Tag: Kristaps Porzingis

[Video] 2nd Half Lockdown: Knicks Come Alive, Take Down Nets 110-96

melo_nets
Photo Credit: USA Today

What a difference a halftime makes. Coming off the disappointing loss to the Jazz on Sunday, and a tough stretch of games coming against division rivals Boston and Toronto, tonight’s game against the Nets was the proverbial “must-win.” With a 2-4 record, the Knicks couldn’t afford to dig themselves an early hole in the win-loss column. Despite the slow start, a 3rd quarter scoring barrage from Carmelo Anthony (22 points) coupled with excellent passing from Brandon Jennings (11 assists) and offense from Kristaps Porzingis (21 points) powered New York to a 110-96 victory at Madison Square Garden.

TRASH EARLY DEFENSE: We don’t carry the dubious distinction of having the worst defense in the league for nothing. The Nets came out smoking from behind the arc with 5 three pointers in the first and backup Justin Hamilton burning us for 15 points. The Knicks shot an abysmal 28% with Melo’s 0/4 start being the main culprit. Down 29-19 after 12 minutes, the Knicks’s bench was also outscored 16-7.

SLOWLY RIGHTING THE SHIP: The second quarter was sloppy (5 Knick turnovers by the 7:52 mark), but sheer effort pulled New York within striking distance. The ball started moving due to Joakim Noah’s passing, and Melo found his offense by via two three pointers that slashed the deficit to three, 53-50. Although the Nets held the lead at halftime, the Knicks kept the fouling and free throw opportunities in check (7 personal fouls, 9 Net free throws).

MELO’S 14 STRAIGHT: Early on, the third quarter was a mixed bag. Derrick Rose (14 points) scored 6 points to narrow the deficit to 59-58, but then the Knicks had one of their bouts of ineptitude and failed to score for the next three minutes. Brooklyn went on a 8-0 run to extend their lead to 67-58.

Then Melo woke up. His did most of his damage on mid-range jumpers, scoring 14 straight points to get New York a 70-69 lead headed into the fourth.

https://youtu.be/ByX7d4nV1-8

THE EURO LINEUP: The early fourth quarter lineup is where Coach Hornacek has had issues. But tonight, he staggered the starter minutes to allow Porzingis to run with Jennings, Vujacic, Hernangomez and Kuzmiskas. Sasha kicked off the fourth with a three pointer and would be a +23 despite a two bonehead turnovers. Jennings shot poorly (1-6), but was the arguably the catalyst for this victory with his passing. He found Porzingis twice for open three-pointers and as a trailer on a dunk turned three point play. That capped a 20-7 run that put New York up 92-78 and essentially iced the game.

PROMISING DEVELOPMENTS: Porzingis’ 21 points marked the first time in his career where he’s had three consecutive 20-point games. The scary thing is he still hasn’t developed a go-to move in isolation, so he’s dependent on screens and moving off-ball for his opportunities. If he keeps moving at this pace, those moves will gradually come and he’ll be ready to become the first option on offense within 2-3 years.

https://youtu.be/wGiaDPmqHCQ

Willy Hernangomez had his best game as Knick — 14 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks. He excelled with the second unit manned by Jennings and not surprisingly showed great chemistry with old teammate Porzingis. Hernangomez’s skill with the pick and roll gives him immense upside over Kyle O’Quinn when it comes to playing time decisions.

Today’s win marked the first game this season where the Knicks held an opponent under 100 points. Yes, one of Nets’ key pieces in Jeremy Lin wasn’t playing, but business was handled against a team short on talent. After a first half which saw them shoot 55%, the Nets could only manage 41 points in the second half and had a  stretch of missing 14 straight shots.

The Knicks are back in action this Friday against the Celtics.

 

 

Foul Happy Knicks Screw Themselves Against Jazz

melo_jazz

It was all good in the first quarter. Kristaps Porzingis (28 points) was cooking with his shot (4/5) and had 11 points. Carmelo Anthony (28 points) was picking spots and also had a scorching 4/5 start, leading to the duo accounting for 24 of the Knicks’s first 26 points, and a 30-20 first quarter lead.

