Tag: highlights

Welcome Back, JR! Knicks Stay Perfect at Home With 108-87 Wizards Blowout

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The Friday night Knicks curse? Not with the Washington Wizards in town. The Knicks lets their haphazard opponent hang around for a few quarters, but blew the game open at the end of the third and cruised to an easy 108-87 win to remain undefeated this season at Madison Square Garden.

The Knicks were never in any serious trouble after falling behind 2-6 to start. The first quarter was quiet with no on taking over, but three-pointers in the final minute from JR Smith and Steve Novak pushed the lead to 26-17 after one.

This game was a coming out party, or rather a return to form for JR Smith, who after averaging 17 points off the bench to start the season had been shooting less than 30% and averaging 9 points over the last five games. His jumper was working and he finished at the rim to the tune of 10 points at the half. Pablo Prigioni was another spark off the bench; our 35 year old “rookie” was draining 3s off screens and making sure to feed Tyson Chandler. Melo’s jumper was working, but our leader was more focused on passing and notched five assists, the majority to Chandler for easy dunks and layups. Although the Wizards had eight offensive rebounds and roughly half their points in the paint, a Melo buzzer beating, 23-foot jumper gave the Knicks a 58-46 halftime lead.

Trevor Ariza had some success early in the third, but the Wizard’s deficit hovered around 14 points for most of the quarter courtesy of good shooting from Ronnie Brewer. His defense remained strong as he got a steal that lead to a Chandler dunk. Raymond Felton got aggressive getting into the lane and finding Chandler, who got a three-point play inside. Add on some three-pointers from Rasheed Wallace and Novak, and the Knicks were resting on a 84-63 lead after outscoring the Wizards 29-19 in the third.

With another blowout, Melo and the other starters got to rest all of the fourth. The rest of the team stayed productive with Novak still hitting 3s, and Prigioni delivering a sweet alley oop to JR Smith. Chris Coperland and James White got significant minutes and were able to hit shots. The Garden got loud with Marcus Camby chants, but Coach Woodson sadly ignored them, saying later that Camby’s a “pro” and understood tonight we were going with the young guys.

Outside of a few too many fouls and the continued rebounding woes, the Knicks stat lines were great. Melo had 20 points in 27 minutes on 6-13 shooting. Chandler had a double double (12 points, 10 rebounds). JR had 20 points off the bench on efficient 9-14 shooting (2-3 from downtown). Prigioni had 8 points and 5 assists. Felton had an overlooked 11 points. Novak went 3-6 from long-range. As a team, the Knicks only had 8 turnovers while forcing 17. And with this blowout, the Knicks have held 10 of their 15 opponents thus far under 100 points while having one of the toughest schedules of November.

Yes, it was the Wizards. But any Knicks fan that’s been around longer than this season remembers quite well that no victory was guaranteed against any team in previous years. The Knicks are not just taking care of inferior teams; NY is doing it in dominant fashion which should bring a smile to all our faces. Our home stand continues tomorrow afternoon against the Phoenix Suns. Get well J-Kidd, Stat and Shump!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJPbBvul5J4&feature=youtube_gdata_player]

Frontcourt Shutdown: Knicks Ice Bucks 102-88

After the bitter defeat last game to the Brooklyn Nets, I was not in the mood to see another tough game with Milwaukee’s explosive backcourt of Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis going off. Apparently the Knicks weren’t either, as they administered clamp down defense and merciless frontcourt offense to whoop the Bucks 102-88.

Recently, the Bucks have given the Knicks loads of trouble in the form of Brandon Jennings, who seems to relish getting at the Knicks and last season drew a “suck my dick” retort from Melo at the free throw line. Jennings and Ellis started hot, hitting their outside jumpers and blowing past Knick guards to the basket for fouls and layups. Melo had one of his trademark fast starts to keep us in it early, hitting two 3s and drawing fouls inside for 11 points. Jennings and Ellis also contributed 11 points a piece to help give the Bucks a 26-23 lead after one.

Coach Woodson mixed up the lineups to start the second, giving Chris Copeland some burn with the bench unit. The secondary team was anchored by Pablo Prigioni, who contributed two 3-pointers off screens and got a nice steal that lead to a layup. Steve Novak continued his improved shooting as well, draining two 3s to keep the game tight until Melo made it back on the floor. Anthony promptly delivered back to back baskets on a three-pointer and driving layup. The two point guard backcourt of Raymond Felton and Prigioni was able to hold up with help defense (including a nice Novak block on an Ellis cut) as the Buck got sloppy (1o turnovers). The Knicks ran over the Milwaukee in the closing 2-3 minutes to jump out to a 58-48 lead at halfime.

