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Raptors hang on to drop Knicks |
The Knicks’ poor first-half effort gave Toronto another big lead. Then their poor final-minute execution allowed the Raptors to keep this one. Andrea Bargnani and DeMar DeRozan each scored 21 points, and the Raptors held onto a big cushion this time, beating New York 90-85 on Monday night. Jose Calderon added nine points and 12 assists for the Raptors, who blew a 16-point lead Sunday in Orlando before losing 102-96. They opened a 17-point advantage at halftime in this one thanks to the Knicks’ inept second quarter then held on to snap a three-game losing streak. “We didn’t let their run get to us,” DeRozan said. “The last couple of games you know teams made runs on us and we let it get to us and we kind of broke down on the defensive end. So tonight we didn’t let that happen.” Carmelo Anthony had 35 points and 11 rebounds as the Knicks played their second straight game without Amare Stoudemire, who has a sprained left ankle. But they couldn’t duplicate their impressive play from their victory without him on Saturday in Sacramento, shooting just 36 per cent from the field and misfiring on 25 of their 35 three-point attempts. Toney Douglas had 22 points for the Knicks, 12 during a third quarter that finally woke them up after a dreadful second period in which they made three baskets. But he appeared to forget the play when the Knicks inbounded down three in the final seconds, forcing Anthony to launch a long-range attempt that missed with 13 seconds left. Coach Mike D’Antoni was all the way on the court hollering for Douglas to move before the ball was thrown in, and he said after the game the Knicks forgot the play that was to be run. “I thought the whole first half our energy was down. We didn’t play real hard. And then I think we got a little snake bitten in the sense of when you’re not playing hard, things aren’t falling, it started being contagious and everybody started missing shots, and we were playing on our heels,” D’Antoni said. “Halftime we talked about it and we came out and played aggressive and I thought second half was really good, but we needed obviously 48 minutes and didn’t get it.” Missing a chanceThe Raptors missed a chance to extend a three-point lead in the final 90 seconds when Amir Johnson blew a dunk, and Anthony followed with a drive into the lane to cut it to 84-83 with 1:04 to go. Bargnani answered with a jumper, and after Tyson Chandler’s dunk, Bargnani sank a pair of free throws to keep it at a three-point edge with 17 seconds left. Anthony missed the three-point attempt and Anthony Carter, who finished last season with the Knicks, hit two free throws to make it 90-85 with 10.7 seconds remaining. Rasual Butler had 13 points and 10 rebounds for Toronto. “A little bit different than last night,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. “They made the run. We knew they were going to make a run. Our guys bounced back, hung in there, took the blow and absorbed it.” Stoudemire could be back Wednesday against the Bobcats, and Iman Shumpert could return this week, ahead of the two to four week absence that was expected when he sprained a right knee ligament in the Christmas opener. The Knicks showed how badly they could have used his help in the first half. New York led 23-22 after one, but then shot 3 of 19 (16 per cent) in the second quarter. They heard some boos at Madison Square Garden, where the loudest cheers came when receiver Victor Cruz of the playoff-bound Giants was shown in his courtside seat. The Knicks didn’t monopolize the ugliness — Toronto’s Jamaal Magloire threw up an airball on a free throw. But Toronto shot 56 per cent in the second quarter and ran off seven straight during one Knicks drought to open a 17-point lead before taking a 51-34 advantage into halftime. “Second half we played with a lot more confidence,” Anthony said. “First half, I really don’t know what was wrong with us. No excuses, but I think, I know, in the second half we did a better job defensively. Offensively guys made shots.” DeRozan hit a three-pointer to open Toronto’s second-half scoring, but the Knicks surged back behind Douglas, who had a four-point play among his 12 points in the period as New York got within three before Toronto took a 67-58 lead into the final period. Rookie Josh Harrellson, who had 14 points and 12 rebounds as Stoudemire’s replacement Saturday, was limited to two points and five boards. Chandler finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Gotta run!. Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off
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Knicks’ Stoudemire may return to face Raptors |
New York Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni likes the direction his offence is heading. Even if Amar’e Stoudemire isn’t on the court demanding defensive attention. The Knicks hope to have Stoudemire back as they try to build on their best offensive performance of the season Monday night against the struggling Toronto Raptors at Madison Square Garden (7:30 p.m. ET). Stoudemire, who is averaging 17.3 points and 6.0 rebounds in three games, is listed as day-to-day with a sprained left ankle. The six-time All-Star didn’t dress Saturday against Sacramento, but that didn’t seem to have much of an effect on New York’s offense. All five starters had 14 points or more for the Knicks (2-2) in an easy 114-92 win. Carmelo Anthony led the way with 23 points, while Stoudemire’s replacement, rookie Josh Harrellson, finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds for New York, which had averaged 80.0 points on 35.8 per cent shooting in losing its previous two games. “Our team is starting to pick up things in the offence that if we continue to do it, we can be successful,” D’Antoni said. “When you have a Carmelo with an