Mario Hezonja Archives - Knicks.City https://www.knicks.city/tag/mario-hezonja/ We All Live in Knicks City Thu, 11 May 2023 21:27:00 +0000 en hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9 https://www.knicks.city/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/cropped-knickscity-32x32.jpeg Mario Hezonja Archives - Knicks.City https://www.knicks.city/tag/mario-hezonja/ 32 32 Brunson, Barrett, & Mitchell Robinson Free Throws. NY 112 Miami 103 https://www.knicks.city/2022-23/brunson-barrett-mitchell-robinson-free-throws-ny-112-miami-103/ https://www.knicks.city/2022-23/brunson-barrett-mitchell-robinson-free-throws-ny-112-miami-103/#respond Thu, 11 May 2023 13:35:04 +0000 https://knicks.city/?p=5051 Jalen Brunson and RJ Barrett had MONSTER games — and Julius Randle played pretty well too — to lead NY back from an early 2nd quarter 10-point deficit to blow Miami off the court in [...]

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]]> Jalen Brunson and RJ Barrett had MONSTER games — and Julius Randle played pretty well too — to lead NY back from an early 2nd quarter 10-point deficit to blow Miami off the court in the 3rd — NY taking a a 19-point lead.

Robinson’s HUGE Free Throws Ruin Hack-a-Shaq Strategy

But Miami hit their 3’s and battled back — pulling to within 6 with 5 minutes left when they started Hack-a-Shaq-ing Mitchell Robinson on consecutive possessions to get closer. In a late turning point to the game, Mitchell Robinson stepped up and hit 3 of 4 free throws to keep Miami at bay.

Still Miami pulled closer — within 2 — after yet another Duncan Robinson 3 and consecutive pullup drives by Jimmy Butler.

Barrett CLUTCH; Hartenstein BIG

In a frenetic finish — RJ Barrett came up Big as he’d done all evening, attacking the Miami defense with assuredness for yet another drive with 2 minutes left — this one missed but setting up an Isaiah Hartenstein offensive rebound and HUGE slam for a 4-pt Knick lead. RJ then went 4-4 from the free throw line in the final minute as Miami was forced to foul — CLUTCH free throw shooting.

Grimes with Defensive Play of Game

Quentin Grimes came up with the Defensive play of the game with 1:42 left and NY leading 107-101 — getting hit with an uncalled illegal screen by Bam Adebayo, and injuring his leg — but getting back on the play and STILL stealing the ball from Jimmy Butler to give NY possession, resulting in Barrett free throws.

Mitchell Robinson — back in the game as hack-a-Shaq is illegal in the final 2 minutes of a game — ripped down a rebound of a Kyle Lowry miss, and hit 1 of 2 free throws with 21 seconds left — Julius Randle grabbing the miss and putting it home for the coup de grace.

A heart-stopping, gut-wrenching win. At a rocking, frenetic Madison Square Garden on a Wednesday night — with former players like John Starks seen on the sidelines shouting out instructions to RJ Barrett to “Attack! Attack the drive”.

“The Heat lost to Mitchell Robinson free throws,” summed up @TheyCallMeTak on Twitter.

“There’s nothing really to celebrate,” said Jalen Brunson afterwards. “We obviously won and we get to see another day. This was great but we have to get one down there.”

Game 6 Friday night in Miami. The Knicks have circled the wagons.

1. Miami Feeds off Ref Calls — Take 10-Point Early Lead

The Knicks came out with aggression, but Miami matched it.

The Knicks were maybe too aggressive — and were getting hit with calls. Josh Hart picked up 3 fouls in the first 10 minutes and had to sit down. Knick fans on Twitter were howling. Miami was playing their game — as some Knicks talked about after the prior game — physicality with some veteran flopping to get calls.

Hart’s Questionable Flagrant

On one play, Josh Hart seemed to go straight up to defend a Jimmy Butler 3, Butler kicked his leg out and came down on Hart’s foot — after a review the refs called it not only a foul on Hart but a flagrant foul. “Wow. Wow,” said the TNT announcer, seemingly flabbergasted.