Then the BS started. The game literally came to a grinding halt in the second quarter. The Knicks could not stop fouling. The Jazz knocked down 15 free throws in the quarter and were only down 54-49 despite shooting 38% from the field and the Knicks 51%. Exacerbating the problem was Porzingis got in foul trouble and had his rhythm broke. He wouldn’t score again until midway through the third quarter.

https://youtu.be/TziGK1h-YYc

The Knicks had a scrappy third quarter as the Jazz found their offense. Utah briefly took a 62-60 lead, but a quick Courtney Lee (10 points) three put New York back in front. The Knicks clung to a 80-78 lead headed into the fourth.

The starters fought tooth and nail to hold the lead and had to sit to start the fourth.This proved disastrous as the bench unit couldn’t score and the Jazz promptly reeled off a 9-0 run to start the quarter and go up 87-80.

Then our defensive woes came back to bite us. A couple of strong Derrick Rose (18 points) drives would get the Knicks to within five (100-95), but we couldn’t hold defensively. Either Rodney Hood, who had 10 points in the fourth, would hit a timely three, or the Jazz would find an open mid-range jumper after breaking down our switching defense. The Jazz would have a 36-point fourth quarter and hand New York their second straight defeat at Madison Square Garden.

https://youtu.be/-qQMsS8cu70

***

100 points or more given up in every game this season. This defense is so bad, it makes me long for the days of Mike Woodson and Mike D’Antoni. Seriously, is it that hard to not play defense with your hands? Sure, Hornacek deserves some of the blame, but outside of KP this is a team composed of experienced players. They need to take some pride in fighting over screens and not being so dependent on a switch to bail them out (and in turn create more mismatches). Even the switching under Woodson wasn’t this bad.

Our defense was a godsend for the returning Gordon Hayward, who put up 28 points with HALF of them coming from the free throw line!

We have three days until we face the Nets on Wednesday. Our practices better consist of pick and roll defense drills and fighting over screens.

Triumphant Homecoming: Rose and Noah Lead Team Effort Win in Chicago

rose_noah_knicks

CHICAGO — It was an emotional return for Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah, but the former Bulls channeled it into efficient teamwork and ball control to score a much-needed Knicks win at the United Center. Coming off two sub-par losses to Detroit and Houston, New York saw every starter hit double figures and gave fans their first true glimpse of this team’s potential.

RED-HOT START: The Knicks came out with strong ball movement and sharp-shooting from Courtney Lee, who went 5/5 (10 points) in the first as the Knicks jumped out to a 16-point lead. Bulls were powered by Dwyane Wade’s (35 points, 10 rebounds) abnormally hot three-point shooting and offensive rebounding from Taj Gibson. Still, the Knicks held a 32-23 lead after 12 minutes for their best quarter of basketball since the Memphis game.

A SCARE AND RIGHTING THE SHIP: The Knicks’s bench unit couldn’t manage to score even with KP in the lineup. Wade continued hitting threes and Jimmy Butler got to the line, allowing Chicago to take the lead in the final minutes. Although New York was outscored 34-24, a breathtaking half-court lay-up drive from Rose with 4.7 seconds left narrowed the deficit to 56-57 at the half.

PORZINGIS FEASTS: It says something about this game that KP had 27 points and still seemed low-key. He was doing it all over court from threes to running the floor for dunks. The ball moved well and allowed him to exploit mismatches. He got into foul trouble and left the game with around 7 minutes left, but his damage had been done. As Coach Hornacek stated, good things happen when the team gets him involved early. This was an excellent bounce back from the previous game where he had no field goals.

