video – Page 5 – NEW YORK KNICKS LOYALIST

Melo the Closer – Knicks 111, Hawks 106

The Knicks overcame the heartbreak of Friday’s defeat in Boston by putting together a wholly efficient offensive performance to take a 111-106 victory over a red-hot shooting Atlanta Hawks team at Madison Square Garden. Outside of one moping player, all was well in NYC last night.

GOOD AND BAD DEFENSE: The Knicks did an excellent job of disrupting the Hawks offense with deflections and steals. They forced 12 turnovers in the first half and 27 for the entire game. It was completely necessary to offset the scorching shooting of the Hawks, who shot around 60% for most of the game. The percentage was due to the inside dominance of Paul Millsap (18 points, 8 rebounds) and Al Horford (17 points, 6 rebounds) coupled with the Knicks guards amazingly losing Kyle Korver on the perimeter (13 points, 4-9 from three).

THE SPARKS: We know Melo will get his, but the question with this Knicks team is who backs up our star player. Last night it was Tim Hardaway Jr. (13 points) who was aggressive getting to the rim for several dunks in the first half. Stoudemire (9 points, 5 rebounds) had a quieter game by his recent standards, but his output was great in getting the Knicks breathing room in the second quarter despite the Hawks shooting around 56% in the first half.

MELO THE FOCUS BUT TEAM EFFORT: The second half is where the team has had problems and in the third bad defense reared its ugly head. The Knicks had a 62-48 lead after the first few minutes, but left Korver open for back to back treys to help ignite a 15-6 run. ATL could not miss from the perimeter and were just behind 81-77 going into the fourth.

Up until that point, Melo had shot 9/15 from the field. There were a few rushed shots from him, but outside of that the team made his job much easier. Prigioni was dishing sweet passes to Melo and Bargnani. And speaking of Prigioni, his shooting kept the defense honest, dropping 11 points (3-6 from downtown). This gave NY a nice 15-point cushion late — under those cirmcumstances, Melo’s heat-check three, which went in to make the lead 106-93, was welcomed. Melo ended with another good stat line of 35 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.

The reason for the seemingly close score was Atlanta hitting four straight threes in less than two minutes of garbage time.

SULKING JR: Although JR Smith got the starting assignment at small forward, he managed just 1-8 from the field in 24 minutes (benched for all of the 4th). He looked like he was at a funeral on the sidelines with Prigioni trying to console him. This comes on the heels of JR just attempting one shot against Boston.

A lot of fans are ready to ship JR out, but my memory is not short. His bench play last year was key in our team finishing at the second seed. With the knee surgery, I’ll give JR at least until the All-Star break to get it together.

1ST HALF HIGHLIGHTS

[youtube http://youtu.be/zAe9qyJBdRg]

[Video] Knicks End Losing Streak By Destroying Nets 113-83

It feels so good to be back in the win column. After a nine-game losing streak, the New York Knicks were due for a good game, and it came at the expense of their equally struggling little brothers in Brooklyn, whom the Knicks lit up for 16 three-pointers (59%) in route to a 30 point thrashing at the Barclays Center. New York put together their first complete game of the season and unquestionably the best performance as a team we’ve seen all year. Is this a taste of things to come or just a benefit of playing the lowly Nets?

FIRST HALF CHARGE: The Knicks came out on fire, drilling 12 of their first 14 shots and shooting at 78% for much of the quarter. The defense was strong as well, with Andrea Bargnani pestering Brook Lopez with two blocked shots. Garnett got a nice dunk only to be one-upped on the next play by Bargs driving past him and slamming home a one-handed stuff. Melo played the background (no shot attempts over the first 5 minutes) while others like Raymond Felton (3/3, 8 points) kept the floor spaced with their offense.

