Tag: video

This Is Our Town! Knicks Destroy Brooklyn 110-81, Continue Playoff Push

THJ_Nets

With the Nets having the best Eastern Conference record since January, a few Nets fans have started to become too vocal. Some even have the audacity to claim they’ve “taken over” basketball in New York. Well, the Knicks had to remind them of their status with a beatdown last night at Madison Square Garden. After going 3-2 on the recent West Coast trip, there is no room for error with less than 10 games left in the season. The Knicks needed to make a big statement on national TV and boy did they ever deliver…

67%: How hot were the Knicks to start? How about jumping out to a 29-20 lead after the first and shooting 67% for the entire first half to hold a 63-38 lead. The ball movement was strong and the Knicks fed the paint (31 points) via Stoudemire post-ups (13 points) and Melo. On the perimeter, Tim Hardaway Jr., Iman Shumpert, and JR Smith all had their jumpers flowing. In addition, all three attacked the old legs of Brooklyn (who were on a back to back without Kevin Garnett) with aggressive drives, including the best finish at the rim Shump has had all year.

BRIEF LITTLE SCARE: In the third, Raymond Felton came down hard on his back and ribs during a rebound, leading to some deep contusions in those areas. His injury seemed to spark a five-minute period of lethargy where the Nets were able to pull within 14-points. The surge was finally put to a halt by a Prigoni three, and key shots from Melo and JR Smith to push the lead back over 20 headed into the fourth quarter.

LOCKDOWN SHUMPERT: Despite picking up five fouls, Shumpert never wavered in his defensive intensity. Everyone he guarded was harassed and forced into bad leads. His work caused him to be a +29 on the court, to go along with 10, 3 rebounds and 2 assists in 24 minutes.

With Shump leading the defensive charge, the Nets were reduced to sub 40% shooting for the majority of the game.

THJ N’ JR: Hardaway got 28 minutes off the bench and was a sharp-shooting 7/10 from the field (17 points). JR was lethal behind the arc (6/12) and had one of his best all-around games with 24 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists.

NO PRESSURE ON MELO: All the big contributions allowed Melo to take a step back on offense. This allowed him to be highly efficient from the field (8/16, 23 points), get to the line (7/8), and focus on rebounding (10).

IN THE PLAYOFFS…FOR NOW: Atlanta lost to the Bulls last night, allowing this win to put the Knicks into the playoffs. The hold is still very tenuous — New York’s next game falls on Friday against the Wizards, followed by the Heat on Sunday.

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[Video] Drama in Oakland – Knicks 89, Warriors 84

Stat_Warriors

After two bad blowouts on this West Coast trip to the Lakers and Suns, the Knicks gave themselves a playoff gut check last night against the Warriors in pulling out a critical road game to pull within a game of Atlanta for the last playoff spot. Like most games this season, the Knicks played good basketball in spurts and had an atrocious fourth quarter that nearly lead to the game being stolen in the final minutes. Luckily, New York got defense from a surprising source to keep their post-season hopes alive.

 

CURRY ON FIRE, BUT NOT WHEN IT MATTERED MOST: Steph Curry lit the Knicks up, going for 32 points (10/21, 6/12 from downtown). Raymond Felton was once again the victim, getting killed on screens and not being able to close out. Pablo Prigioni got ran around in circles during the fourth and couldn’t keep up with the roaming sharp-shooter, allowing for an open three that tied the game at 81 with 2:42 remaining.

The game hung in the balance with both teams exchanging bad fouls and clutch shots that lead to the Knicks clinging to a 87-84 lead after two free throws from Carmelo Anthony. Curry got the ball with five seconds left and went up for a three. Felton closed out well on him, forcing Curry into a bad pass which Shannon Brown picked off for a clear path foul that iced the game. The play was reminiscent of last year at the Garden when Felton forced a late turnover on Curry to spoil Steph’s 54-point effort.

Despite the overall futility of Felton game numbers (2 points, 4 assists), Felton’s game-ending play might be the one that saves our playoff hopes.

 

MELO THE INEFFICIENT: Whether it was due to Andre Iguodala’s defense or mentally not being engaged, Melo had a struggle-filled night from the field. Foul trouble limited him to 10 minutes in the first half. In the second, he chucked numerous long jumpers completely out of the offensive flow. At one point in the fourth, he was 0/5.

Starting at the 4-minute mark, our leader settled down and made several key plays. The first one was dishing to Tim Hardway Jr. for a three-pointer that made it 81-75. At the 1:23 mark, he nailed a tough mid-range jumper that pushed the Knicks ahead 85-81. And at the 45 second mark, he drew a shooting foul on Iguodala and swished two free throws to make it 87-84. It wasn’t pretty, as New York only managed 15 points in the fourth, but Melo was another catalyst that willed this win through.