ROSE AND NOAH CLOSE THE SHOW: The Knicks held an 87-84 lead going into the fourth against a Bulls team that refused to go away. KP’s hot shooting sparked a 10-0 run, but his foul departure allowed the Bulls back in it due to Melo’s presence stagnating the ball movement. Three straight bad possessions caused an 8-0 Bulls run that closed the Knicks lead to 98-91.

From there, Rose and Noah caused havoc. Their two-man game got Noah several lay-ups. Rose would nail a tough and-1 lay-up with the shot clock expiring to push the lead to 111-102. And on the next play, a drive and kick for a Melo three would ice the game.

Rose would finish with 15 points, 10 assists and 7 rebounds. Noah was equally strong in outplaying Robin Lopez with 16 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.

STARTERS STRONG, BUT BENCH STILL WORRISOME: The starting five put in work. Aside from those already mentioned, Melo added 25 points and Lee 17. But our bench could only manage 17 points. Horacek will have to continue being creative with the lineups to prevent scoring droughts.

The Knicks are back home on Sunday to face the Jazz.

https://youtu.be/DuNQc46V-60

[Video] Opening Night Statement: Knicks’ Team Effort Holds Off Grizzlies

Memphis Grizzlies v New York Knicks
(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Late pass on this review, but before tonight’s game against Detroit I had to drop some thoughts on our impressive 111-104 home opener win over the Grizzlies last weekend. After being embarrassed by Cleveland on national TV, I was interested to see how our squad would perform. Although it’s early, the mentality I saw on the court leads me to say with confidence this might be our most mentally strong team since the late 90s.

BLEW THE LEAD, BUT NEVER GAVE IT UP: Despite building a near 20-point lead in the first half, the Grizzlies slowly got themselves back in it by making it a plodding, half-court game where Marc Gasol and others feasted at the foul line. Like Knicks teams in recent years, there was a lot of complaining to the refs (particularly Melo, who earned himself a technical). But unlike our former teams, we held firm and put the game away in the fourth. Rose’s playmaking combined with Noah’s interior defense proved to be the difference maker in the fourth.

KP and Melo = 41 POINTS: We waited all last season for these two to put up big numbers simultaneously. We got it with Porzingis dropping 21 points on an efficient 7/11, and Melo going for 20 despite getting mauled in the paint and refs swallowing their whistles. That is the main reason for his 5/15 field goal performance, but Melo made up for it by going 9/12 in free throws.

NOAH IS OUR HEART AND SOUL: This man was fired up from the opening tip and his energy proved contagious. His post presence was a big factor in holding Gasol to 5/15 from the field, and he cooled off a heating up Zack Randolph in the fourth. His stat sheet (6 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists) shows the versatility Noah brought. His passing was crucial in getting others like Courtney Lee (16 points) off to quick starts.

Barring no serious injuries, it’s hard for me to imagine this team not making the playoffs.

https://youtu.be/UuuHYak1JLM

[Video] Hornacek Wants More Shooters Around Melo and Porzingis

Hornacek_Knicks

Having missed the playoffs three straight years, new Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek has much to address this off-season. In a quick interview with the New York Knicks YouTube page, he revealed that his primary concern is adding capable shooters around frontcourt stars Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis.

Our starting backcourt shot a respectable percentage from three this season (Afflalo 38%, Calderon 41%), but the big problem was neither could consistently get their own shot and put the ball on the floor (Afflalo’s brief flashes of competency aside).

Sounds like Hornacek is like us in hoping Phil can put together a free agency miracle.

[Video] A Glimpse of the Future: Porzingis Drops 30 in Rising Stars Challenge

Porzingis_dunk

Kristaps Porzingis made a huge impact last night to kick off All-Star weekend by scoring 30 points in the Rising Stars Challenge. His ouput helped keep the World team close, but they still fell to the USA squad 157-154. Had the World team won, Porzingis was a lock for MVP. In the end, it went to Zach Lavine on Team USA, who also scored 30 points.

Porzingis’ stat line for the night was 30 points (12/16, 5/8 from downtown), 4 assists and 1 block. Expect to see Porzingis balling out as an All-Star for years to come.