The Knicks lead 30-23 after one, and continued their momentum with the second unit (Prigioni, Hardaway Jr., Stoudemire, JR and K-Mart) holding serve with the guards covering much of the scoring slack despite Stat struggling at times with KG offense. Melo and company returned at the 7:31 mark and quickly pushed the lead up to 10 (42-32) courtesy of a sweet Melo pass to an open Shumpert for a trey. A 22-6 edge in rebounding allowed Brooklyn to the trim the deficit to 50-43 at halftime. However, the Knicks were shooting 58% with the balanced scoring, giving you the feeling the Nets were just delaying an inevitable blowout.

3RD QUARTER PILLAGING FROM MELO AND SHUMP: The 18-5 run that closed the book on this game was ignited by the hot three-point shooting of Iman Shumpert. After weeks of trade talk and his standing with Coach Woodson, it was great to see the assertive, sharp-shooting, and highly confident Shump we’d d been expecting all season. His five three-pointers were a career-high, along with his 17 points being a season-high. Outside of a verbal squabble with Andrey Blantche that earned them double technicals, and being a litte too aggressive early with his defense, Shump was pretty much flawless last night.

Melo (19 points on 8/12 shooting, 10 rebounds, 6 assists) had the prototype game of how he should play when the team’s outside shots are falling. He made sure everyone got involved early on (namely Bargnani), made quick decisions out of double teams, and abused Alan Anderson on the block and on the boards. By not having to carry the offensive load in the first half, Melo had more than enough energy to put the finishing touches on the end of an awesome third quarter with several jumpers and passes to a rolling Stoudemire for quick scores. By the time the smoke cleared, the Nets found themselves in a 84-59 hole with the entire fourth serving as extended garbage time.

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MAN TRASH TALK: Andrea Bargnani had what I’d like to call a “good ejection” in the fourth after getting a second technical for getting into it with Kevin Garnett. Earlier, both had received double technicals for getting tangled up after a rebound. Bargnani didn’t back down and got ejected for talking trash to KG after draining a three in his face. It’s much easier to deal with KG’s mouth when your mopping the floor with him and his team.

MOVE THAT BALL: New York had 24 assists to Brookly’s 11. It should come as no surprise that the Knicks shot 57% for the game while the Nets could only muster 39% on repeated isolation and broken plays.

The Knicks will be back at it tonight to prove they’re on the road to turning it around as they face the Orlando Magic. The Knicks have lost seven-straight at home, so that’s another losing streak the squad should be motivated to snap.

Snatching Defeat From the Jaws of Victory: Pelicans 103, Knicks 99

When you’re playing this bad, you find ways to lose, as the Knicks did last night at the Garden in dropping their seventh straight at home and ninth overall. The last time New York lost nine straight was back when Larry Brown was coaching the team. Ironically, I don’t think any of those sorry Knicks teams were ever as bad defensively as what we’ve seen on this losing streak.

BEST FIRST QUARTER IN AGES: The Knicks came out with strong defense from a surprising place. Andrea Bargnani, of all people, was prowling the paint and swatting shots to the tune of three blocks. His jumper was working which helped space the floor and get others involved, leading to Melo only attempting his first shot six minutes in. Felton was nailing shots and dropped a sweet alley-oop to Melo. The Knicks were able to hold the Pelicans to 24% shooting for a 20-16 lead, and got another break with New Orleans’ best player, Anthony Davis, leaving the game with a hand fracture.

EARLY SIGNS OF A COLLAPSE: Although the Knicks held a 49-44 lead at halftime, the second quarter displayed signs of the horror to come in the second half. Tyreke Evans came off the bench and pretty much waltzed into the paint at will for layups, scoring 10 points in just 14 minutes. The perimeter defense was worse, as another bench player in Ryan Anderson got repeated (and I do mean repeated — 7/11 from behind the arc) open three-point shots to keep the game close.

The offense was stalled as the Knicks overall were looking to just shoot jumpers and not attack the rim with Davis absent. The Knicks didn’t get their first free throws until midway in the second and it was Bargnani’s foul drawing that allowed NY to hold their lead.