The Knicks remained focused for the start of the third and promptly put the game away. Tyson Chandler, who had eight points at the half, remained aggressive and continue drawing fouls on cuts to the basket in addition to scoring with easy dunks and layups off pick and rolls. In just a few minutes, a Felton steal and layup followed by a Melo jumper had pushed the lead to 68-48. A quick run fueled by a Jennings three and an Ellis drive trimmed the lead to 68-55, but a Melo drive for an “and 1”  layup put a halt to it. The Knicks defense tightened up and the Bucks relied on jump-shooting (which was ice-cold) and fell behind at the end of the third 88-70, being outscored 30-22.

The Bucks bench couldn’t do much better in the fourth; Milwaukee would get no closer than 14 points. The highlight of the quarter was a steal by Steve Novak that lead to a one-man fast break layup, which prompted teases from the bench to Steve for not dunking it. Novak finished with a nice game of 19 points ( 5-7 from downtown). Other big contributors were Prigioni (11 points, 7 assists), Chandler (17 points, 8 rebounds) Felton (12 points, 7 assists) and of course Melo, who dropped 29 points and nabbed 8 rebounds.

And the best stat of all for last night? The Knicks outrebounded the Bucks 38-36 and held their starting frontcourt to 2 points!

New York moves on Friday to face the Wizards.

BK Draws First Blood: Nets Down Knicks in OT 96-89

The bragging rights on the historic first “Battle for NY” goes to the Brooklyn Nets, who showed poise and efficiency down the stretch to overcome big efforts from Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler to take a 96-89 overtime victory in a highly entertaining game last night from the Barclays Center. The game had me on the edge of my seat and pacing all night. Of course, not seeing a Knicks victory was highly disappointing, but everyone will agree this is the start to what will be an amazing rivalry over the next few years. Here’s what stood out to me last night.

Melo and Tyson Beast…Everyone Else Falls Short: Melo dropped 35 points and Tyson contributed a career high 28 points. Outside of that, the state line is abysmal with the next highest scorer being Raymond Felton with 8 points on 3-19 shooting. I was especially impressed with Tyson meeting the challenge of guarding Brook Lopez and drawing a key offensive foul in the last-minute that unfortunately couldn’t pull out the win. Our bench was invisible and got outscored solely by Jerry Stackhouse (15 points) of all people. No way we win with just two guys showing up on offense.

Kidd Missed…Felton is Horrid: You never want to place blame on one guy for a loss; we win and lose as a team. But damn it, Raymond Felton contributed heavily to this defeat. I sincerely believe he got too caught up in the atmosphere and trying to “win” his matchup with Deron Williams. Felton had 5 turnovers and even more disastrous kept bricking jumpers and airballing floaters during the crucial fourth quarter. The value of Jason Kidd cannot be overstated. Not having his outside shooting to the space the floor and court generalship really hurt us. There’s no way with Kidd on the floor that Melo gets frozen out of getting solid looks over the last 6-7 minutes of the game.

Melo’s Free Throw Irony: The cruel irony last night is that Melo, who’s been rightly complaining about not getting fouls, finally got them last night in shooting 16 free throws. And of course, Melo only goes 10-16 from the line. Make about three more and it’s likely this game doesn’t see overtime. But in his defense, Melo played a total of 50 minutes and had no rest in the second half. Fatigue likely played a huge part.

The Knicks have to jump right back on the saddle tomorrow when we head to Milwaukee to face the Bucks, whose backcourt of Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis are sure to give us fits. All of our losses have been on the road this year, so getting this one would bode well for our confidence with a winnable stretch of games following against Washington, Phoenix and Charlotte.

Comeback Kidd! Jason and Felton Carry Knicks to Road Win Over Spurs 104-100

“It shows me this team is for real. We beat a great team tonight.” – Knicks head coach Mike Woodson

If there were any remaining non-believers, the Knicks effectively dispelled those naysayers last night in San Antonio, executing stifling defense and exceptional guard play from Jason Kidd and Raymond Felton to lift the Knicks to a 104-100 win over the Spurs.

