new york knicks – Page 4 – NEW YORK KNICKS LOYALIST

Melo’s 33 Points Leads Knicks Past Kings 103-100

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Were you sweating bullets when Melo missed two free throws and Cousins put up that potential game-tying heave from past half-court? In years past, it would’ve been typical Knicks for this game to head into overtime. In 2016, the Knicks have the knack for winning close games as they overcame their inconsistent defense to defeat the Kings 103-100 in Sacramento.

MELO BOUNCES BACK: After a rough two days of deflecting Phil Jackson’s alleged “ball hog” comments and only managing 8 points in a blowout loss to the Cavs, Melo came out firing. He was 6/8 in a 15 point first quarter and had 23 by half-time. With Porzingis struggling, it was again on Melo’s shoulder to carry the scoring load.

Although he cooled off in the second half, he thrived from the free throw line (12/14 including two clutch ones to put New York up 103-100). It’s also important to not overlook Melo’s 7 boards and 4 assists. He made some beautiful passes out of double teams.

JENNINGS GIVES AND TAKETH AWAY: What an up and down game from Brandon Jennings in his second start. Offensively, most of his decision swere sound. He had 13 points on 50% shooting (5/10), and dished out 7 assists. But he also had some highly dubious moments. In the third with the Knicks up seven and trying to pull away, Jennings had back to back bonehead turnovers for easy layups. From there the game turned into a dogfight.

Worst of all was an airball free throw. However, Jennings atoned for his sins with two clutch ones in the fourth. Without him, we lose this game.

O’QUINN AND NOAH: DeMarcus Cousins didn’t have his three-point shooting tonight (0/6), but he ran amuck in the paint to the tune of 28 points and 12 rebounds. But our tandem of O’Quinn and Noah made him work and put their own stamps on the game. O’Quinn was so good last night that Hernangomez didn’t see the floor. Along with 8 points, O’Quinn snatched down 11 boards (5 offensive).

Noah added 9 boards and 2 blocks, but his biggest contribution was at the free throw line. With 2:09 remaining, the Kings held a 98-97 lead and tried the “Hack a Noah” strategy. Noah made them pay by hitting both free throws and New York never trailed again. A moment like that should be a huge confidence boost.

COME BACK SOON, D-ROSE: With Derrick Rose out, our primary backup PG is Sasha Vujacic. I’m sure I don’t need to go into detail why that didn’t work out too well last night (3 turnovers in 9 minutes).

SHOOTING WOES: I don’t know what is going on with Porzingis, but we need him to get it together and fast. Despite being 6/19 from the field (17 points), his 10 rebounds were a huge part of the Knicks’ dominance on the boards. This season has revealed that Melo cannot physically dominate every night anymore. For this five-game road trip to be successful, the Knicks need Porzingis to have a few 20-point games.

Last night’s win makes the Knicks 4-0 this season in games decided by 3 points or less. The Knicks head to L.A. on Sunday to face the Lakers.

https://youtu.be/kD8Nx_QVIcY

[Video] Reality Check – Cavs Hammer Knicks 126-94

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The narrative for tonight’s showdown against the Cavaliers was the Knicks finding out where they stood against the NBA’s elite. The result was a brutal reality check as Cleveland toyed with New York before pulling away in the third quarter in a 126-94 rout at Madison Square Garden.

WEAKNESSES EXPLOITED: I’ve been saying it all season and will continue to do so. Until this team learns competent three-point defense, they’ll be exposed against elite competition. Today’s NBA is predicated on the three-point shot. Once again, Porzingis made poor decisions on double teams and close-outs with his stretch four, allowing Kevin Love to drop 16 points in the first quarter with four three-pointers. At halftime, the Cavs held a 63-48 lead largely on the 50% (8/19) shooting from downtown. For the game, they were a ridiculous 22/40.

On offense, the Knicks were passive allowing the Cavs defense to bully them and force 16 turnovers (which the Cavs converted into 17 points).

SCARED TO COMPETE: This is the second time we’ve played like trash against the defending champs. Yes, some will use the built-in excuses of Derrick Rose being out with back spasms and this being the second night of a back to back. Hogwash. The mentality of this team is markedly different when we face Cleveland.

We play scared and let them dictate the pace. On a night where Melo was clearly fatigued and didn’t have it (8 points, 4/9 in 24 minutes), no one could carry the load. Porzingis had a quiet 12 points and continued his shooting slump (5/15). Jennings had 16 points in his first start, but could only manage 3 assists, giving you a clear indicator of how badly Cleveland shut down New York’s offense.