Amar’e, it tends to open the floor even more. When the ball moves, our younger guys can get more involved.” The Knicks finished with season highs of 26 assists and 46 points in the paint. “When the ball is moving like that, you can see how successful we can be offensively,” Landry Fields said. “It’s a very nice win. Hopefully it brings us momentum going into our next game.” New York had no trouble offensively against Toronto last season, averaging 114.5 points in sweeping the four-game series. Stoudemire averaged 26.8 points and 11.5 boards against the Raptors in 2010-11, while Anthony had 23 points and nine rebounds in the lone game he played in last season’s series, a 131-118 win at MSG on April 5. The Raptors (1-3) were 26th in scoring defence last season (105.4), and although they’ve been more sound defensively in 2011-12, yielding an average of 96.8 points, it hasn’t translated to many wins. Toronto’s defense played well through three quarters Sunday in Orlando but didn’t get many stops down the stretch. The Raptors led by as many as 13 in the fourth, but the Magic shot 70.6 per cent (12 for 17) in the final period to rally for a 102-96 win. It was the second consecutive second-half collapse by Toronto, which squandered a seven-point, third-quarter lead in Friday’s 99-86 loss to Dallas. “I don’t really have an explanation as to why this game got away,” said Jose Calderon, who had 18 points and 13 assists. “It’s tough. It’s kind of like the same thing that happened with Dallas. They’re two veteran teams. They know how to play in those moments. We’ve got to learn from that.” Andrea Bargnani paced the Raptors with 28 points Sunday, but only scored three in the fourth quarter. The 7-foot Italian, who is averaging 26.3 points on 53.6 percent shooting in his last three games, had a career-high 41 points in a 113-110 loss at MSG last December. What do you guys think about this. Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off
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New York Knicks Are New, but Familiar: A Fan’s… |
When does a victory seem like a loss? It’s when you’re opening a lockout shortened season at Madison Square Garden against a team you need to overcome on your way up the NBA ladder. 
Mike D’Antoni Yes, that’s right, it doesn’t take long to begin scrutinizing daily the benefits and disadvantages, the ups and downs, the good and bad of New York Knick basketball. There’s no analyzing like overanalyzing. Simple analysis just doesn’t seem adequate. Anyway, the Knicks of this year appeared very much like the Knicks of last year…occasional glimpses of an active defense but very little else, and an offense that shuts down completely when Carmelo Anthony takes a seat. Some observations? There were periods in this game, when the Knicks transitioned from 12 ahead to eight behind, that Celtics were running free as if they had a communicable disease. There was not a Knick to be found, sometimes not even in the TV frame. There were times when there was no point for a Knick to scurry back to the open man since that would have taken too long given the distance. Simply put, it was some of the worst defense I’d ever seen by a professional team. And speaking of defense, Tyson Chandler, the $15 million 7″1′ center, collected three rebounds …and that’s not a misprint. At 7″1′, shouldn’t you come by a rebound or two by accident? My goodness! While his line did feature six blocks, his three rebounds were matched by an equally dismal seven points. He wasn’t exactly a deterrent for the Celtics, who managed to shake free for open shot after open shot and 104 points without their best player, Paul Pierce. Point guard defense might be an issue this year. Rajon Rondo vaporized the Knicks with 31 points and 13 assists. Iman Shumpert looks like an active player but, of course, he’s injured now and will be out a month. Most observers thought the Celtics were ready to be taken this year. Not so fast, they communicated very clearly in Game #1. Glenn Vallach has been a New York Knick fan since the days of Howie Komives and Walt Bellamy, when he regularly boarded the IRT Subway at 180th Street in the Bronx for a trip to the Garden to see his heroes. Since the last championship in 1973, he has alternately yearned and suffered, hoped and lamented…and has waited long enough. Source:
Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content. Thanks for reading! . |
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New York Knicks edge Celtics in NBA opener |
BRIAN MAHONEY Carmelo Anthony scored 37 points, including a pair of free throws with the game tied and 16 seconds left, and the New York Knicks survived a seesaw season opener on Sunday to beat the Boston Celtics 106-104. Amare Stoudemire added 21 points and Toney Douglas had 19 for the Knicks, who led by 17 in the first half, trailed by 10 in the fourth quarter, then pulled out a thrilling Christmas victory in the delayed opener to the 2011-12 season. Rajon Rondo had 31 points and 13 assists, nearly leading the Celtics back without an injured Paul Pierce. But Kevin Garnett missed a jumper just before the buzzer, the kind of shot Boston always seems to make against the Knicks. Brandon Bass had 20 points and 11 rebounds in his Celtics debut, and Ray Allen added 20 points. Garnett finished with 15 points. He and Allen had a sleepy Christmas start, with Rondo keeping the Celtics in the game until they got going in the second half. But it wasn’t enough against the Knicks, who withstood a potentially serious knee injury to first-round pick Iman Shumpert to beat the team that swept them out of the first round of last season’s playoffs. Pierce has a bruised right heel but hopes he can return Tuesday when the Celtics visit the Miami Heat. Even without him, the Celtics fought back to tie it at 69 on Rondo’s layup midway through the third