Knicks Slip Past Suns in OT For 5th Straight Win

By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)

Monday, January 13^th, 2014

Phoenix Suns vs. New York Knicks

Post Game Recap

The Knicks were able to hold off a feisty Suns squad in the last game of their road trip 98-96 in overtime. The Knicks effort was inconsistent throughout the night, never putting away a tough Suns team. The Suns are the Cinderella of the NBA season thus far and they showed why tonight against the Knicks; there are no superstars on the roster but they play hard and stick to what they do best. This is a game the Knicks would have lost just two weeks ago. It is amazing what a little practice time and a New Year can do for a team as the Knicks look like they have righted the ship. The win tonight gives the Knicks five straight and pushed them into a tie for 8^th place in the Eastern Conference with the Brooklyn Nets. The Knicks will look to continue their winning streak tomorrow night against the Charlotte Bobcats.

Player of the Game: Kenyon Martin

Jim McIsaac

Never in his wildest dreams would Martin have thought he would be giving the Knicks this much at any point in the season. It is hard to believe that Mike Woodson would have thought he would need Martin this much either but Martin has delivered. Tonight Martin was outstanding for the Knicks once again on the boards, grabbing nine rebounds and adding tough, hard nosed defense. Martin played 35 minutes, which is impressive because at the beginning of the season it was thought that he and Amar’e Stoudemire would be splitting time. Martin also added timely baskets for the Knicks tonight with two tip-back slam dunks to swing momentum and get the crowd into frenzy.

-Positives

Carmelo Anthony was a little fatigued down the stretch but he was able to score when the Knicks needed him most. Anthony scored four of the six Knicks points in overtime to get them the victory. On the night Anthony scored 29 points on 9-24 shooting (3-6 3pt, 8-9 FT). Once again he was a monster on the boards, pulling down game high 16 rebounds. Anthony also added four assists, raising the Knicks record in games that Anthony records four assists to 11-2. The biggest of the four came with 53 seconds left as Anthony found Felton standing in the corner for a three pointer to give the Knicks the lead back.

Frank Franklin III/AP Photo

Felton didn’t have the gaudy assist totals he had in the last two games but he was able to carve up the Suns defense by attacking and knocking down jump shots. Felton shot 8-16 from the field (2-6 3pt, 1-2 FT) for 19 points as he offset the damage done by Suns starting point guard Goran Dragic. Felton looked like he was going to be a scapegoat for a loss tonight but played a big role in getting the victory instead.

The Knicks perimeter defense was outstanding again tonight. The Knicks have been defending the three point line much better and is one reason for the current winning streak. The Knicks continued their streak of allowing under 100 points, running that to five as well. Tonight the Suns shot 7-30 from the three point line and 33-93 overall for the game.

Once again credit needs to be given to Woodson. The Knicks had a penchant to butcher end of game situations earlier in the season but have really tightened things up down the stretch. Tonight Woodson made sure the team knew the current situation and what the correct thing to do. With three seconds left the Suns were in-bounding in the front court down three points. Felton fouled Channing Frye when his back was towards the basket with 2.5 seconds left, sending him to the line. Frye would miss the first and make the second as the Knicks would subsequently run the clock out. Woodson once again had his team prepared mentally, something that could not be said for most of the season. He was also able to keep the Knicks poised as the Suns were able to take a five point lead in the fourth quarter after climbing out of 14-point deficit in the first half.

-Negatives

Frank Franklin III/AP Photo

The perimeter defense was outstanding for the Knicks but the perimeter players torched them. Dragic made Felton and anyone guarding him look silly throughout the night, scoring 28 points, grabbing eight rebounds and handing out four assists. Off the bench Leandro Barbosa looked like the Brazilian Blur from his earlier Suns days as he picked the Knicks apart. Barbosa hurt the Knicks scoring 21 points.

The Knicks were sloppy at times during the game as they did not keep the energy level up at all times. They never put the Suns away as they did not seem as focused as they could have been. They also looked a little tired, which is disheartening as they had a day off and they have a game tomorrow night in Charlotte against the Bobcats. The lackluster focus caused the Knicks to not get into a rhythm for the better part of the game, resulting in 18 turnovers. The frequent turnovers kept the Suns in the game as they turned the ball over only 10 times.