“Another Flop by the Flop specialist,” observed Oyoma McCarley on Twitter — summing up the Tweets of many Knick fans.

The calls gave Miami momentum, and they played free and easy, up 3-1 in the series. They hit their jumpers — Max Strus hit a jumper and a 3, Gabe Vincent hit a 3, Jimmy Butler was penetrating, drawing the D and feeding Duncan Robinson and Caleb Martin for buckets inside and NY was down 10 — 24-14 at the end of the 1st quarter.

It was the worst of times.

It looked like nothing the Knicks did would work. Only 14 points in the quarter?

2. Knicks 2nd-Team Counter Punches

And then Obi Toppin came in to start the 2nd. And Quentin Grimes FINALLY hit a 3 for the Knicks, from the corner. And then Brunson grabbed a rebound and fed Obi for a DUNK. And then RJ Barrett knocked down a 3, and Brunson hit a floater, and Barrett hit a drive and it was tie game, 26-26.

And then Brunson hit a floater and Barrett hit Another 3 and NY was up 6.

“Much better job by the Knicks in the 2nd quarter,” said NBA analyst Ross Kreines on Twitter. “When playing the Heat you better find a body when a shot goes up, limit turnovers, close out, keep them off the line, force tempo, play with ball movement and movement off ball rather than sticky ball, and play through every possession.”

Miami came back — NY missed some jumpers and Bam Adebayo got a few buckets inside; RJ Barrett answered with a drive and it was a dogfight to the end of the half.

Julius Randle came up BIG at the end of the half — with NY down 1, he grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled, making 1 of 2 free throws, then grabbed a rebound off a Kyle Lowry 3-pt miss, came up court and hit a 3 near the buzzer to end the half, NY up 50-47. A confidence boost for the Knicks.

3. NY Takes 19-Point Lead in 3rd

And then the Knicks came out with confidence to start the 3rd. Barrett hit a 3; Brunson hit a 3. Brunson hit another 3. Randle hit a 3. Barrett kept driving to the rim for buckets or fouls.

Miami kept missing their 3’s — Kevin Love would go 0-7 in the game — and NY built a 19-pt lead, 73-54 with 5 minutes left in the quarter.

But then Miami finally started hitting their 3’s — Max Strus, Duncan Robinson, and Celeb Martin would go 10-21 from 3 — and that is what got Miami back in the game.

By the end of the 3rd quarter, it was 84-74 NY — Miami was back in it.

4. Frenetic 4th Quarter

Kyle Lowry started off the 4th with a jumper and 1 — Josh Hart — just back in the game — was ruled for a foul from behind. Another iffy call but now Hart had 4 fouls.

The Knicks pushed back with scoring by Brunson and Hartenstein, but Duncan Robinson hit a 3, and Kyle Lowry hit two 3’s and Miami was within 4 — 92-88 with 8 minutes left.

It was absolutely defeating — all looked lost again. The big lead was gone.

Brunson’s & Barrett Battle Back

But Jalen Brunson hit a HUGE 3 while the TNT announcers were talking about something else — almost surprising them. Duncan Robinson countered with a 3 — again a 4-pt game.

Then RJ Barrett stepped up again — yet another assured, power drive to the bucket — feeding Mitchell Robinson for a SLAM — NY up 97-91 with 5:54 left.

Duncan Robinson missed a 3, and Caleb Martin was denied on a drive after an offensive rebound — NY had the ball and Miami went to the Hack-a-Shaq on Mitchell Robinson — leading to the finish described above.

5. Barrett MONSTER Game

RJ Barrett had a MONSTER game. All night long, he attacked the Miami defense with efficient drives to he basket, scoring or feeding Mitch Robinson for Alley Oops. He put pressure on the D, hit huge 3’s and 2-pointers, and hit ALL of his CLUTCH free throws. He was very sure with the ball.