BIG THREE RUNS RAMPANT: Cleveland’s All-Star trio combined for 59% of the team’s scoring load with 74 points. LeBron James chipped in 25 points. Love had 21 and Kyrie Irving led all scorers with 28. Tristan Thompson dominated the glass with 20 rebounds.

The only good thing about this game is that it’s over. The Knicks will lick their wounds and begin a 5-game West Coast road trip on Friday. The next opponent should be a welcome sight in the Sacramento Kings.

https://youtu.be/X5lmi6PKjno

Carmelo Anthony Moves Into 10th on Knicks All-Time Scoring List

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Last night, Carmelo Anthony’s season-high 35 points against the Miami Heat was enough to secure a win and his status as the 10th highest scorer in Knicks history. Anthony has 9011 points in seven NBA seasons in New York, pushing him past Bill Cartwright for #10 and behind Bill Bradley (9217) for the #9 spot.

Barring injury, Anthony is on pace this season to enter into the Top 5 currently held by Patrick Ewing (23,665), Walt Frazier (14,617), Willis Reed (12,183), Allan Houston (11,165) and Carl Braun (10,449).

Pat’s #1 spot is out of reach, but I expect Melo to nab that #2 spot before he hangs it up.

Trap Game Averted: Melo’s 35 Leads Knicks Over Heat 114-103

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With the world champion Cavaliers on deck for Madison Square Garden tomorrow, the Knicks’ challenge was being unfocused for tonight’s game against an injury-hampered Heat.

They were for about 24 minutes. Then talent and focus took over.

Carmelo Anthony poured in a season-high 35 points, and five other Knicks hit double figures to extend the Knicks’ winning streak to four ahead of tomorrow’s big Eastern Conference showdown. The “old Knicks” would have blown this game, but this team is playing with confidence.

SPREADING THE WEALTH: Aside from Melo’s 35 points, the other starters came through. Melo started 2/8, but Derrick Rose carried the first quarter scoring load with 8 points. Porzingis had another subpar shooting night (6/15), but once again his defense and 12 rebounds picked up the slack.

Foul trouble aside, Joakim Noah had his best game in a long time (10 points, 10 rebounds). He battled on even terms with Hassan Whiteside and got three tip-ins. If not for picking up his fourth foul by 8:29 in the third, we might have put this game away early.

O’QUINN, THOMAS AND JENNINGS LEAD THE BENCH: Kyle O’Quinn had no fear against Whiteside. He had 2 blocks at the rim on the Miami star and a couple dunks. There was some jawing back and forth, which I loved. O’Quinn had 12 points which 5 of his 7 rebounds coming on the offensive end. O’Quinn nor anyone else could stop Whiteside (23 points, 14 rebounds), but it was in vain with him being a -24 in 38 minutes.

Lance Thomas was superb in his 21 minutes with 11 points. He hit 2 threes, then did damage from mid-range off catch n’ shoots and fakes. His defense isn’t on last year’s level yet, but his offense coming around is a welcome surprise.

Despite getting yelled at by Coach Hornacek for not shooting when open, Jennings still manned the offense well with 9 assists in 24 minutes, including a buzzer beating layup to end the third. With Rose forced to sit with back spasms, Jennings’ play was pivotal in this win.

THREE-POINT DEFENSE STILL A CONCERN: The Knicks went down by 9 in the second behind the open threes given to Miami. The problem wasn’t cleaned up in the second half as the Heat finished 11/25 from downtown. Against a Miami team hampered by injuries with only 9 available players, the Knicks were able to get away with it. But with elite teams, we’d be looking at the wrong end of a blowout.

Tomorrow night, the Cavaliers will show us how much we’ve progressed since opening night. Being this is the third game in four nights, it won’t come easy.

https://youtu.be/-pkiI1bJCXE

Unnecessary Drama: Knicks Blow 20-Point Lead, Hold Off Kings 106-98

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Tell me if you’ve heard this story before. The Knicks play well. The Knicks get a big lead. The Knicks then decide to stop playing defense. Said Knicks play a life and death fourth quarter to either win close or lose a heart-breaker. Thankfully tonight was the former, as the Knicks blew a 20-point third quarter lead but held on for a 106-98 win at Madison Square Garden.

A loss to the Sacramento Kings is unacceptable under any circumstances. And despite a bad shooting night from Kristaps Porzingis, the scoring and play-making slack was picked up by Derrick Rose, Carmelo Anthony and a season-high 19 points from Brandon Jennings.

