By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)
Friday, January
3rd, 2014
New York Knicks
vs. Houston Rockets
Post Game Recap
The Knicks
played hard but once again were their own worst enemy as they dropped a
heartbreaking thriller 102-100 to the Rockets. The Knicks outplayed the Rockets
for three quarters tonight but fell apart down the stretch. Mental mistakes and
poor execution doomed the Knicks as they once again showed that they are the
lowest basketball IQ team in the NBA. With the loss their struggles against the
Rockets and in Houston specifically continued; they have now lost 17 of 18 to
the Rockets and nine straight in Houston. As Carmelo Anthony said in his post
game interview, the Knicks gave the Rockets the game tonight. They will look to
get back in the win column and wrap up the Texas Triangle Road trip on a
positive note Sunday night in Dallas against the Mavericks.
Player of the
Game: Iman Shumpert
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| George Bridges/MCT |
For the second
consecutive night Shumpert was on fire from beyond the arc. After going through
the worst shooting stretch of his career that saw him go 6-42 from the field,
Shumpert has found his stroke again in the new year. Against the Spurs and
Rockets Shumpert has gone 19-27 from the field (12-14 3pt, 3-3 FT) to rebound
from that rough stretch. Shumpert was one point shy of his career high that he
set Thursday against the Spurs. The back-to-back 20 point scoring games is the
first time Shumpert has accomplished that since March 28th & 30th,
2012. Against the Rockets Shumpert also added four rebounds, five assists and
one steal. His defense one-on-one against James Harden was also outstanding
throughout the night. Harden, who gets to the foul line as much as anyone in
the NBA, did not attempt his first free throw until two minutes remaining in
the first half. Shumpert playing smart defense against him was a big reason
why. Shumpert looks to have turned the corner on his season which can only be a
positive thing for the Knicks, especially with how poorly Tim Hardaway Jr. and
JR Smith have performed recently.
-Positives
Tyson Chandler
logged only 27 minutes but he made the most of them, registering a
double-double. Chandler finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds on the night. He
started the game off strong with five points in the opening quarter to get the
Knicks going. Chandler also did a formidable job on Dwight Howard throughout
the night, a tall task.
Anthony did not
have as efficient a night as he did in San Antonio but he had a good game nonetheless.
Anthony ended the game with 25 points and eight rebounds. He also added two
assists and did a fine job defending Chandler Parsons throughout the night.
Parsons shot 6-13 from the field for 17 points but did lead his team in
rebounding with 11.
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| Troy Taormina/USA TODAY Sports |
Amar’e
Stoudemire did not have the big scoring night for the Knicks but he was able to
help out on the glass and in help defense. Stoudemire pulled down seven
rebounds and had two steals on the night as his play provided Mike Woodson a
chance to give Andrea Bargnani, Chandler and Anthony some rest at points in the
game. Stoudemire has obviously lost some because of all the injuries but you
can count on him to give your team everything he has as long as he is on the
court.
Toure’ Murry was
inserted into a game as early as he has been in his NBA career and he made the
most of it. Murry entered the game with barely five minutes gone in the first
quarter and the Knicks went on a run right when he entered. The Knicks reeled
off a 12-2 run as the Knicks turned a seven point deficit into a four point
lead. When Murry plays in the backcourt with Shumpert or Hardaway Jr. it is a
fun thing to watch as the athleticism is something the Knicks have lacked. Murry
replaced Udrih in the first quarter and Udrih looked none too happy about it,
but he bounced back nicely later in the game. Udrih finished strong and ended
the game with 10 points, seven assists, four rebounds and two steals. What is
making Udrih and Murry successful is that both are able to attack and get into
the paint to put pressure on the defense.
-Negatives
JR Smith is
hurting the Knicks more than he is helping. He augmented a poor game with a
boneheaded play in the last 24 seconds of the game. Chandler was able to gain
the Knicks another possession with the shot clock off and the ball was worked
out to Smith. Smith inexplicably attempted a three pointer, almost a carbon
copy of what Bargnani did against the Bucks a couple weeks ago. Udrih
compounded the miss by fouling Aaron Brooks in the corner but Smith never
should have attempted the shot, especially since Chandler is in his line of
view telling him to slow it down and Udrih is doing the same. It was a icing on
the cake for a poor game for Smith who is having more negatives than positives
for the Knicks. Smith finished the game 3-13 (1-8 3pt, 2-2 FT), zero rebounds,
two assists and two steals. It will be hard even for Woodson to show trust in
Smith now with how he has been playing and the lack of basketball IQ and
awareness he shows on the court. After the game he admitted to not knowing what
the score and situation of the game was, just another reason he should be off
the court in big situations.
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| Patric Schneider/AP Photo |
With Shumpert
starting to play well and round into shape it is disappointing to see Smith
crater and give the Knicks negative minutes. He is not the only one doing so as
Hardaway Jr. has joined Smith in giving the Knicks poor production. Hardaway
has seen his minutes decrease with Shumpert playing well and has done nothing
to show the coach he deserves those minutes back that he is losing. For the second
consecutive game Hardaway was mostly invisible, playing 11 minutes and scoring
only one point. He also added one rebound but finished with a game worst -14
+/- ratio.
Bargnani had
been dealing with a stiff neck recently and it seems to be effecting his
shooting. The injury has been affecting him for the past 8-10 days and over
that span he has been shooting the ball at a 38.9 percent clip. He has shot
even worse from the three point line, hitting only 25 percent of his deep
shots. He did nothing to help those numbers against the Rockets, shooting 3-10
overall and 0-3 from the three point line. The Knicks need Bargnani to get back
in a groove and shoulder more of the scoring load with Smith and Hardaway
giving them ineffective minutes off the bench. He did a good job once again
defending Howard and battled on the boards, pulling down eight rebounds.
After having
Shumpert guard Harden for the better part of first half he went off in the second
half with Shumpert no longer shadowing him. Harden scored 27 of his 37 in the second
half, with 11 coming in the decisive fourth quarter that saw the Rockets
outscored the Knicks 29-19. Harden missed only three shots the whole second
half, finishing the game with 37 points (5-10 3pt, 10-10 FT), seven rebounds
and six assists.