The matchup had the intensity of a playoff game from the start; both teams came out taking quality shots and passing well. Felton scored the Knicks first 5 points and you could tell early on he had a point to prove taking on Spurs all-star Tony Parker. For the first time this season, Carmelo Anthony couldn’t get off to a fast scoring start due to quick double teams and physical play from DeJuan Blair. However, Melo showed excellent passing out of those double teams to give the Knicks a tight 33-31 lead after one.

The Knicks got some breathing room early in the second courtesy of JR Smith hitting a jumper and scoring with a drive into the lane. Pablo Prigioni hit a pull-up jumper, and Steve Novak and Rasheed Wallace hit three-pointers to push the lead to 45-38. Melo continued his great passing; he found JR for another drive into the lane that this time resulted in a three-point play.

Tony Parker picked up his game late in quarter, getting several fouls as Felton had issues keeping in front of him. The free throws got the game close and San Antonio finished strong with a contested three-pointer at the buzzer from Danny Green to give the Spurs a 54-52 halftime lead.

The calls started favoring the Knicks in the third, resulting in the Spurs already being in the penalty by the seven minute mark. Unfortunately, the Knicks were having problems at the line and finishing at the rim (Chandler, Brewer, Melo). The Spurs sensed blood and tightened their D for several fast breaks, one of which ended in a Jackson three-pointer. The Knicks finished the quarter cold with one too many JR isolation plays and a 74-76 deficit into the fourth.

A Novak airball for the eighth straight three-point miss was a dubious start, and inexcusably bad defense from Tyson Chandler lead to Tiago Splitter reeling off 13 straight points inside to start the quarter. The guard penetration from Manu Ginobili and Parker supplied Splitter with these opportunities and it looked very bad for the Knicks, who went down by 12 points (77-89) with seven minutes to go.

That’s when Felton and Kidd took over. Felton drove for a layup on Parker to bring the Knicks within 10. The New York defense held, one of which was a steal from Kidd, which lead to the veteran hitting back to back threes to put the Knicks right back in it down four (85-89). Ginobili stopped the run with his own three-pointer, but the Knicks came right back with a sweet Melo pass resulting in a Chandler three-point play off a dunk. Felton and JR would both score in the lane to bring the Knicks closer.

The best sequence came off another Kidd steal to ignite a fast break. Kidd passed to Melo on the wing, who drove to elicit a double team and kick to Felton under the rim, who passed back out to an open JR Smith for a three-pointer and a two point lead (97-95). Another stop would lead to a Kidd dagger three-pointer, and Tyson would put the exclamation mark on the game with a put back dunk off a Felton miss to ice the game with a 102-95 lead with a little over 30 seconds remaining. The Knicks closed out with a 22-11 run. 

For us Knicks fans, this was a beautiful game to behold. Last year before Woodson, we would have given up once the Spurs pushed it to 12. Instead, we fought back and snatched their hearts out. Jason Kidd’s value to this team cannot be stressed enough; without him we’d have about three losses already. And Raymond Felton… let’s hope that man keeps that chip on his shoulder for the rest of the year. Great effort by everyone. I loved how Melo had faith in his teammates when his shot was not falling. He focused on passing , defense and made sure to not be a liability out there. We can only hope to see the same from Amar’e when he comes back.

We head right back into the fire tonight on ESPN against the Grizzlies, who’s frontcourt of Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph will be a huge mountain for our tired legs. I can’t wait…

Have Another L, Philly: Knicks Complete Back to Back Sweep 110-88

WELLS FARGO ARENA, PHILADELPHIA — It was the epitome of a “trap game.” After delivering a 100-84 thrashing to the Sixers yesterday in the first of home back to backs, it was as Walt “Clyde” Frazier called “human nature” to expect for the Knicks to collectively slack and possibly suffer their first loss. Very early it looked like that might very well be the case. Philly jumped out to a quick 14-4 lead as the Knicks started sluggish, going 2-7 from the field.

Then the sleeping giant was awakened.

The Knicks would go on a 21-7 run to finish the quarter with a 25-21 lead and went on to break Philly’s will by the third quarter for their third straight blowout and first road win of the season.

The Sixers stayed in it through the second quarter with their ridiculous three pointers. Outside of that, there wasn’t much they could get going due to our superb guard defense. Felton and Prigioni would get several steals leading to multiple Chandler dunks. Although Melo’s jumper was off (5-12 in the first half), the rest of the team picked up the scoring to the tune of seven Knicks players getting in double digits. A Nick Young three would trim the lead to 56-48 in favor of the Knicks, but their play made the deficit seem much larger.