 

JR n STAT: With Melo sitting most of the first half, JR Smith carried the load with a deadly and varied offense. Whether driving to the lane for circus shots or bombing threes, our reigning Sixth Man of the Year couldn’t be stopped. His hot hand sparked a 15-0 run to enter halftime with a 56-44 lead.

While Stoudemire had a seesaw game on the offensive front (5/14, 15 points), but he took full advantage of David Lee’s absence. Stat grabbed 13 rebounds with six of them coming on the offensive glass. He was key in helping the Knicks not blow their lead in the third, and provided strong minutes in the fourth. He was briefly sat for a few minutes in favor of Tyson Chandler, but Coach Woodson quickly realized his error and let Stat close out the game.

 

DEFENSE AND LUCK: The Knicks had some strong defensive moments in the first half. Their close-outs and help defense limited the Warriors to 35% shooting overall. What’s a little deceiving is that the Warriors had plenty of open shot opportunities in the fourth (particularly Klay Thompson), but just couldn’t covert. The aforementioned Thompson was 3/11 from three.

 

The Knicks wrap on their West Coast swing tonight at 9 p.m. in Utah. Like all the remaining games, this is one is a “must-win.”

[Video] INDEFENSIBLE: Knicks Disgrace Themselves in LA, Crushed by Lakers 127-96

 SmugMelo

I hope it was the greatest alcohol and sex-filled party of all time on Monday night. That would be the only thing that could explain the embarrassing display of what the Knicks called “basketball” last night at the Staples Center, where they further sunk their playoff hopes with one of the worst defensive displays in recent memory against the Lakers. If you are a Knicks fan, the game was disgusting on many levels — the (lack of) defense, giving up early in the second half etc. etc. If you stayed up to watch this madness, I’m sure you’re still infuriated this morning.

 

51 POINTS IN 12 MINUTES: The Lakers set a franchise high by scoring 51 points in the third quarter. That mark of defensive futility is also a Knicks record for points given up. The Lakers had six three-pointers and stretched what had been a 8-point halftime lead to 30 by the start of the fourth quarter.

BENCH MASSACRE: The Lakers didn’t miss Pau Gasol or Steve Nash since the bench trio of Nick Young (20 points), Xavier Henry (22 points) and Kent Bazemore (18 points) destroyed the Knicks. Those three were a combined 10/14 from three-point land. From the starters, Jodie Meeks did the most damage, going 4/7 from downtown. In comparison, Tim Hardaway was the only competent Knicks player off the bench (from an offensive standpoint, anyway), scoring 17 points (5/7 FG).

The Lakers bench outscored their Knicks counterparts by 82-21.

HOPE UNCLE PHIL WAS TAKING NOTES: Our new president Phil Jackson was in attendance, and you just know his brain was spinning at how badly this team needs to be deconstructed. It’s been put out there this morning that Melo and Jackson had a sitdown meeting last night. I hope they both came to an agreement that damn near the whole team has to go by next season.

STILL ALIVE: Mathematically, the Knicks are still in the playoff hunt simply due to how the Hawks have been sliding recently. But honestly, does this game give you any enthusiasm about their playoff hopes, or their ability to be competitive should they make it? For them to come out this flat with what’s at stake and after the Cavs debacle shows this team’s mental focus.

The Knicks have little time to dwell on their embarrassment, as they visit Sleep Train Arena to face the Kings at 10 p.m. on Wednesday night.

[Video] This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things – Knicks 100, Cavs 106

Jack_Felton

We had the perfect stage set. The Atlanta Hawks had choked and lost a game to the Raptors the preceding Sunday afternoon. The Cavaliers were coming into the Garden without their best player, Kyrie Irving. And what do the Knicks do? Play an excellent first half of basketball and then revert to the wretched defense and putrid iso offense that has sunk them most of this season.

Under normal circumstances, a trap/letdown game like this happening after winning 8 straight wouldn’t be that bad. But with the Knicks fighting for the 8th seed with under 15 games left, the margin for error is so small that losses like this are completely inexcusable. It’s even more disheartening that this horrible effort happens after the Knicks were scared late against the Sixers just a few days ago.

2ND HALF MELTDOWN: After going up by as much as 17 in the first half, the Knicks settled on a 61-46 halftime lead. They shot 59% over the first 24 minutes, incluiding 8/11 from downtown.

