Post Game Recap
The Knicks started to throw away all the positive vibes they
had built in the middle of their home stand with a loss to the Miami Heat
Saturday; tonight they finished destroying those vibes with a terrible loss to
the lowly Bucks. It was a terrible loss for the Knicks tonight as the Bucks are
one of the only teams in the NBA worse off than the Knicks currently. The Bucks
were without arguably their best player tonight in O.J. Mayo and were still
able to beat the Knicks tonight. A big reason the Bucks were able to hang with
the Knicks tonight is because they kept fighting and the Knicks never put them
away; as the Knicks tend to do they played down to their opponent and suffered
for it. The loss tonight makes it two in a row for the Knicks and ends their
seven-game winning streak against the Bucks. Things won’t get any easier for
the Knicks as their next game is Wednesday night against the Portland Trail
Blazers.
Player of the Game: J.R. Smith
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| Benny Sieu/USA TODAY Sports |
Smith was moved back to his regular spot off as the sixth
man and he continued his strong play. Smith scored a season-high 30 points
(9-17 FG, 6-11 3pt, 6-6 FT) as he looks as comfortable as he has at any point
during the season. Smith was single handedly keeping the Knicks in the game at
points tonight as the offense never really got going. Smith also added seven
rebounds and three assists on the night to round out his stat line. Smith
finally looks like he is ready to be the second scoring option the Knicks have
been craving all season, just someone else now needs to step up behind him and
Carmelo Anthony.
-Positives
Anthony did everything he could to get the Knicks a win
tonight alongside Smith. Anthony was on fire in the fourth quarter as he put
the team on his back offensively and he led the comeback. Anthony finished the
night with 36 points (13-25 FG, 5-10 3 pt, 5-6 FT) as he got hot down the
stretch. He also added five rebounds and three assists to go with his big
scoring night. Anthony can continue putting up bit scoring numbers but he is
going to need some help to get the Knicks out of the hole they put themselves
in.
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| Benny Sieu/USA TODAY Sports |
The Knicks let it fly throughout the night and with good
reason as they connected on a high amount of their three point attempts. On the
night the Knicks shot a solid 44.1 percent from deep, going 15-34. The Knicks
actually shot better from the three point line than they did overall from the
field, as they made only 34-78 of their total shots for 43.6 percent.
Amar’e Stoudemire returned to the court tonight for more
than a cameo and came out without an injury. Stoudemire also threw down a
thunderous dunk over Bucks Center Larry Sanders that showed he is over the
ankle injury. On the night he shot 3-7 from the field for seven points with
four rebounds and one assist.
-Negatives
Outside of Anthony and Smith the Knicks offense was
atrocious. No other player scored more than seven points and if you take out
their shooting their teammates combined to go 12-36 from the field. At the end
of the day they are still playing against other professionals so if a total
team effort is not given they will lose like they did tonight. When one player
in the starting lineup doubles the scoring output of the other four combined it
is rarely, if ever, a good thing
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| Tom Lynn/AP Photo |
The Bucks, who average only seven three point makes a game,
lit the Knicks up from the perimeter. Until the Knicks pick it up it will be
pointed out how poor their perimeter defense is. The Bucks lit it up from
downtown tonight, making 11-18 for 61.1 percent. The three point barrage was
led by Brandon Knight and Khris Middleton, who combined to go 9-14. Knight lit
the Knicks up for the second consecutive game, as he has scored 61 points
combined his last two appearances against the Knicks. Knight’s main victim on
the night was Raymond Felton, who was once again a revolving door defensively.
Felton got beat backdoor by Knight on the second to last Bucks possession and
then had the game winning three-pointer knocked down in his face as he gave
Knight the utmost confidence throughout the game not putting much pressure on
him.
As the theme throughout the season the Knicks did not bring
the intensity needed tonight. They started the game off without scoring the
first three minutes and missing their first three free throws. Their heads were
not in the game throughout the night, evident from the poor shooting at the
foul line, where the Knicks went 15-24 (62.5 percent). The effort defensively
was lackadaisical as the Knicks let a struggling team gain confidence right
from the start and ride it through all four quarters.
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