NEW YORK CITY – After seeing the Knicks’ performances the past two games, its hard to think that this team has the record of 12-46. New York after Saturday night is now on a two game win streak. This coming after winning a double overtime game against the Pistons in Detroit on Friday, and then an impressive win over the Toronto Raptors (37-22) on Saturday in the Garden. The Raptors were without their all star guard Kyle Lowry, but New York’s 98-103 win was still a huge one.
There were heavy hearts in the Garden and around the league, as the Knick and NBA family lost Anthony Mason when he passed away Saturday morning. Mason was known for his rugged play which made his a Garden favorite. He was apart of the 1994 NBA Finals team, that pushed the Houston Rockets to 7 games. Mason won the Sixth Man of the Year award in 1995, and was an all star selection in 2001. The Knicks had a moment of silence in his honor before the game started.
The way the Knicks played against Toronto was a glimpse of how successful the triangle offense can look when run the right way. New York had 21 team assists and shot 44%. New York stayed within the offense, and put themselves in quality scoring opportunities all night. This also equated to 38 free throw opportunities (30-38, 78%) which has not been an area where the Knicks have gotten much production this season.
Andrea Bargnani has felt the pressure from the Knick faithful undoubtedly. In the Garden he drew boo’s each time he touched the ball. However he responded well with arguably one of his best games as a Knick. He finished the game with 19 points in 31 minutes. Bargnani has had a problem with his health in his entire tenure in the blue and orange, but Saturday was what Knick fans had hoped that they’d be getting on a more consistent basis.
Tim Hardaway Jr. led all Knick scorers with 22 points and added 7 rebounds as well. He did a good job of taking the basketball to the basket, but still suffered from usual head scratching shot selection.
Alexey Shved added 15 points, and looks like he’s starting to settle into his bench player role for this season. He’s shown he still has a prowess to score the basketball within himself.
New York’s next opponent will be Tuesday against the Sacramento Kings. This will be a makeup game from when a snowstorm hit the Metropolitan area January 26th, and canceled their contest. New York will be looking to extend their win streak to 3, while the Kings are looking to rebound off a loss to San Antonio Friday night.
Barry Holmes/Pure Sports NY