ANOTHER 30-PLUS QUARTER: We know by now that the mark of an extremely poor defensive effort is when the Knicks give up 30 or more in a quarter. They did so in the third behind putrid interior defense. Kenyon Martin was the culprit several times here as he failed to rotate. Bargnani’s main weakness is help defense, so despite his scoring he allowed multiple uncontested layups as well. The frustration hit peak levels when Melo foolishly switched off Anderson on the perimeter. Bargnani didn’t come out to cover, leading to Shumpert dashing recklessly to prevent an open three-pointer (which happened anyway). Shump crashed into a Pelican big setting a pick, leading to a foul and four-point play opportunity.

Shump was livid after Melo criticized him for the play. He tried to plead his case in the huddle as Melo (and Coach Woodson) tuned him out.

Frankly, the play shows the lack of teamwork and awareness the Knicks play with. All parties could have done better. Melo should have never left Anderson, Bargnani could have flashed out to prevent the three, and Shumpert shouldn’t have barreled through the pick for a needless foul.

4TH QUARTER STRUGGLE: The Knicks started the final 12 minutes down 2 points (76-74), but were able to at one point gain a six-point lead off the hot three-point shooting of Tim Hardaway Jr., who drained back to back treys to put NY up 88-82.

At that point, the game should have been over with the Knicks maintaining decent defense and pulling away. But if you can’t play smart defense, it doesn’t matter how hard you play — the lead will soon be erased. In a matter of about 30 seconds, a Ryan Anderson three and a three-point play by Evans on a fast break erased the Knicks’ cushion.

The final six minutes were disastrous on both ends. The Knicks committed six turnovers and missed 12 of their final 13 shots. While the Pelican guards were feasting in the paint and on the perimeter, Shumpert remained benched in favor of JR Smith, who couldn’t get a stop if his life depended on it. JR himself admitted as much after the game:

They were pretty much scoring at will, especially my guy. I don’t know what the hell I was doing on defense.

Shumpert was so upset (and deservedly so) that he declined to talk to the media after the game.

THJ’S CAREER NIGHT: Although his defense was suspect along with everyone else, Tim Hardaway Jr. was the shooting spark that nearly won this game for NY. He had a career-best 21 points off the bench on 6-10 shooting (5-8 from downtown) in 25 minutes. We can only hope Woody continues to play the kid more and experiment with a Shump-Hardaway lineup until JR gets his mojo back.

MORE PABLO: Ray Felton had a strong first half (10 pts. on 4/5 shooting, 5 assists) but fell of a cliff in the final 24 mintues (2 pts, 0/5 shooting). He had a bad turnover down the stretch and possibly suffered a hip injury. Prigioni getting 10 minutes last night in lieu of Felton’s struggling made no sense.

FROM THE BOTTOM TO THE TOP: Let’s be clear — the Knicks are in shambles right now. There’s no leadership, no accountability and no identity. And yet, the team is still just three games out of first place on the Atlantic Division. The Knicks have a “favorable” schedule of equally sub .500 teams over the next four games (Nets, Magic, Celtics and Cavs). If the team can manage a 3-1 or 2-2 stand, it’s something solid to build as Tyson Chandler returns in the next 1-2 weeks (with hopefully Jeremy Tyler by the end of the month).

In the meantime, try not to slit your wrists, fellow Knicks fans.

[Video] A Touch Foul Away: Pacers Wear Down Knicks in OT

I thought we had the game won. And in overtime, I don’t know, they just walked away with it. – CARMELO ANTHONY

I wouldn’t be surprised if Iman Shumpert hasn’t gotten any sleep yet. Ahead 89-86 with just 9 seconds left in the game, the Knicks needed one stop to snap a three-game losing streak, and more importantly show themselves that they have the ability to hang with the league’s best teams. Instead what happened was Shumpert committing an absent-mined, slight touch on Paul George’s elbow as he shot a three, allowing him to sink three free throws to push the game into overtime and hand the Knicks a heart-breaking sixth straight home defeat.

As usual, there were positives, but they’re hardly consoling in light of the end result. Nonetheless, let’s take a look at what the Knicks can take out of this game.

