12 rebs).

We got to see the fire in our rookies as Trier jawed with Wall after a hard foul and later forced him into a dribbling turnover, prompting cheers from Coach Fizdale. Robinson and Howard exchanged dunks on each other with each being liberal with shoves and elbows (Robinson later earned a tech for his mouth).

Early in the fourth, the Knicks’s were finally able to tie the game at 86 just in time for the starters to get back in.

THE COLLAPSE: Unfortunately for New York, everything fell apart. Tim Hardaway Jr., hobbled by a back injury on an earlier hard foul, couldn’t muster anything and had a quiet night of 7 points in 24 minutes. Emmanuel Mudiay, Trey Burke and Frank Ntilikina combined for 9 turnovers. This gave Wall plenty of fast-break opportunities combined with his three-point shot falling (3/6). Add Bradley Beal chipping in 22 points and you had a hill too big for the young Knicks to overcome.

SLOPPY BALL-HANDLING: The Knicks committed a season-high 20 turnovers and shot only 19% from three. The turnovers and being held under 100 points was particularly humbling as the Wizards came into last night the league’s worst-ranked defensive team.

BEAL PRAISES TRIER: The league is starting to take notice of our rookies. Bradley Beal had this to say about Trier’s focus and potential.

The Knicks won’t have long to lick their wounds as they’re back in action Monday night against the Bulls. Closing thoughts:

  • Kevin Knox feels he’s ready to return after being sidelined seven games due to an ankle injury. Fizdale is more cautious, wanting to see him in 5 on 5 practice drills first. I’m thinking we won’t see him until the end of this week at the earliest.
  • Courtney Lee’s neck has not improved. I’d be shocked if we see him before December.

[Video] No Tricks, All Treats: Melo Drops 37 on Wizards in 117-110 Win

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WASHINGTON, DC — The Knicks notched their second road win of the season with a gutsy performance over the Washington Wizards last night. You would think it’s too early in the season for games with playoff-like atmospheres, but that’s what we got as Melo answered one his unlikely critics and showed a shooting rhythm that will prove deadly this season.

POOR JARED DUDLEY (NOT REALLY): In May, Jared Dudley went on a NY radio show and proclaimed Carmelo Anthony the “most overrated player” in the NBA. His reasoning was the usual talking points we hear: doesn’t make his teammates better, one-dimensional blah blah blah. He later apologized, but word obviously got back to our Knicks leader, as he revealed in his post-game comments:

It wasn’t really nothing kind of personal against him. I just knew what was said in the offseason. So that was in the back of my mind.

Melo had a field day in the second half when Dudley attempted to guard him. He hit a key long jumper with just 4 seconds left on the shot clock to put NY up 108-106. In the game’s final 20 seconds, Melo iced it with four free throws. Meanwhile, Dudley has 0 points in 17 minutes. His two shots were open three-pointers that would have swayed the momentum back in Washington’s favor.

He bricked both.

I think Melo made his point. His entire stat line read 37 points (11/18), 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 block. He had 11 points and 5 rebounds in the fourth quarter alone.

GUARDS HANG TOUGH: Our backcourt had the nightmare task of dealing with John Wall (25 points) and Bradley Beal (26 points). They weren’t exactly contained, but  Jerian Grant (7 points) and Langston Galloway made them work and prevented layup drills in the fourth quarter. That was enough to make Wall miss two key floaters. And Robin Lopez altered a Beal layup that would have brought the Wizards within three.

Calderon lack of speed necessitated him sitting in the fourth, but he was a solid contributor with 10 points. Galloway had two clutch threes in the fourth and delivered 14 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists.

BENCH BRIGRADE HOLDS MELO DOWN: How many times have we seen Melo worn out in the fourth from carrying the scoring load all game? Once again, the bench players drew fouls and kept the game close, allowing Anthony to sit from a few minutes left in the third to the 8  minute mark of the fourth. Those players included Derrick Williams (7 points), Kyle O’Quinn (10 points) and Lance Thomas (12 points).

THE TRIAL BY FIRE CONTINUES: The Knicks go home to face another high-end playoff team when the Spurs visit Madison Square Garden on Monday. Who came up with our schedule???

[Video] Allergic to Defense: Wizards Eat Up Knicks in 4th

We can’t keep losing these games. – AMAR’E STOUDEMIRE

Stoudemire

Tell me if you’ve heard this scenario before. The Knicks play solid in the first and second quarter. They pass the ball, look for the open man, and play active and smart on defense. They begin to unravel in the third quarter and finally fall apart in the fourth quarter as lack of defensive stops discourages them.

Of course you’ve heard this before since it’s been the Knicks’ M.O on their now on five-game losing streak. The Washington Wizards, a playoff team but no powerhouse, had an easy time of it once they figured out the Knicks currently have no heart or identity on offense or defense.

 

STILL WAITING FOR THAT FULL GAME: 12 games in, the Knicks have yet to put together a full 48 minutes of competent basketball. The first half last night saw Wizards point guard John Wall run amuck in the first quarter and early part of the second by scoring 17 points. His output was offset by a re-energized Amar’e Stoudemire, who was thriving in the post-up and pick n’ rolls (5-5, 12 points). Carmelo Anthony stayed under control in the first half as well with his shot selection, helping the Knicks to 52-49 halftime lead.