SLOW BUILD: Early in the first quarter, the Knicks were going through the motions. KP was 0/4, and lackadaisical defense had the Knicks in the penalty with 7:49 remaining. Then Derrick Rose took over with 10 points and 4 assists in the quarter to push New York to a 26-21 lead. The advantage ballooned to as much as 21 in the second quarter before the Knicks settled on a 55-41 halftime lead.

CONSEQUENCES FOR LAZY PLAY: It looked like the Knicks might finally get an easy night when they went up 70-50 early in the third. But right on cue, the Knicks stopped playing defense, particularly from the three-point line where DeMarcus Cousins burned them repeatedly. At one point, the Kings were on a 16-0 run in just over three minutes. The Knicks spent this stretch complaining about foul calls and turning the ball over.

JENNINGS SAVES THE DAY: Tonight we needed his offense and BJ was up to the challenge. He hit a jumper at the end of the third to stop the Kings momentum and goaded Willie Cauly-Stein into a foul on a three-pointer. Jennings attacked the basket for a few timely layups and remained a fourth quarter threat from long-range. His offense powered a bench that scored 44 points.

Ironically, Jennings’ best shot of the evening didn’t count. Check out this 70-foot heave.

PORZINGIS IMPACTS ON THE DEFENSIVE END: KP never seemed to get going. Cousins was physical with him early and that set the tone for a long night on the offensive end (6/18). However, Porzingis worked hard on the defensive end with 14 rebounds, and closed down the paint with 4 blocks. One of them was a crucial rejection in the fourth that lead to a Jennings layup and a 92-85 lead.

ROSE and MELO: D-Rose had a few too many reckless plays (4 turnovers), but as usual his attacking style paid off with free throws in the fourth. He simmered down from a hot 10-point first quarter, but remained a versatile contributor with 20 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Melo took 20 shots, but the iso plays were limited. Not a single boo was heard and he even ended the Kings comeback chances with a circus shot layup over Cousins to make it 103-96 with less than a minute remaining.

https://youtu.be/VGOQGxDSOp4

BENCH WORK: Lance Thomas hit two open threes off kick-out passes. With this team, it’s looking like his role should be a “3 and D” guy. Willy Hernangomez had a nifty fake-out spin in the post that makes me think he’s been watching Hakeem Olajuwon tapes. Kyle O’Quinn continued his good play as of late — 4 points, 9 rebounds in 14 minutes.

NOAH: In 25 minutes, Joakim Noah managed 2 points and 5 rebounds. It was his first game back so I’ll cut him some slack, but we need him to get it together. If not, it’ll hard to justify his starting spot not matter the contract.

https://youtu.be/Bqxl6Yt-o4I

[Video] Watch Kuzminskas Rise Over Cole Aldrich

Wait a minute, Mindaugas Kuzminskas is putting guys on posters now?! Cole Aldrich is a former Knick so I hate it had to be him. Well, not really… This wasn’t a rim rattler by any means, but Kuz is quickly becoming a fan favorite with these type of plays.

O’Quinn’s 20 Points, 13 Rebounds Helps Knicks Surge Past Timberwolves

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Three nights ago, Karl-Anthony Towns burned the Knicks for 47 points in Minnesota. The Knicks made a vow that wouldn’t be the case in their house.

“We accepted the challenge,” Kyle O’Quinn said.

The Knicks did just that in holding Towns to 4 points in the first half and locking him up for two blocks in the final minute to take a hard-fought 118-114 victory at Madison Square Garden. Aside from a ridiculous collapse at the beginning of the fourth, the Knicks showed great composure and dominated the game with good passing and defensive rotations.

MELO IN THE FLOW: Everything was clicking for our leader. He was a +22 on the floor by making quick decisions with the ball. He hit the open man when the double teams came, and worked well off picks to get open looks. He had 25 points on 50% going into the fourth and was able to conserve energy by having two other guys score 20 points despite Porzingis struggling. He finished with 29 points.

ROSE IN ATTACK MODE: Derrick Rose didn’t get every call, by his aggressiveness forced the refs’ hands. His 24 points came not only from his creativity at the rim, but also several solid mid-range jumpers. If this can become a consistent weapon, the team offense opens up even more.

KYLE O’QUINN = TOWNS STOPPER: Ok, I might be going a bit overboard, but Kyle O’Quinn deserves tremendous praise for one of the best Knick performances so far this season. O’Quinn delivered 20 points (9/11), 13 rebounds and 2 blocks. He was a complete animal on the offensive boards with 7 and made all the critical hustle plays.