UDRIH MAKES HIS CASE: With Raymond Felton again out, Beno Udrih got the starting call and delivered a season-high 18 points, snatched 8 rebounds, and dished out 4 assists. He spaced out the floor with his three-point shooting (3-4 from behind the arc), and hit several circus shots (one late in the 4th to give NY a 87-85 lead) on broken plays. Hopefully his performance prompts Coach Woodson to keep him in the rotation when Felton returns.

JR SMITH COMING AROUND: Outside a late 4th quarter three-point attempt too early in the shot clock, JR had a strong game. He contributed 21 of New York’s 26 bench points and added 5 rebounds. 10 three-point attempts is excessive, but that’s JR and he hit several key ones to keep us in the game.

KNICKS HOLD THEIR OWN WITHOUT MELO AND BARGNANI: The Knicks have had numerous third quarter collapses this season. When Melo and Bargnani had to sit with fouls, there was danger of it happening again. JR Smith picked up the scoring slack and Metta World Peace added good defense to keep Indiana at shooting 32% and take a 64-58 lead into the fourth.

REBOUNDING EDGE: The Knicks should use this game as a blueprint of what they can accomplish on the boards with effort and intensity. Despite the big and bruising Pacer front line, the Knicks held a 52-49 rebounding edge behind 18 rebounds from Carmelo Anthony. Everyone in starting lineup made a concerted effort there including Bargnani, who snatched down 9.

THE DEFLATING MOMENT: Shumpert’s touch foul on George’s three-pointer was absolutely crushing for the team’s psyche. All their energy and confidence disappeared and the Pacers pounced behind George’s hot mid-range shooting and outscored the Knicks 14-7 in the extra period.

Shumpert has already struggled with confidence due to the trade rumors and this will do him no favors. Woodson even chipped in some pointed criticism, calling Shumpert’s foul “lazy.”

MELO LEAVES IT ALL ON THE FLOOR: Melo didn’t have a good shooting night (10-28), but he played his heart out in every aspect of the game. He fought hard for rebounds (9 of his 18 were offensive boards) and even got a key block on George in the closing minute of regulation. It’s hard to even complain about the repeated isolation plays in overtime because he appeared to be the only New York player still fighting for the win.

The Knicks will get three days of rest and return Saturday (November 23) to face the Wizards in DC.

[Video] Wolves Use Fast Start to Power Past Knicks 109-100

The less said about this game the better. The Knicks took the lazy Sunday afternoon motif to heart and came out yesterday sans defense and any offense fluidity, giving up an inexcusable 40 points in the first 12 minutes and going down by as many as 23 points in the first half. The Wolves lead a balanced inside-outside attack helmed by Ricky Rubio’s ball movement (10 assists), Kevin Martin’s shooting (30 points, 5-5 from downtown), and the formidable frontcourt of Kevin Love (34 points, 15 rebounds) and Nikola Pekovic (11 points, 12 rebounds).

Meanwhile, the Knicks struggled mightily on both ends of the court. The shooting was wretched (Melo 8-21 for 22 points, Hardaway Jr. 3-12, 6 points). and the Wolves were able to repeatedly beat the Knicks down the floor for transition layups off long passes. Iman Shumpert was mentally out of sorts due to picking up early fouls and had way too many lapses with his help and perimeter defense.

The Knicks made a go of it in the second half and got as close as two points with 4:49 remaining. Then the offense sputtered to only one field goal over the remainder of the game and the Wolves executed on their end to keep a comeback out of reach.

The Knicks get the chance to redeem themselves tomorrow before their fans when they face the Bobcats.

Comeback Thrwarted: Derrick Rose Game Winner Seals Knicks’ Fate

We competed tonight. It says a lot for our club. Now I just need to do a better job getting us through down the stretch. – Mike Woodson

After being dead in the waterfor the most of the game, a Knicks 12-0 run in the fourth quarter allowed them to storm back for a two point lead. But several bad possessions and a missed free throw from Tyson Chandler gave the opening the Bulls needed, as Derrick Rose hit a tough floater to defeat the Knicks 82-81 in the Bulls home-opener.

