The New York Knicks turned in a really ugly performance against the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night (Dec. 29). The Knicks would trail early and never get the offense going, finishing with just 10 points in the fourth quarter during a 99-82 loss. It was ugly on all aspects, but especially in how badly the team shot from the field.

The Knicks went just 21-for-67 (31 percent) against the Lakers, but made it even worse by giving up 52 percent on the defensive end (38-for-73). The Lakers also went 9-for-16 from three-point range, hitting pretty much from any place on the floor they wanted to. Kobe Bryant would finish with 28 points, Pau Gasol had 16 and Josh McRoberts had 10. The leading scorer for New York was Carmelo Anthony, who was 8-for-14 and finished with 27 points. The rest of the team went just 13-for-53 from the field, making less than 25 percent during the game.

This turned into the second straight loss for the Knicks after the team lost to the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night (Dec. 28). It’s not how the team wanted to play after beating up on the Boston Celtics in the season opener, but luckily every other team in the Atlantic division is also losing games. After three games the Celtics sport a 0-3 record, so in comparison, the 1-2 record for the Knicks isn’t that bad. It’s not a good way to open the season though, even with the excuse that it is because they have to play on the West Coast right out of the gate.

It’s starting to look like the Knicks need big nights from Anthony, Amare Stoudemire and at least one other player every game to post a win. When one of the big two guys is off, the team can’t seem to find a way to recover. This is where role players have to step up and someone like Landry Fields, Bill Walker or Toney Douglas has got to put points up on the board. Without a third or even fourth significant contributor, the Knicks might have trouble stringing wins together.

The next chance for a Knicks win comes on Saturday, Dec. 31 when the team travels to play the Sacramento Kings in the last game of the road trip. Hopefully coach Mike D’Antoni can have a good practice on Friday (Dec. 30) to figure out just how this group of players can start getting more consistent on the court. That consistency will lead to a fluid approach to the game and, of course, more wins. If he can’t find it, this could become another long season with a lot of hopes going unfulfilled.

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*Ryan Christopher DeVault is a fan of the New York Knicks that has followed the team since the days John Starks, Charles Oakley, and Anthony Mason instilled their defensive will on the rest of the league.

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It’s time for the New York Knicks to prove that the changes made to the roster were the right moves and that this is a team ready to compete. After a really tough loss to the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night (Dec. 28), it’s time to bounce back and beat a struggling Lakers team. The Knicks play in Staples Center on Thursday (Dec. 29) at 10:30 p.m. ET, making for a long night for dedicated fans back east.

I wrote last night how the Knicks were very flat against the Warriors in the second half, especially after holding a six point lead at halftime. While Tyson Chandler was going through foul trouble, the Knicks just seemed to lack the defensive intensity necessary to beat the better teams in the league. It almost seemed like a number of players on the roster have put too much pressure on Chandler to become the only one putting out the extra effort on defense. It worked in the first game against the Boston Celtics when Chandler blocked 6 shots, but he can’t do it every night by himself.

The Lakers are a much different team without Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum, and that is what the Knicks get on Thursday night (Dec. 29). The Lakers have also lost two of their first three games, losing to the Chicago Bulls and Sacramento Kings before beating the Utah Jazz on Tuesday (Dec. 27). Now the Knicks come to town, and the game goes into primetime for viewers watching on the West Coast. It’s also the second game on the TNT schedule for the night, meaning the game is about to get over-analyzed. Hopefully the Knicks can put up really good numbers and leave a lasting opinion with the broadcasters.

Any success for the Knicks is going to come from shutting down Pau Gasol on defense and working an inside-outside game on offense. Kobe Bryant is going to score his points, but Chandler and Amare Stoudemire have to keep Gasol from catching fire in the low post. On offense, it needs to become a balance between the three-point shooters for the Knicks and the post-up games of Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony. The shooting percentage has to get better than the 4-for-21 (19 percent) effort that New York had on Wednesday night (Dec. 28) though.

It’s time to put the excuses aside and for the Knicks to prove that they can get up for a game against one of the elite teams in the Western Conference.

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Sources:

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*Ryan Christopher DeVault is a fan of the New York Knicks that has followed the team since the days John Starks, Charles Oakley, and Anthony Mason instilled their defensive will on the rest of the league.

