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| Maddie Meyer/Getty Images |
By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)
November 14th, 2013
Houston Rockets vs. New York Knicks
Post Game Recap
It was a valiant effort by the Knicks
tonight but they were unable to overcome some mental shortcomings and
questionable calls from the referees as they fell at Madison Square Garden to
the Rockets 109-106. It looked as if almost all of the Knicks were not ready
for the quick turnaround tonight after playing last night in Atlanta against
the Hawks. It is hard to beat a team as talented as the Rockets when you have
only two players on top of their game but that is the uphill battle the Knicks
faced tonight that they were unable to overcome. Saturday marks the next game
for the Knicks as they will take on the Atlanta Hawks again, this time at
Madison Square Garden at 7:30 P.M. ET.
Co-Players of the Game: Andrea Bargnani
and Carmelo Anthony
Bargnani and Anthony were the only two
Knicks to show up tonight and compete against the Rockets.
Bargnani continues to put good game
after good game together for the Knicks. It is too bad the team isn’t getting
the wins at the end because this is the best stretch of basketball that
Bargnani has had in a long time. Tonight Bargnani shot extremely well on the
offensive end, going nine of 12 from the field a perfect three of three from
the foul line en route to 24 points. He also added four rebounds, a block and
surprisingly tough defense on Dwight Howard. Bargnani is known as a poor
defender but he showed a lot of heart and toughness on the defensive end
tonight against Howard. He drew two charges and made life difficult for Howard,
who shot only one of five from the field. The Rockets weren’t trying hard to
get Howard involved in the offense but Bargnani virtually shut him down
whenever they did. Bargnani looks like a totally different person for the
Knicks right now and is very encouraging sign moving forward.
Anthony put on a show on the offensive
end, scoring 45 points on 17 of 30 shooting from the field, including two of
four from deep and nine of 11 from the foul line. Anthony also added 10
rebounds as he was very active on the glass when he wasn’t putting the ball in
the basket. It was another heavy minutes night for Anthony but he was in the zone
tonight and nothing could slow him down other than himself. Anthony made a
boneheaded move by fouling Howard with less than two minutes left, resulting in
the Rockets picking whichever player they wanted to send to the foul line. The
blunder gave the Rockets a free point as James Harden knocked down the freebie
but he made up for it at the end, or so we thought. Anthony made a heave with
five seconds left on the clock but the referee said the foul occurred before
the shot attempt, sending Anthony to the line for two free throws instead of a
possible four-point play. It was a disappointing end to the game for Anthony
and the Knicks but without his dominance throughout the game they aren’t even
in that position.
-Positives
