New York started this short 3 game road trip in Texas. The Knicks would drop the first game in Houston 91-86. It was a game the Knicks could have won, but missed opportunities would do them in. The same would follow with their Wednesday night contest against the Dallas Mavericks. In a game where the Knicks were again without Carmelo Anthony, New York did a great job of scoring and moving the basketball. The Knicks would finish the game with 6 players scoring in double figures.
Tyson Chandler was traded in the offseason to the team he had played for and won a championship, prior to signing with the Knicks. This was his first game playing New York since that happened and he killed the Knicks. He played like a man on a mission, adding 17 points and 25 rebounds. Time and time again, Chandler was making dunks, and key offensive rebounds to plague the Knicks all night. Dirk Nowitzki however was the star for the night. Nowitzki finished the game with 30 points and 6 rebounds. This included a key jumper late in overtime to seal the victory for Dallas.
The Knicks showed grit though, by keeping up with Dallas throughout the game. All season defending the 3 point line had been a problem, but on Wednesday the Knicks limited the Mavericks to just 4-31 (12%) from behind the arc.The other problem they faced with allowing opponents to get to the charity stripe reared its head. Dallas went to the free throw line 38 times (29-38). This links directly to the amount of points the Knicks gave up in the paint (50). Too easily teams are able to score in the paint and drive right down the lane uncontested.
Even with those problems the Knicks were in the game. JR Smith hit a jumper with less than :02 secs left in regulation to tie the game. Smith would finish the game with 15 points and 5 assists. Jose Calderon lit it up for the Knicks. He had 21 points and 10 rebounds, including 7-9 from downtown. Down the stretch, the Knicks struggled to make timely buckets to answer Dallas and clearly missed their leader Anthony. They ran out of gas in the tank and dropped a heartbreaker 109-102.
Their next game against Oklahoma City would be a complete embarrassment from the gate. The Thunder outscored the Knicks 30-13 in the first quarter and would not look back after. This was Russell Westbrook’s first game back off injury but it did not seem like it. Westbrook in just 24 minutes he had 32 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds. He looked really good, and did a great job attacking the paint. Serge Ibaka had a good game himself, adding 14 points and 6 rebounds. The Thunder shot 44% (38-86) from the field, and 41% (10-24) from the 3 point line. Again this season, the Knicks allowed double digit three pointers made. They continue to struggle to limit quality opportunities from behind the line, as well as defending without fouling. Oklahoma City shot 19-23 from the free throw line on the night.
For New York, Amar’e Stoudemire was the only one to have a stand out game really. He would add 20 points and 9 rebounds for the Knicks, just missing a double double. Tim Hardaway Jr. also had 11 points, but was the only other player on the Knicks to score in double digits. As a team the Knicks just shot 38% (29-75) from the field, and shot a dreadful 2-19 from the three point line, where they shot well in Dallas. Offensively it wasn’t a great showing, which then exposed how poorly the Knicks played on the defensive side. No matter how you put it, the Knicks are a terrible defensive team. It is one of the major if not the sole reason why they are 4-13 team and 1-8 on the road. If you can’t stop teams from driving into the paint, defend the three point line, nor defend without fouling you are going to consistently lose games. They will look to turn it around Sunday against the Miami Heat.
Barry Holmes/Pure Sports NY