Courtesy: Newsday
Martin Luther King Day and basketball at the World’s Most Famous Arena are synonymous. This year though, someone forgot to tell the Knicks they were scheduled to play against their Atlantic Division foe, Brooklyn, two teams headed in completely opposite directions. The puzzling thing about that is Brooklyn has thrived over the last five games with Shaun Livingston running the point while Deron Williams sat to nurse his oft injured ankle while the Knicks have struggled mightily since the return of their defensive anchor, Tyson Chandler. Williams would return to the lineup but served as a reserve while working his way back in to game shape.
As has been the case on a number of occasions for the Knickerbockers this season the team came out flat and ill prepared for their opponent. Offensively stagnant and the defense was no better constantly missing rotations leading to a barrage of wide open jumpers and uncontested drives to the basket. Tyson Chandler even threw fuel to the fire after the game saying he doesn’t agree with the defensive game plan and that they don’t have the personnel to be switching on pick & rolls.
Brooklyn was out there having fun playing as a team. Maybe the trip to London provided the Nets with that crucial bonding time to build camaraderie. It sure looked like it whether you were live in attendance or watching from the comfort of your own home. New York would head to the locker room at halftime down by 14 points and it could’ve been much worse.
New York used a 6-0 run to begin the third quarter that briefly gave false hope to the fans in attendance that the orange and blue had finally awoken from their doldrums. On the contrary though as that would be as close as the game would ever be again and at times one could even hear the Nets fans chanting, B-R-O-O-K-L-Y-N. That was a complete role reversal from the teams only other meeting this season in which the Knicks cruised to a 30 point victory and had taken over the Barclays Center.
Yesterday the Garden belonged to the parvenus an all too bitter reality for the Knicks that Brooklyn isn’t going anywhere. Carmelo Anthony told reporters “we didn’t fight as a team,” a sentiment all too familiar this year. New York has six games remaining on its season long 8 game home stand and next up is Philadelphia on Wednesday.
Final
New York 80 Brooklyn 103
Notes:
New York has now lost four consecutive games, all by double digits.
Beno Udrih has expressed his desire to be traded
Both Pablo Prigioni and Deron Williams returned to their respective lineups
Brooklyn managed 25 assists on 37 field goals
Wilson Caicedo: PureSportsNY