quarter. They surged ahead by eight going into the final period after Bass scored the final six points, then extended it to 89-79 on Bass’ jumper to open the fourth. Anthony tied it at 100 on a 3-pointer with 3:25 to play, and it stayed tight until he was fouled on a drive with 16.3 seconds left, making both for a 106-104 lead. Rondo grabbed the rebound of Marquis Daniels’ potential go-ahead 3-pointer to give the Celtics a final chance, but Garnett was off on a jumper, then appeared to shove the Knicks’ Bill Walker away. Coming off their first winning season in a decade, the Knicks added a defensive presence by signing Tyson Chandler away from the NBA champion Dallas Mavericks and have loftier expectations than they’ve seen in years. The original NBA schedule had them opening against Miami, but instead they got a chance to see if they’ve closed the gap against the team they hope to unseat atop their division. Celtics coach Doc Rivers even compared the Knicks to the Lakers because of the length along their front line with Chandler in between Stoudemire and Anthony. Though the Celtics won all eight meetings last season, the Knicks have been listed some places as the favourites in the Atlantic Division, which the Celtics have ruled since their Big Three came together in 2007. ”It’s possible. Right now, anybody could win the division. Everybody knows how optimism kicks in before the season starts, but then once reality sets in after the first month of the season, we’ll see,” Pierce said before the game. ”But it’s definitely a possibility. I mean, they have the talent, but we have the talent, too, So I can see that.” D’Antoni was careful to keep the expectations low, saying the limited amount of practice time before the season started means it could be a few weeks before all the new players are used to each other. The Knicks won’t even have one, Baron Davis, for a while as he recovers from a herniated disc in his back. Shumpert was expected to be a key until then, but he sprained a right knee ligament in the second half. The Celtics are a changed team as well, with the retirement of Shaquille O’Neal and the season-ending loss of Jeff Green for surgery to repair an aortic aneurysm. And they will face questions about how their veteran core can navigate the tight 66-game schedule. But the acquisition of Bass from Orlando for Glen Davis paid immediate dividends, as he showed a nice midrange jumper when he wasn’t busy keeping balls alive on the glass. The first game since renovations began at Madison Square Garden included the usual cast of celebrities such as Alicia Keys, Chris Rock and John McEnroe, and some new confusion, as at least one Celtics player had to ask how to get to the court from the new visitors’ locker room. The Knicks led 34-23 after one and extended it to 49-32 with 7{ minutes left in the half on a pair of free throws by Chandler. But the Celtics shot 62 percent in the quarter, getting it back into single digits before New York took a 62-52 lead into halftime. Notes: Rivers said Pierce may come off the bench when he does return, since he’s had only one practice so far. … The Knicks were without Mike Bibby, who dressed but didn’t play because of a sore back. Reserve Jared Jeffries was lost during the game to a sore right calf. … Stoudemire provided pregame breakfast to MSG staff in appreciation of the support in his first season with the team. – AP Not much else going on in the NBA world today. |
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Davis ditches Lakers, Heat for Knicks |
NBA free agent guard Baron Davis took phone calls from the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers, but the offer he accepted on Monday came from the New York Knicks. Davis, dropped by the Cleveland Cavaliers last week under a salary amnesty program in the new NBA collective bargaining agreement, signed with the Knicks for the veterans minimum salary of $1.4 million. Goodbye LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. So long Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and all his hometown friends. Hello Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler. “Those teams did call and I have a great respect for both organizations, but for me it was just the opportunity to play in New York and to play on this team,” Davis said. “I always kind of rise to the occasion when I’m playing against the Knicks and playing in the Garden. It’s just an unbelievable opportunity and I’m ready to accept the challenge.” Davis will still be paid the $28 million he is owed in the two remaining years of his contract, but the figure will not count against the Cavaliers’ salary cap, making it easier to take the minimum and help New York cap issues. A bigger priority, Davis said, was the front-court lineup of Anthony and Stoudemire flanking Chandler. “A big reason why I came here was because of the front line,” Davis said. “You just think about two 20-plus scorers on your front line and then a guy like Tyson Chandler, who’s a defensive stopper and a great defensive leader. “For me it’ll be great to get out on the floor and just play with guys at that talent level.” After struggling with rebuilding sides Cleveland and the Los Angeles Clippers last season, Davis is anxious to get on the court for the Knicks. But he will have to wait. A herniated back disc is expected to sideline him for eight to 10 weeks. “The first order of business is just get him healthy and make sure that when he is able to play, he’s ready to go,” Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said. “Just adds another weapon to already a pretty good group.” Davis has career averages of 16.5 points and 7.3 assists in 12 NBA seasons. Last season he averaged 13.1 points and 6.7 assists a game. That’s all for today guys, i’ll be back to blog you tomorrow. |
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