It was tough loss to swallow, especially considering this is the fifth straight time the Bulls had defeated the Knicks. However, New York showed flashes on succint execution and had a mental toughness to them that was lacking from last year’s squad. Had this been last season, this game would have turned into a blowout in the third quarter, when the Bulls went up by as much as 13 points. Onto the game’s highlights.

FIRST HALF UGLINESS: We know the Bulls pride themselves on defense and that made for an ugly first half of basketball as New York was relegated to contested jumpers. There were repeated bad passes leading to Bulls fast breaks and stupid fouls. Andrea Bargnani, in the span of a few minutes, had 3 offensive fouls. Iman Shumpert also got in three fouls. 13 first half turnovers is normally a death knell, but the Bulls lack of offensive weapons allowed New York to remain close even with just 33 points in 24 minutes.

BARGNANI SHOWS LIFE: After having an abysmal first half, Bargnani came to life in the second hitting multiple jumpers. This was crucial in helping to spread the floor. If the Knicks hope to do any serious damage, Bargnani has to keep hitting those shots.

CHANDLER ON FIRE: Tyson Chandler had an excellent game with 7 points, 19 rebounds, and 4 blocks. He gave our team numerous chances late to pull away, but our offense failed his effort. If he can stay healthy and keep up this intensity, the team will be in good shape. Problem is, the man needs help down low, and Amar’e and Bargnani aren’t the answer.

Some have harped on the missed free throw, but I can’t disparage the man’s performance last night. That free throw was not the sole reason we lost the game — lack of offensive execution in the last two minutes is what did us in.

STAR SLUMP: Neither of the stars of this game, Carmelo Anthony and Derrick Rose, shot the ball particularly well. Melo went 8-24 (22 points) while Rose shot 7-23 (18 points). But with Rose, all that is forgiven in light on his game-winner. Melo said he got the look he wanted, but I’m not a fan of long jumpshots to win games. Yes, he can hit them (and has), but a quick drive and pull-up was a better percentage shot. Using Rose as an example, he was able to get close to the paint in the same amount of time for his shot. Of couse, Melo isn’t as quick, but he could have got to the to the free throw line at least.

COMEBACK AND LATE EXECUTION: With a little less than 8 minutes remaining, the Knicks were down 66-76. Tim Hardaway Jr. ignited a 12-0 run starting with a three-pointer. Felton hit a three, Melo connected with a short jumper, and a Shumpert offensive reobund and putback dunk put the Knicks in front.

From there it all went bad, as the Knicks offense degraded into Melo isolations. This wasn’t the plan, but Felton’s pick n’ roll attempts were turned back by Chicago as well as the screen attempts. Several possessions that could have given the Knicks breathing room ended with the ball being dumped to Carmelo with less than 8 seconds on the shot clock.

NO PANIC: The loss sucks, but help is coming. JR Smith has three games left on his suspension, and Hardaway Jr. is making a great case to keep up his playing time. The team has the weapons and I’m confident we’ll see a dynamic aquad by mid-season barring injuries.

[Video] Iman Shumpert – “New Beginnings”

My one goal is to get my ring… – Iman Shumpert

With the season beginning tonight, Iman Shumpert has released this excellent video speaking on his focus for the year and the reason for the departure of his trademark flattop. This is a fantastic reminder of why Shump is the heart and soul of this Knicks team (and why he better not be traded).

Turned Back at the Rim: Pacers Eliminate Knicks In Six

It still hurts two days later. As you all have noted, this site was quiet on a recap of the Knicks-Pacers elimination game yesterday. I was still wrapping my head around the disappointment of the game. Yes, the Knicks went down swinging (well, some of us did). But considering the level of talent assembled for our “win now” motto, the strong feeling of what could have been remains with most Knicks fans. I wasn’t one of those people who thought this squad was going to win the championship this year, but I did see a team that could make the Eastern Conference finals and give a considerable challenge to the Miami Heat. So what went wrong?

