Courtesy NY Daily News
Just when you started to get the feeling that the Knicks were back to their winning ways of a season ago one mindboggling sequence late in the fourth quarter changed that feeling to one of anguish. For the second game in as many nights New York would go shot for shot with a Western Conference juggernaut.
James Harden was magnificent using an array of moves to dissect the Knicks with surgical precision. Even when New York played the all-star shooting guard well he had an answer for that too duping the officials by flailing his arms or whipping his neck back in order to draw a foul when it was obvious to most that Harden himself, was initiating the contact. He finished the contest with 37pts on 53% shooting from the field including 5-10 from 3 point range. His free-throw shooting you ask? Well Harden was a perfect 12-12 from there too.
Carmelo Anthony was solid for New York again but for the first time this season he didn’t lead the team in scoring which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Iman Shumpert picked up right where he left off in San Antonio draining all six of his trifectas en route to 26 points, 1 shy of his career high set against the Spurs.
Late in the final period New York would find themselves down 5 due to the heroics of Harden but a Shumpert three and two clutch free throws by Tyson Chandler would even the score. Here is where things turned downright dreadful for Mike Woodson’s bunch. Following a Beno Udrih miss Chandler corralled the rebound and kicked it back out to Udrih who then passed the ball to a wide open JR Smith. Smith then inexplicably launched a three with more about 20 seconds instead of resetting the offense and running the clock down for the final shot. Smith was quoted after the game saying he took the shot thinking the team was down by 2 rather than being tied. Leaving Knick fans to wonder where exactly is Smith’s head if he isn’t even aware of the score. The moment brought back sour memories from less than three weeks ago when New York led by 2 in overtime against Milwaukee, Andrea Bargnani launched a deep three instead of holding on to the ball to seal it from the foul line. Instead the Bucks would tie the game but New York would ultimately win in the second overtime.
No such luck in this one as Udrih compounded Smith’s brain lapse with one of his own by fouling Aaron Brooks off the Smith miss with the Knicks in the penalty. Not even forcing Houston to earn the two points. Brooks would sink both and after a wild flurry of passes it was again Udrih who would wind up with the ball for the last shot a leaner that looked good but rimmed out sending the Knicks to the locker room with another painful defeat.
Many good things can be taken from this game but at 10-22 there’s no room for moral victories. New York must find a way to stop shooting themselves in the foot and get a streak going before it truly becomes too late. A report surfaced shortly after the game that New York may be considering moving Anthony to the Los Angeles Clippers for the high flying Blake Griffin. One has to begin to wonder whether the Carmelo Anthony era in New York is coming to an end, especially if the losses continue to mount.
Wilson Caicedo: PureSportsNY