When the momentum shifted and Minnesota took a 102-101 lead, it was O’Quinn who grabbed the offensive board off two Porzingis missed free throws. He scored a contested layup to retake the lead and the team never looked back. The Knicks’ 13-4 run over the last six minutes was punctuated by O’Quinn delivering a rifle pass to Anthony for a fast-break layup and a 112-106 lead.

The Wolves went back to Towns, but O’Quinn blocked him in the paint. On Town’s second attempt, O’Quinn forced him into the help defense of Porzingis, leading to a jump ball and another Knicks possession.

Who would have thought tonight’s game would end up being a duel between Towns and O’Quinn with our guy being the winner?

BENCH DIFFERENCE: The fortunes flipped tonight with our bench being the one that struggled. The worst stretch was the first 3-4 minutes of the fourth as the Knicks committed 5 turnovers leading to a 12-2 Wolves run. The lineup (Jennings, Sasha, Kuzmiskas, O’Quinn, Hernangomez) was completely inept with Jennings showing visible frustration and not getting back on defense. It was surprising to see Jennings get that rattled and Coach Hornacek wisely benched him in crunch time.

Overall, the Knicks bench was outscored 47-21.

PORZINGIS OUT OF SYNC: KP had a horrid shooting night (11 points, 2/12), but made up for it on the defensive end (3 blocks). Most of his shots were good looks, but his positioning just seemed off. Another matter was him not being aggressive on mismatches. Several times in the fourth, he settled for passive jumpers despite having a little guard like Ricky Rubio on him.

OTHER BUSINESS: Joakim Noah and Courtney Lee sat this one out with injuries. Lance Thomas returned, but only played three minutes. He did hit a three, so maybe he’s brought his jumper back from rehab.

Carmelo Anthony was 5/10 from three-point range. (season high)
Every Knick starter hit double figures for the second time this season

https://youtu.be/uoyVs8zu_hc

Karl Anthony Towns Drops 45 Points, But Melo Nails Game-Winner in 106-104 Win

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When Karl Anthony Towns hit his first nine shots and scored 22 points in the first quarter, the Knicks knew they were in for a long night. But a timely Carmelo Anthony mid-range jumper with 2.3 seconds left was enough for the Knicks to hold off a 21-3 run from the Timberwolves to take a 106-104 win and get back to .500.

THE GOOD: The Knicks had stretches of excellent ball movement. They started off with every Knick getting an assist in the opening minutes and hitting their outside shots. Brandon Jennings (12 points, 7 assists, 2 steals) was our biggest spark in getting open looks for Porzingis (29 points, 8 rebounds) and Kuzmiskas (14 points, career-high). The team had 24 assists and looked primed for an easy win with a 17 point lead and 7 minutes remaining.

THE BAD: The Knicks also showed their bipolar tendencies by literally collapsing in the last six minutes and allowing the Wolves to go on a game-tying 21-3 run. The Knicks let Karl Anthony Towns live at the line while stopping the clock, didn’t secure loose balls, and gave up open shots. Worse yet, the Knicks stopped attacking and everyone looked scared to shoot, resulting in poor possessions and spacing.

THE UGLY: How bad was the free throw disparity? The Wolves had 39 attempts compared to New York’s 15. Towns had 20 attempts by himself. Speaking of Towns, the man hit a career-high with 47 points, and added 18 rebounds and 3 blocks. Luckily for the Knicks, they outscored the weak Wolves’s weak bench 43-5 to get some breathing after being down 31-28 after the first quarter.

REDEMPTION: Melo only took his first shot with 2 minutes remaining in the first quarter. He was clearly trying to be a faccillitator, and perhaps that was spurred by the boos he heard in Monday’s loss to the Thunder. In the second half, his shot wasn’t there and he ended up shooting a poor 5/16 from the field and was a -17. Nonetheless, Melo reminded us of his clutch gene on that game-winner over Andrew Wiggins.

Let’s be happy we only have to see Towns one more time on Friday.

[Video] Punked at Home: Westbrook Triple Double and OKC Frontcourt Too Much for Knicks

Photo Credit: USA Today Sports Images

Madison Square Garden had begun to symbolize gritty and unselfish basketball via the Knicks’ five game home winning streak. That came crashing down tonight via Russell Westbrook and the rest of the Oklahoma Thunder, who bullied the Knicks on the boards and had their way in the fourth quarter to take a 112-103 victory.

Last game, the Knicks could use the excuse of weak legs on the second night of a back to back. Tonight could offer no such excuse as the Knicks shot an abysmal 40% from the field and got out-rebounded 53-40.