SURVIVING THE FIRST HALF: The Knicks offense was again in struggle mode for the first 24 minutes (35% shooting). JR Smith shot 1/6 and Raymond went 0/5. Luckily for NY, Melo was on and kept his team within striking distance (12 points in the first, 20 at the half on 8/16 shooting).

The other reason the Knicks were on the wrong side of a 55-47 score was the rebounding and fouling. The Pacers were getting all the hustle plays and crashing the boards (at one point a 18-5 edge). Indy was very focused while other players, most notably Tyson Chandler and JR Smith, were cyring to the refs, earning Tyson a tech late. The Knicks found themselves in the foul penalty around the 8-minute and had an astounding 16 fouls in the second quarter.

MELO AND SHUMP’S DRAMATIC 3RD QUARTER: The Pacers got the lead to 13 and the feeling was this game was about to be blown open at any moment.

Iman Shumpert had other plans.

Shump detonated for three consecutive threes to bring the Knciks within one (69-70). JR came alive for his own trey, and Shump hit yet another one to tie the game at 79.

Melo was on fire himself, at one point being 4-4 in the quarter and ending up with 15 points in those 12 minutes. A driving layup in the final 30 seconds briefly gave the Knicks a 81-79 lead. When the quarter ended, the score was tied at 81 and the stage was sent for a drama-filled finish.

THE BLOCK: Might as well get right to it. The below play from Roy Hibbert was the defining moment of the game (even more than his great rebounding and 20-plus points). Melo went up as hard as possible and got summarily rejected. From there, he became reluctant to keep that same aggressiveness inside and it led to three consecutive turnovers on his part (one of which resulted in a costly three-point play courtesy of Lance Stephenson over JR Smith for a 95-92 Pacers lead).

The Pacers used the momentum from Hibbert’s play for a 9-0 run that pretty much sealed the deal.

DISAPPEARING ACTS: Melo had 39 points in this game so even with some glaring mistakes, I can live with his effort. Shumpert as well. The rest of the team is where I have issues.

Tyson Chandler (2 points, 6 rebounds) has been abysmal this entire series and after spouting his mouth off in the media about the team’s play, he goes out and makes Roy Hibbert look like Hakeem Olajuwon for the second time. I watched in the disgust as he fumbled point-blank putbacks and failed to box out.

Felton disappointed me the most in going 0/7 from the field and managing just two points. His offense, and more importantly his playmaking, was sorely missed.

JR ended up with 15 points, but on 4/15 shooting. Some in the media have chosen to focus on Melo’s 2/7 shooting effort in the fourth, but not noting the several drives for open kickouts he got to Smith. JR couldn’t hit from the three when it mattered, and the rest is history.

Amar’e Stoudemire only got 5 mintues (none in the fourth) and managed 2 points for the game. Sure, we needed scoring, but Stat’s subpar defense and rebounding would have made the Hibbert feasting even worse.

TIME FOR CHANGE?: I’ve heard everything from fire Woodson to blowing up the roster of everyone except Melo and Shumpert. We definitely need to make some serious adjustments in regard to offensive creativity, strengthening our rebounding, and team defense IQ.

One thing I refuse to do is call this season a failure. Never at any time this season did we have our team completely healthy, yet we still managed our first 50-plus win season in well over a decade. With everyone at their best, this is easily a 60-win team.

Now if we can see a healthy Knicks team for next year is the question. More on that, and Stat’s comments on his team contributions, later today.

Panic Time – Knicks Remain Hapless On Offense (And Defense), Now in 3-1 Hole to Pacers

Carmelo Anthony said before last night’s “must-win” game four that the Knicks would learn a lot about their character. Based on that quote, we’d have to conclude that the Knicks are a bad shooting, whiny,, unfocused and flawed group. Now that is a tad harsh, but Knicks fans the world over are calling for the blood of a bunch of teams members from Coach Woodson on down. After a second abysmal effort, this time resulting in a 93-82 defeat, the Knicks find themselves in a daunting 3-1 deficit headed back to Madison Square Garden on Thursday.

