By: Tyler Henry
With little time left before the end of the season, the Knicks knew they needed every game they could get in order to make the playoffs. New York fed off the energy of the crowd in the World’s most famous arena Friday night as they came in as the eighth seed in the Eastern conference. Knicks fans would have a close eye on the Atlanta Hawks score Friday night but knew by half time that game was not probable to go in the Knicks favor as the Hawks blew out the Cavaliers in Atlanta.
Carmelo Anthony picked a bad night to have a bad game. With every game so crucial at the position the Knicks are in, Anthony was fortunate enough to have JR Smith step up big time during Anthony’s poor performance. Unfortunately, JR Smith’s efforts were not enough as the Knicks suffered a 90-89 loss. Anthony had nine turnovers on the game and appeared to be fighting through pain the entire game but was never taken out because of an injury.
JR Smith had a season high 32 points as he carried the team on his back right through until the end of the game. Raymond Felton hit a big shot from behind the arc with 33.5 seconds left to put the Knicks up by one. Bradley Beal then came down and hit a jumper with 22 seconds left to put the Wizards back up by one. Carmelo Anthony would then drive with seven seconds left and lose his handle on the ball. The loose ball ended up in the hands of JR Smith who put up a three pointer with 2.2 which went off the rim and resulted in the Knicks fourth loss in the last 16 games.
Carmelo Anthony had just ten points to go along with those nine turnovers and failed to come up clutch at the end of the game when the Knicks needed him most. Anthony and Chandler led the team with eight rebounds each. Amare Stoudemire looked good Friday night as he totaled 16 points.
Washington currently holds the sixth place in the East and are headed to the playoffs for the first time in years. Bradley Beal led the team Friday night with 28 points which included the game winning jumper with 22 seconds left. Beal has now hit game winning shots against the Knicks twice this season which are two games the Knicks sure would love to have back at this point in the season. The Wizards had four starters in double digits including John Wall who had 19 points and Marcin Gortat who had a double double.
New York now sits one game back of the Atlanta Hawks as they fight for the eighth seed. Atlanta has seven games left with four of those games at home. Meanwhile the Knicks have a shorter more difficult schedule with just five games remaining and three of those on the road starting Sunday in Miami. The Hawks have been a very hot and cold team in the second half of the season. At one point losing 15 of 16 games with their only win being against the Knicks during that stretch. That was followed by five straight wins and then six straight losses which have kept the Knicks alive late in the season.
According to sources, Carmelo Anthony did suffer a strained right shoulder but is expected to play Sunday as the Knicks travel to Miami. X-rays were taken after the game but came back negative. With the loss Friday night the Knicks playoff chances are still alive but appear much more questionable than they would like. The Knicks will play Miami, Brooklyn, Chicago and two games against Toronto to finish up the season in hopes of making the playoffs.
PureSportsNY: Tyler Henry