Just two minutes into the third, the Knicks gave up a 9-0 run that turned the contest back into a game. Felton and Melo hit a few timely threes to hold onto the lead, but the Knicks were still outscored 31-23 and clung to a seven-point lead headed into the fourth.

And what happened in the fourth? How about the Knicks were outscored 29-16. So who was doing all the damage, you ask?

JARRETT JACK RUNS AMUCK: There is absolutely no excuse for a player like Jarrett Jack, who’s averaging 9 points for the season, should go for 31 points and 10 assists. Jack kept doing the same pick and roll move to kill Raymond Felton and force mismatches. Iman Shumpert’s defense was sorely missed here as Felton had Jack looking like the league MVP.

Jack’s backcourt mate in Dion Waiters didn’t do too shabby either in dropping 22 points, making them a combined 53 points on the night.

A BAD MOVIE: Melo (32 points, 8/20 FG) had been a great closer during the winning streak. But last night, he went 0/5 in  4th quarter field goals and had a very costly offensive foul on the last-minute that sealed New York’s fate. And Melo wasn’t the only one who was ice-cold — JR, Hardaway Jr. and Felton all missed wide open shots

MARGIN FOR ERROR DRAWS SMALLER: It can’t be emphasized enough how much of a blown opportunity this game was. The Knicks can only hope they ignite another long winning streak and the Hawks to keep losing. Should New York lose 2-3 more games, this playoff race is likely over.

[Video] Knicks Exorcise Pacer Demons in 92-86 Win

Stoudemire_Pacers

I remember it like it was yesterday. The Knicks were up three and seemingly well on their way to victory on November 20 in the waning seconds of a home game against the Indiana Pacers. George goes up for a long three, and Shumpert makes a bad error in lightly touching George’s arm, leading to a three-shot foul, overtime, and a crushing home defeat that seemed to start the downward spiral that has been this season. It really didn’t help matters that this loss also occurred on my birthday.

But that was then. Last night, the Knicks team that rolled into Madison Square Garden was a squad riding a six-game win streak predicated on trust, defense and being unselfish with the ball. Outside of a few bad spurts (particularly the third), the Knicks showed their recent run was no fluke in defeating the Pacers 92-86 in Phil Jackson’s first attended game as team president. It was a “fun game” in the sense New York was playing loose, but a “serious game” in the sense the Knicks damn near have to win out to have any chance of making the playoffs.

IS THIS THE 90s???: For most of the night, the hard play and low shooting percentages reminded me of the Ewing-lead Knicks’s battles with the Reggie Miller’s Pacers. New York, despite shooting a wretched 24% in the first quarter and just 36% at the half, still lead most of the way by focusing on offensive rebounding (six in the first half) and forcing six Pacer turnovers. 

For the entire game, the Knicks managed to shoot just 39% and a lowly 24% from downtown. When the Knicks don’t hit their threes, a win is normally out of the question. Tonight showed they could grind out a W through defense and getting to the line (24/29).

BROADWAY BIGS DELIVER: Our big three of Melo, Stoudemire and Chandler set the tone for this win with key contributions. Melo kept Paul George in foul trouble and abused him in the post for several crucial baskets, including a spin move and dunk that put New York up 84-77 with under five minutes remaining. For the game, Melo shot 52% (12/23) for 34 points, had 3 steals and 5 assists. The final stat proved decisive with several of them coming in the fourth via quick passes to Raymond Felton and Pablo Prigioni.

Stoudemire did most of his damage in the second quarter, helping to spark an 8-0 run that put the Knicks up double digits (47-35). His post moves were too strong and quick for the likes of Luis Scola and Roy Hibbert. His outside jumper also kept the floor spread and made his defender come out, allowing Stat to make powerful drives to the rim. Outside a bad defensive lapse in the third (where Lance Stephenson literally flew right by him on a missed assignment), and his jumper starting to fail him late, Stat had a good game with 21 points.

Tyson Chandler’s (7 points, 14 rebounds) best work last night was on the defensive end and the glass. He had six offensive boards, and put Hibbert back in check after Roy abused Cole Aldrich for 14 points in the third quarter. Chandler essentially shut him down for most of the fourth.

POISE DOESN’T FALTER: Despite blowing a 16-point lead, the Knicks never mentally broke. Even when the Pacers pulled within one point in the fourth, the Knicks always had an answer. The biggest one was Felton hitting a bank shot miracle three-pointer with less than 3 seconds on the shot clock.

That’s not to say the Pacers didn’t have their chances. They had a multiple open three-point attempts from George Hill, Chris Copeland and Paul George. In addition, the Knicks were in the foul penalty with over six minutes left in the game. The Pacers just couldn’t execute — the worst blunder came on a fast break where Lance Stephenson tried to get too fancy and whipped a bad pass to a wide open George Hill, resulting a turnover.