********************************

https://youtu.be/rr90KusXmjM

[Video] Team Effort: Grant and Porzingis Lead Knicks over Boston 120-114

JerianGrant

NEW YORK — Despite losing Carmelo Anthony to injury in the second quarter and Kristaps Porzingis to fouls late in the fourth, the Knicks received a spark from Jerian Grant to hold off the Celtics 120-114 in a Madison Square Garden thriller.

FIRST HALF BRILLIANCE AND LATE SCARE: The Knicks ball movement has been rolling and that continued in the first half. Porzingis (26 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks) blitzed Boston for 16 first quarter points, including 3 three-pointers.  Melo chipped in 12 and looked fantastic as our main ball facilitator.

Then, disaster struck.

A freak accident happened when Melo was going back up the court and twisted his right ankle on the ref’s foot. We all held our collective breaths and breathed a sigh of relief when he walked out under his own power. X-rays later turned up negative, and just one half of play showed what a tear he was on with 17 points (7/10), 4 rebounds and 3 assists.

A PLAYOFF-LIKE BATTLE ENSUES: Melo tried to give it a go, but felt too much pain and had to come out just 19 seconds into the third. That left Porzingis as our primary scorer, but he was benched quickly after collecting his fifth foul. The Knicks had every reason to fall apart with Isaiah Thomas (34 points, 8 assists) cooking them on drives and threes for a 12-point third quarter. But New York never gave up the lead due to timely hooping from Robin Lopez (15 points) and Derrick Williams (15 points, 10 rebounds) to take a narrow 85-81 lead into the fourth.

THE TEAM DELIVERS: In crucial moments, every Knick carried his weight. Robin Lopez kept working in the post on both ends, D-Will got out on breaks, and Arron Afflalo (24 points) abused Jae Crowder in the post. These contributions kept the Knicks competitive with Porzingis not coming until under 5 minutes. Unfortunately, KP then fouled out with over 2 minutes remaining.

Boston briefly got the lead due to KP’s foul being on a three-point attempt (105-106), but New York scored on back to back possessions via a Lopez hook and Williams dunk to take the lead for good.

CONFIDENCE BUILDER: This was a fantastic win. First, we need to overtake Boston if we hope to get a playoff spot. Second, the role players discovered they can compete and win by moving the ball, playing smart defense and trusting each other even in the absence of Melo and Porzingis.

Most important was Jerian Grant having his best game as a Knick with 16 points and 8 assists. He was what we sorely need at point guard — a two-way threat. If this game marks a turning point, the sky is the limit.

New York is back at .500 (20-20). The last time that happened, we promptly went on a four game losing streak. This time, it feels different. We’ll know for sure tonight when the Knicks are back in action against the Brooklyn Nets.

 

 

**************

https://youtu.be/SvaDB-cUkr0

**************

Knicks Frontcourt Subdues Heat

image

MIAMI — The Knicks made it three in a row last night with an efficient, disciplined performance on both ends against the Heat.

PAINT DOMINANCE: On the offensive end, the Knicks got huge games from the starting frontcourt of Melo (25 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals), Robin Lopez (19 points, 2 blocks) and Kristaps Porzingis (12 points, 2 blocks). Melo shot 75% from the field, using a balanced attack from inside and mid-range. Porzingis struggled with his shot, but hit double figures in the second half by getting to the line. And Rolo put his full arsenal on display with putbacks, spin moves and his pet baby hook shot.

D-WILL SPARK: Once again, Derrick Williams was the key bench contributor, helping New York maintain their fourth quarter double digit lead. He had 13 points (5/8) to go along with 8 rebounds. The most clutch bucket was a fourth quarter three-pointer with the shot-clock expiring. It pushed the lead back to double digits and seemed to deflate Miami’s confidence.