I won’t sit here and claim to have all the answers, but the glaring concerns I witnessed last night need to be corrected if this team has any shot of extending the series.

CAN ANYONE SCORE???: There were omens from the outset that the Knicks were in trouble. Iman Shumpert, trying to help lift the scoring load off Carmelo Anthony, went 1-5 in the first quarter. No one else was in sync and the team was shooting 9% at the seven-minute mark. Our offensive ineptitude negated the six turnovers Indy committed in the opening 12 minutes, allowing them to have a nice 23-16 lead courtesy of a 9-2 run to end the quarter. And while Roy Hibbert wasn’t killing it on offense, he managed to still be a force with 5 rebounds (4 offensive).

STOP DOUBLING THE POST: Remember how thrilling the Knicks look when they’re hitting three-pointers? The role has been reversed over the last two games since Coach Woodson has insisted that the Indiana bigs (West, Hibbert) get double-teamed every time they get the ball in the post. They simply pass the ball out, where it’s moved around the perimeter to an open man. For this game, it was George Hill and Lance Stephenson eating off this stupid strategy. Too often we saw the deja vu image of a Knicks guard scrambling to the perimeter too late and the Pacers extending their lead via another open trey.

The Pacer threes, combined with their 30-18 edge in rebounding, allowed them to push their lead to 48-34 at halftime.

Do you think any adjustments were made? Of course not — more doubling in the second half, and more momentum-crushing open threes kept the Knicks subdued for the rest of the game.

WHEN OUR FATE WAS SEALED: Despite how bad we looked, the Knicks were able to get within eight early in the fourth behind some much-needed three-point shooting from Chris Copeland. That potential run went to hell when Woody inexplicably benched him to insert Jason Kidd, who literally hasn’t scored a single point in the last month.

So what happened? How about Kidd leaves Lance Stephenson open for a three that pushes the lead back to 11. And on the Pacers next possession, Stephenson makes the driving layup to put the lead at 74-61. You could tell the team’s spirit was broken and the game was essentially over at that point.

OFFENSE WOES CONTINUE: JR Smith continued the worst shooting slump of his career, going 1-8 in the first half and 7/22 for the game. Melo had 24 points but on 9/23 shooting and got held scoreless in the fourth before fouling out. Raymond Felton contributed 14 points and did his best to look for his shot.

The team as a whole shot 35% and look demoralized for most of this game. Our three-point shooting, which is essential for this team, was a wretched 8/28 for 28%.

CAN WE TURN IT AROUND: The Knicks certainly have the right mix of veterans to come back, but I don’t think they have confidence that they can beat the Pacers. As has been the story all year, the team deflates when faced with tough, physical defenses. With Melo and JR being the only ones who can consistently create their own shots, the Pacers can opt to zero in on them with double teams when they enter the paint, and remain confident they can be contained with man to man defense anywhere else. The other Knicks rarely cut to basket or move off screens, making our offense very predictable when the three-point shot is taken away.

Woody’s stubborn rotations, coupled with bad court leadership from our team captains, has brought us to the brink of elimination. To at least go down fighting, Pablo Prigioni needs to get Kidd’s minutes. Chris Copeland and Steve Novak are defensive liabilities, but at this point our scoring drough is more dire. Play them to space the floor. Dust off Camby and see how he does guarding Hibbert. At the very least, he knows how to box out and block a shot.

Judgement day is tomorrow, guys. Now it’s really a must-win.

Knicks Light Up Pacers On 36-4 2nd Half Run, Take Game 2 105-79

Before game 2 against the Indiana Pacers, Carmelo Anthony said the disappointing game 1 defeat came down to a lack of effort. The Knicks didn’t have that problem last night, as Melo himself dropped 22 second half points, Iman Shumpert was all hustle, and Pablo Prigioni provided an early fourth quarter spark to give the Knicks a 105-79 blowout and their most impressive win this post-season.

