Knicks Extend Division Lead with Rout of Celtics

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Tuesday, March 26th, 2013

Post Game Recap

Final Score: New York Knicks: 100 Boston Celtics: 85

The Knicks were able to reel of their fifth win in a row and extend their lead in the Atlantic Division with a blowout with over the Celtics tonight in Boston.  The loss of Tyson Chandler did not hurt the Knicks as much tonight as the Celtics were without their own All-Star big man in Kevin Garnett.  It was a slow start to the game as neither team scored for nearly the first three minutes, but the Knicks were able to shake the slow start and pull away from the Celtics in the second quarter.  This was a big win for the Knicks who will get right back at it Wednesday night back at Madison Square Garden against another tough opponent in the Memphis Grizzlies. 

-Positives

• J.R. Smith played outstanding tonight for the Knicks off the bench.  He played a super efficient game, going 13 of 24 from the field en route to a game high 32 points.  He attacked the basket viciously, scoring a large majority of his points in the paint and from the foul line, where he went five for five.  Smith was also made himself present on boards, grabbing seven rebounds; four of which were of the offensive variety.  Smith also protected the ball well on offense, not turning the ball over once.  He made an impact on the defensive end of the court as well with three steals and also playing good defense on whoever he was asked to guard.  He also had a game high +17 on the +/- ratio, showing that the Knicks played extremely well with Smith on the court tonight.

• As a team tonight the Knicks were very good with holding onto the ball.  They turned the ball over only eight times, giving up only 10 points to the Celtics off those turnovers.  On the contrary, the Knicks forced 20 total team turnovers on the Celtics and converted them into 17 points.  The pressure the Knicks put on the Celtics on the defensive end allowed the Knicks to control the tempo of the game and not allow the Celtics to get into a flow offensively.

• Jason Kidd showed again how integral of a part he is to the Knicks team and their success.  He did not stuff the stat sheet but does the little thing to help this team win.  He is the one who will get the Knicks set straight on their defensive assignments and the one who calls and sets up the plays on the offensive end.  Kidd tonight scored five points, grabbed six rebounds and had one steal.  He was a big part of the Knicks stretching out their lead in the first half and sustaining it in the second half as his basketball IQ really helps a team as a second coach on the court. 

• Pablo Prigioni got the start again tonight and continued to flourish in his expanded role.  There have been talks recently of Prigioni possibly not returning to the NBA next season as he was not happy with his role on the Knicks; he is showing why he deserved a bigger role with the team with how he has played recently.  In 30 minutes tonight Prigioni scored seven points, grabbed three rebounds, handed out five assists and had two steals.  Prigioni is a jack of all trades player that has earned more playing time with how he has responded to his expanded role with the Knicks dealing with so many injuries. 

• The Knicks attacked the paint relentlessly and it paid off big time in the end.  The Knicks scored 50 points in the paint tonight and another 14 from the free throw line.  That is a recipe for success for the Knicks who were unable to get it going from deep tonight.  If Smith attacks the basket like this more often good things will happen for the Knicks.  Another thing the Knicks dominated in the paint was the offensive glass.  The Knicks were able to offset any shooting woes they had by grabbing 15 offensive rebounds and giving themselves multiple opportunities to score.

-Negatives

• The Knicks were unable to get it going from the three point line tonight, knocking down only eight of their 28 attempts, good for 28.6 percent.  Thankfully the Knicks were smart enough to lay off the three point attempts and find another way to score tonight, but that has not always been the case for this team.  Outside of Anthony’s eight attempts, no Knick took an amount they do not usually take.