PORZINGIS STAYS FOCUSED: Chris Bosh had a monster game (28 points) and seemed to relish taking our rookie to school. He got a nice driving dunk at KP’s expense, and Whiteside followed up with his own slam over the Latvian giant. Porzingis didn’t get rattled, and came back from the Bosh dunk for an alley oop on the next possession. Earlier, he had two good blocks on Luol Deng and Dwyane Wade.

He’s not going to block every shot, but I like the fact Porzingis is never afraid to contest, even after getting yammed on like below.

 

[Video] Melo’s Near Triple Double and Porzingis’s Block Party Lead Knicks Over Timberwolves 107-102

Towns_Porzingis

NEW YORK CITY — Karl Anthony Towns “won” his rookie battle against Kristaps Porzingis, but the Knicks, powered by a near triple double from Carmelo Anthony and 29 points from Arron Affalo, held on for a 107-102 victory last night at Madison Square Garden.

Despite the Knicks blowing a 20 point halftime lead and letting the Wolves get within three points in the last minute, you never got the feeling New York would blow the lead. Melo, Galloway and Affalo all hit clutch free throws to ice the game. Moving forward, the first half should be the template for how the Knicks play going forward.

MELO’S BRILLIANCE: This was by far Melo’s best game of the year. When Affalo having the hot hand, Melo focused on defense, rebounding and being a facilitator. His stat line of 20 points (6/15), 15 rebounds and 9 assists shows how much of a two-way threat he can be when his teammates are hitting shots.

AFFALO LESSENS THE LOAD: Affalo was aggressive all night with his outside jumper and slashing to the basket (8/9 from the line). Every game, he contract looks to be an absolute steal.

BENCH PLAY: The Knicks got key contributions from Lance Thomas (14 points, 7 rebounds) and Langston Galloway (12 points, 6 assists). It was great to see Galloway finding confidence in his shot and being locked in on defense. In the crucial final minutes of the fourth, he had a key offensive rebound and a nice chase-down block on Zach LaVine.

PORZINGIS VS. TOWNS: KP was overly excited with this matchup and didn’t shot well (4/14), but his defense was fantastic. The Latvian prince has 7 blocks on the night to go along with 11 points. Towns was a beast all the court wit three-point plays in the post and hitting outside jumpers. He finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds.

The Knicks are back in action this Friday against the Sixers.

*****************
https://youtu.be/1qCR1VPE6xY

*****************
https://youtu.be/eTb3Rv3VDvo

[Video] Melo and Porzingis Pound Nets in 108-91 Victory

Melo_Porzingis

The Nets are enduring their worst season since moving to the Brooklyn. The Knicks added to that misery last night with a 108-91 thrashing at Madison Square Garden. With this being the first night of a back to back, it was important the Knicks get some rest. And considering New York had a 21-point lead after 12 minutes, this entire game was essentially garbage time.

MELO AND KP SHOW: Our two top scorers had a field day, with Melo finding his shooting touch (28 points, 9/18), and Porzingis notching his 10th double double of the season (19 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks). These two played well off of each other with their passing, making everyone’s job easier. Melo did his damage in just 31 minutes of play, so he should have his legs tomorrow Saturday night against the Bucks.

AFFALO ROUNDS OUT THE BIG 3???: Every game, Arron Affalo is looking like the best New York pickup of the offseason. He scored seven of the Knicks’ first nine points and went on to finish with 18. He’s doing damage all over the court which prevents defenses from focusing on Melo and KP. If he can continue contributing 15-18 points per game, New York will be competitive against most teams.

CONSTANT FIRE: New York set a season record with 42 points in the first while holding Brooklyn to 21. By halftime, the score was 65-42. Going into the fourth, it was 92-67. The Knicks finally checked out mentally with just 18 points in the final stanza, allowing Brooklyn to get the loss under 20 points.

CALDERON’S BEST DISHING NIGHT: Our starting point guard only had one point, but he had his best assist night as a Knick with 10. That should give you an indication of how well the ball was moving.

https://youtu.be/ObnbrBaBykw

********************************

https://youtu.be/1V3HBS_vqm4