Game 1 left a lot of people wondering if the Knicks were “tough enough” to break down the league’s #1 defense in the Pacers, and NY showed, as they have all season, that they’re a team built on resiliency.

1ST HALF EXECUTION: For the majority of the first half, the Knicks answered the call of hitting shots and providing their own strong defense. They forced the Pacers into multiple turnovers and converted on most of their open shots. With just 3:36 left in the half, the Knicks were up 13 points.

Unfortunately, the Pacer defense combined with some Knick mental lapses left New York scoreless for the rest of the half. The Pacers were able to chip their deficit to only five points (47-42) headed into the third. However, the Knicks had reason to be encouraged, as their lead was predicated on ball movement and balanced contributions as Melo and JR were still struggling from the field.

3RD QUARTER TEST: The Knicks got a legit test over within the first 3-5 minutes of the third. Their shots stopped falling, and the Pacers started to nail three-pointers courtesy of Lance Stephenson and George Hill to take their first lead at 64-62. The crowd was antsy, as there was the fear the Knicks would revert to iso ball and get ran off the court.

Impressively, the Knicks never got rattled, and Melo secured the lead back courtesy of momentum-changing three-point play dunk over Jeff Pendergraph. That play brought new life to the Knicks defense, and on the next Pacer possession a Raymond Felton-Kenyon Martin trap in the backcourt resulted in a turnover and alley-oop dunk. Jason Kidd had another scoreless night, but found other ways to contribute in saving a deflection to find Tyson Chandler for an easy dunk and cap a 10-2 NY run to end the quarter. The Knicks held a 72-66 going into the fourth.

PACERS GET BURIED: The Pacers had been shooting well over 50% for most of the game, but came crashing down to the earth in the last 12 minutes. The Pacers had one of the league’s worst offenses during the season, and it was displayed in all its ugly glory as Indy went 0/11 to start and didn’t score from the field until three minutes were left in the quarter!

While the Pacers struggled, Pablo Prigioni furthered the Knicks run by hitting a pullup three and a short jumper in the lane to extend the lead to 77-66. Chants of “Pablo!” rained down from the Garden crowd, but it would be Melo who finished off the game. Melo had 16 points during an astounding 36-4 run to completely blow the game open to a 92-66 lead.

The last five minutes were garbage time and the starters thankfully got a decent rest. And it’s not like the Pacers got any reprieve when our bench was emptied — Quentin Richardson got in on the run with two treys of his own.

SHUMPERT THE BEAST: I think it’s safe to say Shump is fully back from his ACL tear based on the below play.

There were still some naysayers after Shump’s great play in the last series against Paul Pierce, citing Pierce’s age. This series so far shows Shumpert is coming into his own as a complete player. Once his jumper and finishing at the rim gets more consistent, I have no doubt the Knicks will have a future All-Star. In 28 minutes, Shumpert delivered 15 points (7/11 from the field), 6 rebounds and 1 steal.

ANYTIME NOW, JR: Our Sixth Man of the Year is still in this horrible shooting slump. Last night he went 3/15 from the field (1/7 from downtown). You can tell his confidence is really shaken and even his free throws aren’t a sure thing anymore. Nothing lasts forever, so we just have to patiently wait until he gets out of this. Thankfully, with guys like Felton, Shumpert and Prigioni picking up the slack, and Amar’e Stoudemire returning this weekend, JR doesn’t have overwhelming pressure to get it together. But when he does, the Knicks can potentially blow this series open.

REST!: I normally hate long breaks between games, but this time it’s extremely important to our squad. Melo’s hurt shoulder needs all the rest it can get. The Pacers have made it a point to test it out by hammering Melo in the paint. He was grimacing all throughout the game, but of course hitting his shots made the pain less potent. These three days will also serve to help Tyson Chandler, who you can tell is still battling the lingering effects of the bulging disc in his neck. Remember, the Knicks went right into this series one game removed from eliminating Boston.

Game 3 kicks off this Saturday and should also mark the long-awaited return of Amar’e Stoudemire.

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