As usual, things fell apart in the third quarter. The offense sputtered into isolation plays for JR Smith (6-14, 12 points) and Melo, leading to long missed jumpers and the Wizards pouncing on the Knicks’ weak transition defense. The Wizards outscored the Knicks 27-17 to take a 76-69 lead into the fourth. While the Knicks, specificaly Melo, JR and Pablo Prigioni hit some timely threes in the fourth to remain close, they could never get any stops. Guards like Bradley Beal (18 points) and the aforementioned Wall (31 points) abused them with pick n’ rolls and penetration to score at will and prevent a Knicks comeback. The team appeared to sense their defense couldn’t hold firm. Mentally, you began to see them start slacking by the middle of the quarter. The biggest culprit was Melo, who several times failed to rotate and allowed the Wizards to sink open threes.

 

MELO’S GOOD AND BAD: Anthony notched another double double (23 points, 12 rebounds) and shot 47% from the field, so on the surface you’d think he’s one of the last people you’d criticize. But in this game he deserves a fair share of the blame, as he didn’t provide full effort on defense in the crucial fourth quarter. I’m sure he’s exasperated by the big weight he’s had to carry so early in the season, but the team will always take its lead from him. When Melo starts to check out, the team follows. He’s shown flashes of good passing and that’s the only way the team will regain its confidence. Two assists for him won’t suffice and neither will repeated isolation plays in crunch time. Melo was great with the “hockey assists” in a few games already this year and needs to continue that to keep Bargnani’s offense involved late in the game.

 

BACKCOURT WOES: Raymond Felton sat for his third straight game with back issues, leading to another start for Beno Udrih. Coming off his stellar effort against the Pacers, some fans were speculating that Udrih might be the starting answer for Felton. This game brought those views back to reality, as Udrih also struggled mightily to keep the young Wizards guards in front of him. And offensively, he wasn’t much better, mustering just 2 points and 5 assists.

Iman Shumpert was mostly invisible as well, delivering 6 points, 3 steals and 1 rebound in 27 minutes.

 

THE ROADTRIP OF WOODY’S FUTURE: The Knicks now face a three-game road trip starting tomorrow night in Portland before moving on to Los Angeles (Clippers) and Denver. Should the Knicks not win a game, which is very possible if the team continues playing like this, then it’s hard to imagine Mike Woodson making through the end of the week. The Knicks will at that point have a 3-12 record while being on a 8-game losing streak.

If the team comes out with no urgency in Portland, it sends a clear message about the team’s pride (or lack thereof).

[youtube http://youtu.be/l8wvrbrwHGs]

Have a Seat, Kidd — Knicks Clamp Down in 4th, Defeat Wizards 96-88

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It took Jason Kidd shooting 19% from the field over the entire month of February for Mike Woodson to take away his starting spot before last night’s game against the Washington Wizards. Unfortunately, Woodson’s stubborness came back on display in the fourth quarter and for a while seemed like it may cost us the game. Lucky for the Knicks, the Wizards give you a lot of room for error and New York got themselves right to hold a three-game winning streak before facing the Miami Heat tomorrow.

NEW LINEUPS BUT SOME OLD BAD HABITS: James White made the start at small forward with Iman Shumpert finally getting moved to shooting guard. White didn’t supply anything in the way of offense, but he also wasn’t a defensive liability, which had been the problem with Kidd trying to defend faster guards. Unfortunately, Carmelo Anthony was off (1-6 in quarter), but JR Smith and Raymond Felton were aggressive looking for their shots and getting to the rim. And Steve Novak hit a nice bank shot and a trey to help the Knicks lead 26-23 after one.

With Pablo Prigioni out with back spasms, Woodson had Kidd man a new second unit of Kidd, Shump, Novak, Stat and Chandler. The defensive rotations were still off and Chandler was visibly annoyed at times, but at least a deficit wasn’t created. Things tightened up with Melo and JR coming back in and the Knicks took a 54-48 lead into halftime.

After a horrid third quarter where the Knicks went six minutes without a field goal and were outscored 29-19 to give up the lead (73-77), Woodson resumed his love affair with Kidd getting major minutes in the fourth despite bricking several open shots. He would keep him in there until the 3:21 mark. Stat had words for Woodson when he sat for most of the fourth after getting some good points in the post, and he wouldn’t come in until Kidd got benched. Shumpert got in when the game was all but already decided by the cold shooting from the Wizards.

Knicks fans can only hope Kidd doesn’t get this much burn against Miami tomorrow.

NO K-MART?: I would have really liked to see what Kenyon Martin could have done last night. I guess with the Wizards not having Nene, Woodson didn’t feel the need to play him. I feel his defense could have really helped stifle that crazy 21-6 run the Wizards had in the third quarter. K-Mart and Camby are expected to be available for Sunday.

CLOSING STRONG: Outside of the third, the Knicks closed every quarter with a run. They had shutout runs of 8-0 and 9-0 in the first half, and the Wizards were held to just three field goals in the entire fourth quarter (outscored 23-11 in the quarter).

MOMENTUM PLAY: The Knicks were down 75-77 early in the fourth when a steal lead to a Kidd fast break. Wall chased him down for a block that was ruled a goaltend, sending Wall into a brief tirade that earned him a tech. That three-point swing gave the Knicks a 78-77 lead, which they would not relinquish the rest of the way.

FELTON HITS A FLOATER?!: Hell has frozen over. Not only did Felton hit a floater, but it was the shot that iced the game. That shot has been broken all year, making this one of the most unintentionally funny Knicks-related videos of the season.

ANOTHER CAREER-HIGH: Surprise, surprise — another guard gets their career-high on the Knicks. Last night it was Bradley Beal scoring 29 points with 12 coming from downtown. Luckily he was off in the fourth with the rest of his team.

BACK IN 2ND PLACE: The Knicks are back in second place in the Eastern Conference, but the hold is very tenuous — a bad loss or two and the Knicks could be as far down as fourth place. That makes the Heat game on Sunday very important.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqcj4V84MT4&feature=youtube_gdata_player]