DESTINY NOT IN OUR HANDS: While it’s great to see the Knicks play well, it’s also somewhat infuriating it took this long for it to happen. Now they not only have to keep winning, but also have to hope Atlanta, and possibly even Charlotte, get on an extended losing streak.

[Video] Knicks Soar Past Bucks 115-94

Felton_Knicks

The Knicks will officially welcome Phil Jackson to the team tomorrow night on the heels of a win streak that’s extended to six games via a weekend matinee blowout over the Bucks.

As most Knicks fans will remember, we owed this lowly team for beating us in overtime  last month AND having the gall to tweet out “#Buckstape” on Twitter.

The Buck never a got a true foothold since the perimeter defense was strong and kept guys like Brandon Knight (14 points) and Nate Wolters (15 points) from having career nights. On the other end, Melo lead the way with 23 points (50% shooting), 7 rebounds and 2 blocks. Best of all, Melo only needed 33 minutes of work. Tyson Chandler (2 points, 5 rebounds) and Amar’e Stoudemire (15 points, 6/13, rebounds) had struggles in their return games, but the slack was picked up by Tim Hardaway’s 20 points off the bench, and Jeremy Tyler adding 6 rebounds in 18 minutes.

The Knicks will get their win streak tested on Wednesday when the face the Pacers, a team NY has yet to defeat this season.

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[Video] Nowitzki Shocks Knicks With Buzzer-Beater

It’s a damn shame. – MIKE WOODSON

Melo_Dirk

You have heard this story before. Knicks start slow only to go on a strong run late in the first or second quarter to make it a game by halftime. They play well on offense, but keep shooting themselves in the foot on defense in the second half, making the game a life and death struggle going into the fourth quarter. The team then fails to get any stops over the waning minutes and simply hope for Carmelo Anthony to bail them out, leading to another heart-breaking loss.

Last night was a Knicks rerun, in Dirk Nowitzki getting a lucky bounce on a buzzer-beating jumper to hand the Knicks their ninth loss in the last 10 games. This is the third game in a row the Knicks have collapsed down the stretch. If you’re looking for a silver lining, it can be that at least the game was tight for the most of the second half, as opposed to the 14-point and 17-point leads New York blew in the previous two games against Orlando and Atlanta.

There was another wasted Melo effort of 44 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and a block. If you told me before the season started that Melo would be posting these type of the numbers and we’d by this far below .500 and effectively out of the playoffs, I’d have laughed. And yet, here we are. Until we get guards who know who to defend the perimeter, we may not win a game for the rest of the season. When the ghost of Vince Carter is lighting you up for SEVEN three-pointer off the bench, there is literally no hope.

Blazers Hold Off Knicks at MSG, 94-90

Aldridge_Chandler

We can’t say we didn’t have our chances in this one. Despite the uneven defense and streaky offense, the Knicks were down by just two points (89-87) with 1:30 left following back to back treys from JR Smith and Tim Hardaway Jr. But an inability to get stops resulted in New York dropping their third straight game and now sitting at the 10th spot in the East with no relief in sight.

BENCH OUTPLAYS THE STARTERS: Our bench took full advantage of the Blazers’ weak second unit, dropping a total of 50 poitns with several guys hitting double figures: Stoudemire (15 points), Hardaway (12 points), and JR (18 points). Outside of Melo (26 points) and Prigioni (5 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists), our starters just didn’t get it done. Shumpert was held scoreless while Chandler botched several layups and only managed 2 points in 31 minutes. Raymond Felton wasn’t as horrible as he had been against the Bucks, adding 7 points and 3 assists in 21 minutes.

JR lead a great second quarter surge, utilizing dribble penetration to feed Stoudemire and Jeremy Tyler for several big slams. The defensive intensity picked and was a key reason the Knicks were down just one point (46-47) at halftime despite a late 9-0 Blazers run.

MELO GASSES OUT: Melo had a hot start, dropping 14 points on 6/7 shooting in the first quarter. He was also active on the defensive end, getting a big block on Wesley Matthews that lead to a fast break dunk. And even in the third with the Blazers threatening to pull away, Melo dropped 11 points to keep NY in it. Unfortunately, all that expended energy left him weakened in the fourth when his offense was needed most. He missed all four of his shots while the Blazers executed just enough to squeak by.