The Knicks came out for the third with the intention to take Philly’s soul and did just that. Melo kicked off the proceedings by making his first two buckets and swatting a weak Kwame Brown shot. Ronnie Brewer, who’s scouting report cites him as a week shooter, was in an amazing rhythm and knocking down open treys, one of which pushed the lead to 13. Moments later another Brewer 3 pointer would push the lead to 18, effectively putting the game would be out of reach.

Rasheed Wallace got in some valuable time and scored eight points in just five minutes, including two 3 pointers. By the time the quarter had ended, the Knicks had outscored the Sixers 33-20.

Did the Knicks let up in the fourth quarter? Nope. Matter of fact, the squad kept the defense strong as if they wanted to completely embarrass Philly. JR Smith played with ice water in his veins, hitting long threes and a fast break dunk off a Pablo Prigioni steal that effectively snatched any remaining fight out of the Sixers.

We’re now 3-0 which is the best start since the 99-2000 season. That season just happens to be the last time we were in the Eastern Conference Finals, a goal most fans believe we should be shooting for this year. The Knicks played with playoff intensity and sent a clear message to a division rival that they’re on different levels. I can’t get over how great our guard play has been. Brewer was on fire (13 points, 5-8 shooting, 3-4 from downtown). If that man can show consistent range from three, that just gives us yet another weapon on the outside. Raymond Felton continued his excellent play, scoring 16 points and dishing 8 assists.

Three games, three blowouts and three teams held under 100 points. This team has me so excited and the rest of the league is starting to take notice. We had a tough Western Conference road trip looming so these next few days of rest will serve us well. The next victim… I mean opponent will be on Friday when the Knicks take on the Mavs at home.

In Ball Movement We Trust: Knicks Trounce the Heat 104-84

Yesterday morning, I prayed to the basketball gods that my beloved Knicks would kick off the 2012-2013 season with a nice win. But even in my wildest dreams, I couldn’t imagine my team absolutely drubbing the defending champion Miami Heat in a 20-point blowout (104-84).

For the past few months, Knicks fans have had to endure ridicule for picking up older players and being called “the second best team in New York.” Last night’s performance went a long way to shutting those critics up: Jason Kidd was integral in setting the ball movement early on along with Kurt Thomas supplying solid interior defense. Raymond Felton was phenomenal with his dribble penetration that freed up Melo for several 3 pointers in route to a 16 point first quarter and a 33-17 lead.

The ball movement continued in the second quarter to the tune of 11 assists. The defense produced 12 Heat turnovers and prevented that team’s signature fast break dominance (only 10 fast break points).

Last year our squad would routinely come out flat in third quarters and quickly blow whatever lead we had. Not so last night — although we got off to a sloppy start, our defense kept the Heat turning the ball over while Novak sank a few timely 3s to halt a late 8-0 run.

The Heat made their final run through the first few minutes of the fourth, spurred on by a few ticky-tack fouls. However, Felton and Novak both sank 3s, the latter being a beautiful escape dribble to the left that faked out Ray Allen. The game was iced by the final five minutes, and Wade and LeBron made their exists while Rasheed Wallace chants rained down at MSG. The grizzled vet blew the roof off with a final 3 pointer to make it 19 from downtown (!!!) for the night.

As Biggie’s “Hypnotize” seranaded the court post-game, I couldn’t think of a better way to start to the season. The ball movement from Kidd, Prigioni and Felton was a startling reminder of what we lacked last year. Another key aspect is that we closed every quarter strong. Last season, the Heat always picked us apart in the last minutes of quarters. This time, we met every run with timely shots that had them discouraged for a change.

The great thing about last night is there’s still room for improvement. On the injury front, we still have the returns of Shumpert, Camby and Stoudemire to look forward to. Melo dropped 30, but he got a little out of sorts in the second half by gunning and forcing too many shots. Once he reigns that in a little more and continues attacking the basket…watch out. JR Smith had one of his “brickhouse” games offensively, but made up for it by staying focused on defense (outside of a highly dumb offensive foul on a Kidd fast break).

Enjoy this win, fellow Knicks fans. We have another tough one tomorrow with division rival Philly. Let’s hope our squad continues to show the improvements and we don’t get a letdown.

Stay tuned for much more Knicks coverage as this site builds and gets off the ground fully in the next few weeks.

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