The bench disparity was huge. Enes Kanter had 27 points and 10 rebounds in 28 minutes. Anthony Morrow added 14 points. The entire bench combined for 58 points compared to 19 from New York.

Derrick Rose (30 points, 7 rebounds), no doubt motivated by the Westbrook matchup, was the only Knick to have a great performance. In the fourth quarter, he was the only player that was aggressive and looked to attack in the paint. Porzingis (21 points, 9/20) and Melo (18 points,4/19) relied on the jumpers, which failed them both. It was especially disappointing for Melo, who started the game 3/5 and then went on to miss 11 of his next 12 shots (many of them at the rim).

Because of the size of OKC, Coach Hornacek gambled and had Joakim Noah (2 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists) out there in crunch time. Aside from a good block on a Westbrook layup attempt, Noah couldn’t do much on the rebounding nor defensive end to stop Kanter and Steve Adams (14 points) from getting deep paint position. Noah had gained some goodwill from a few sweet lobs to KP in the first half, but his weak tip-in attempts gave me painful reminders of how ineffective Tyson Chandler was in his last Knick season.

Russell Westbrook was brilliant and the Knicks never matched his intensity. He ripped rebounds out the hands of our bigs like Porzinigs and Hernangomez, and his penetration provided easy rim looks for the OKC bigs. Westbrook had a triple double at halftime and finished with 27 points, 18 rebounds, and 14 assists.

The Knicks will look to find some reprieve on Wednesday in Minnesota against the equally struggling Timberwolves.

[Video] Porzingis Adds 31, Rose’s Late Heroics Down Blazers 107-103

Photo Credit: USA Today Sports Images

In years past, a poor shooting performance from Carmelo Anthony was guaranteed to end with a Knicks defeat. In the present, that won’t happen if Derrick Rose (18 points, 5 assists) and Kristaps Porzingis (31 points, 9 rebounds) have anything to say about it. The pair combined for 49 points, including a timely Rose jumper with 6.8 seconds left to seal the Knicks’ fifth straight win at Madison Square Garden.

FENDING OFF A HUNGRY TEAM: The Blazers destroyed the Nets a few nights ago and picked up right where they left off. They went 4/5 from three-point land in the first quarter and had the Knicks scrambling to keep up on pick n’ rolls. New York managed to keep it close and found themselves down by only five (33-28) headed into the second.

JENNINGS THE X-FACTOR: Brandon Jennings might be the best $5 million the Knicks have spent in a long time. With the first unit offense lethargic, he came in pushing the ball and attacking Portland’s star backcourt of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. He opened up the floor with 4 first half assists that lead to the bench pouring in 17 points by halftime to give the Knicks a 60-58 edge.

Cramps would keep Jennings from playing in the fourth, but he still managed 11 assists in 22 minutes.

KUZMISKAS STEPS UP: With Jennings out, Kuzmiskas picked up the slack with 10 points. He hit a crucial three-pointer late in the fourth and had a great drive for a layup. He kept the floor spaced just by being a scoring threat.

UNSUNG HEROES: Courtney Lee, Willy Hernangomez and Justin Holiday don’t have numbers that’ll jump out at you, but all three worked hard defensively. There was one great sequence where Lee completely shut down the driving lanes on McCollum and forced him into a well-contested jumper that elicited cheers from the Garden faithful.

MELO’S SCORELESS 4TH OVERSHADOWS OTHER GREAT PLAY: With KP hitting half his shots in the fourth, the crowd was in a frenzy to get the ball to him on every play. Unfortunately, the frenetic play had him winded and Melo tried to pick up the slack on a few iso plays that went nowhere. The crowd jeered their disapproval.

It’s unfortunate that we’re going to read a few articles tomorrow about how Melo needs to play “in the flow” of the offense and now about how his fourth quarter defense and rebounding was a key factor in this win.

It’s unfortunate that we’re going to read a few articles tomorrow about how Melo needs to play “in the flow” of the offense and not about how his fourth quarter defense and rebounding was a key factor in this win. He tipped out two offensive rebounds for extra possessions in the final two minutes and also helped force a turnover on Evan Turner. In addition, his late screen for Rose helped the speedy point guard score a layup to put New York in front for good 102-101. Melo’s 7-22 shooting was ugly, but he locked in where it was needed to grind out this win.

We’re at .500! The Knicks will look to improve on that record this Friday when they face the Charlotte Hornets.

https://youtu.be/yKGwCGBc7pg

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