For Melo, it must have been an eye-opener to see how a complete team like the Blazers picks up the slack when their star is having a bad night. LaMarcus Aldridge shot just 5/17 from the field (15 points), but his struggles were negated by big contributions from Nicolas Batum (20 points), Wesley Matthews (18 points), and defensively from Robin Lopez (3 blocks). Melo got no such help from his starting crew.

MORE THAN ENOUGH CHANCES: Melo and Hardaway had multiple chances in the fourth to swing the momentum in NY’s favor. Each missed open shots and with every one, you could see the confidence in winning deflate from the team. Aldridge’s fadeaway over Chandler with 35 seconds left took the remaining fight out of the team.

Friday Night Knicks is in effect tomorrow with NY hosting the Denver Nuggets.

[Video] A Defensive Failure: Brandon Knight Stuns Knicks with Game Winner

BrandonKnight

It finally happened. After going life and death twice with the NBA-worst Bucks this year (blowing a 20-point game in the first game and needing double overtime to win the second), the Knicks finally hit rock botttom in losing a heart-breaker off a Brandon Knight three-pointer with 1.5 seconds left. The defensive was uneven all game, but the Knicks rode the back of Carmelo Anthony in the fourth to nearly win before our “point guard” Raymond Felton gave up back to back baskets to seal this defeat. And with the schedule coming up being a Western Conference trip against the likes of Portland, Denver and Oklahoma City, the Knicks face a strong possiblity of falling further out of the playoff hunt.

BACKCOURT BLUES: Small ball is supposed to be our specialty, but it sure didn’t look like it between our starting backcourt pf Raymond Felton and Pablo Prigioni, who managed a combined six points on 2/9 shooting.

A DIFFERENCE IN DOUBLE FIGURES: On the scoring front, it was all Melo (36 points, 52% shooting) and JR Smith (30 points). No one else on the team managed to score in double figures. Contrast that with the Bucks, who had five players in double figures, including a team-high 25 points from Brandon Knight.

TRASH FREE THROW SHOOTING AND PERIMETER DEFENSE: The Knicks gave away points at the line, shooting just 62% (15/24) with Tyson Chandler being the biggest culprit, shooting 1-6. After building a 29-22 lead in the second, the game became a come-from-behind race for the Knicks after giving up 32 points in the quarter and letting the Bucks go 5-5 from downtown.

FELTON: The last two Bucks possessions are the biggest indictment of Raymond Felton’s defense. First, he got beat on a backdoor play that made it 98-95 Bucks with 27 seconds remaining. Melo then drained a three-pointer from 25 feet to tie it with 19 seconds left. Knight promptly brought the ball up and knocked down a three-pointer over Felton to make it 101-98 with just 1.5 seconds left. Melo missed a 27-footer to seal the defeat.

Felton is a good guy on a personal level, but a lot of the team problems begin at the point guard position. He can’t penetrate consistently, starts our offensive sets too late, has a streaky jumper, and most damning, can’t stay in front of athletic guards. When it comes to trades, a competent PG should be the #1 priority for New York.

[Video] Knicks Destroy Cavs 117-86

TimHardawayJr_dunk_Cavs

What a difference a month makes. Around this time in December, the Knicks were getting embarrassed in Cleveland with Kyrie Irving running amuch for 37 points and 11 assists. That was against a Knicks team with no identity. Last night, New York never let the Cavs in it after blitzing them with a 38-21 first quarter, and holding off all comeback attempts over the remaining 36 minutes to take a well-deserved 117-8 6 win at Madison Square Garden. Like all Knicks blowouts this year, it was a total team effort on this one.

JR’S BACK?: After being on the verge of getting shipped out just a few weeks back, JR Smith is finally returning to the excellent form we saw at the end of last season. Starting in place of the injured Iman Shumpert, JR sliced up the Cavs defense with strong drives to the rim and long-range jumpers. It was a case of erratic shots falling — JR played within the offense and shot 8/16 for 19 points, including this collection of breath-taking plays below.

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THJ!!!: Tim Hardaway Jr. continues to shine in his expanded role and thank God Coach Mike Woodson is riding the hot streak. Tim dropped a career high of 29 points, going 11/17 from the field and 6/12 from downtown. Once this kid learns defense, watch out.

EFFICIENT TO THE LAST MAN: Melo (29 points, 5 rebounds), Chandler (11 points, 8 rebounds), and Felton (12 points, 9 rebounds) had good games, along with Jeremy Tyler (8 points, 6 rebounds). The team was shooting over 60% for most of the game while holding the Cavs under 40%. New York would wrap up the contest on 57% shooting from the field and a hot 46% (12/26) from downtown.

The Knicks get to put their win streak to the test against the defending champion Miami Heat on Saturday.

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