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

The New York Knicks really fell apart in the fourth quarter against the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night. After holding a 43-37 lead at halftime and then remaining in the game in the third quarter, it was like a lid got put on the basket for the Knicks in the last quarter. The Warriors simply ran away with the game and the Knicks took their first loss of the 2011-12 season.

There are plenty of places to look for blame in this game, beginning with the horrible shooting from the starters and continuing with the poor fourth quarter defense. It also didn’t help that the Golden State big men were dominating the boards and came away with a huge rebounding edge in this one. After beating up on the Boston Celtics in the first game of the year, this was a stark reality check for Knicks fans.

Carmelo Anthony went 3-for-13 from the field for just 13 points and Amare Stoudemire went just 5-for-14 from the field for 16 points. With the tandem going 8-for-27 combined, there just wasn’t room for error when it came to the defensive end. On that end of the court, the Warriors shot 45.5 percent, going 35-for-77 from the field and 6-for-16 from three-point range. The Knicks went 28-for-70 for a 40 percent clip, but also went just 4-for-21 from three-point range for a 19 percent mark.

The 92-78 final was rough to take, especially with the Knicks getting out-scored 28-14 in the final quarter. The rebounding edge was 47-31 in favor of the Warriors and 11-4 on the offensive glass alone. The Warriors also registered 12 steals on the night, with 3 coming from Kwame Brown and 2 from Brandon Rush off the bench.

At times it seemed like New York wasn’t taking the Warriors seriously in the first half and that may have been a reason why the lead disappeared so quickly after Warriors coach Marc Jackson got on his players. They tightened up on defense and completely shut down the Knicks in that fourth quarter.

There isn’t much time to dwell on this game, because the Knicks have to take on the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night (Dec. 29). It’s a good game to rebound in after losing to the Warriors, but hopefully the Knicks aren’t too down from blowing this one. What makes it all so much worse was that the Warriors didn’t even have their best player on the court Wednesday night (Stephen Curry).

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Sources:

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*Ryan Christopher DeVault is a fan of the New York Knicks that has followed the team since the days John Starks, Charles Oakley, and Anthony Mason instilled their defensive will on the rest of the league.

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

On Sunday December 25, 2011, the New York Knicks defeated the Boston Celtics 106-104 at Madison Square Garden. It was a nice Christmas gift for Knicks fans. Here are five thoughts on the game.

Amar’e Stoudemire played well when it counted.
commons.wikimedia.org/Chamber of Fear

Melo Was Marvelous

Carmelo Anthony looks great in a New York uniform, does he not? He looked determined and comfortable. It is pretty clear that he will lead the Knicks in scoring this season. In fact, he may lead the National Basketball Association (NBA) in scoring. Anthony scored 37 points on 10 of 17 from the field. He hit 13 out of 15 free throws. Anthony also had three assists, two steals and a blocked shot. He could be a candidate for Most Valuable Player in the NBA this season.

High Ratings on Christmas Day

This game was the most-watched game on Christmas Day on a cable television network. The game averaged 5.9 million viewers on the TNT channel. The Knicks are back and the NBA will benefit from it. They will be a fun team to watch this season.

Stat

After a shaky preseason, Amar’e Stoudemire shot well when it counted. Stat scored 21 points on eight of 11 shooting. It also looks like Stoudemire has added a new weapon to his arsenal. He went two for two from downtown. Stat and Melo combined for 58 points. It appears that they can play together, at least for one game.

Point Guard Problems

Toney Douglas and Iman Shumpert combined for 30 points and five assists. But Shumpert will now miss two to four weeks with a sprained right knee. With Baron Davis still on the mend, the Knicks will rely more on Mike Bibby. The Knicks also claimed former Harvard guard Jeremy Lin. Lin was impressive in the 2010 Las Vegas Summer League. He played in 29 games as a rookie for Golden State.

Big Man

Tyson Chandler had a quiet seven points and three rebounds. But he defended the lane with six blocks. These Knicks are no longer pushovers inside the paint.

The Knicks are off to a great start. Their next game is on Wednesday December 28, 2011 at the Golden State Warriors.

More from Edwin Torres:

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Edwin Torres was born in New York City. He has been a Knicks fan since the early 1980s. He has visited Madison Square Garden on many occasions to watch the Knicks and his favorite player, Patrick Ewing. For more articles, follow him on Twitter @FlipPoker.

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