“We’re fighting for our lives right now,” said RJ Barrett afterwards. “This is something that can be done. It’s been done before 13 times.”

Barrett finished with 26 pts on 8-17 shooting (3-8 from 3, 7-8 in free throws), 7 rebounds, 2 assists, a block (of a Jimmy Butler drive) and a game-high +17.

6. Brunson MONSTER Game

And it goes without saying that Brunson had a MONSTER game as well: 38 points on 12-22 shooting (4-10 from 3, 10-12 in free throws), 9 rebounds, 7 assists, and only 1 turnover in 48 minutes.

7. Grimes Tremendous

Grimes was tremendous — with tough Defense on Jimmy Butler all night — 8 pts on 3-8 shooting (2-6 from 3) — and making the defensive play of the game as mentioned at the top and shown below.

Another view:

8. Brunson & Grimes Play All 48 Minutes

Quentin Grimes and Brunson played all 48 minutes. It was 50 years to the day when Walt Frazier — who was sitting courtside — played 48 minutes in a Game 5.

9. Randle Terrific

Julius Randle was simply terrific — again. He played efficiently and trusted the pass: 24 pts on 7-13 shooting (4-7 from 3; 6-10 in free throws), 5 rebounds, and 5 assists.

10. NY Out-Rebounds Miami

Mitchell Robinson was a terror inside — ripping down rebounds and defending the interior. He had 8 points and 11 rebounds with 2 steals in 26 minutes. Isaiah Hartenstein played Big as well — 4 pts and 6 rebounds in 22 minutes. Obi Toppin also ripped down big rebounds during the Knicks’ 2nd quarter run — he had 6 rebounds and a +9 in 12 minutes.

NY outrebounded Miami 50-34.

Etcetera

When asked about Miami’s Hack-a-Mitch strategy at the end, and what he was thinking at the time, Mitchell Robinson said, “I’m knocking these down.”

John Starks could be seen on the sidelines in the 4th quarter imploring Barrett to “attack. Attack the drive.”

The Boxscore

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401544977

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]]> https://www.knicks.city/2022-23/brunson-barrett-mitchell-robinson-free-throws-ny-112-miami-103/feed/ 0 Stinking Up Fan Appreciation Day — April 10, 2019: Detroit 115 NY 89 https://www.knicks.city/2018/stinking-up-fan-appreciation-day-april-10-2019-detroit-115-ny-89/ https://www.knicks.city/2018/stinking-up-fan-appreciation-day-april-10-2019-detroit-115-ny-89/#respond Thu, 11 Apr 2019 16:44:19 +0000 https://www.knicks.city/?p=907 The Knicks ended the season with a MASSIVE THUD, losing by 40 most of night to Detroit at the Garden — a game where the Knicks vowed to give Detroit a fight since they needed [...]

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]]> The Knicks ended the season with a MASSIVE THUD, losing by 40 most of night to Detroit at the Garden — a game where the Knicks vowed to give Detroit a fight since they needed to win to get into the playoffs, and Charlotte was looking on rooting for the Knicks. And just like that one started questioning coach David Fizdale again.

Charlotte was Rooting for the Knicks

The night before, Dennis Smith Jr, when asked about the Detroit game, said “We’re going to keep their ass out”. But before the game it was announced Smith Jr would not be playing due to his bad back.

Before the game, the Charlotte Hornets posted this on twitter:

It was also reported that Hornets coach James Borrego played for and coached with Knicks coach David Fizdale at the University of San Diego, so Fizdale would make sure his Knicks tried to beat Detroit.

So with that incentive, it was surprising to see the Knicks show no fight whatsoever and get blown off the court on Fan Appreciation night at Madison Square Garden. They played no team defense and didn’t look like much of a team at all.

The Highlights

Mitchell Robinson was a “Skinny Shaq” slam-dunk highlight show in the first half. It was alley oop slam after alley oop slam. He finished with 11 pts on 5-6 shooting (all slams) but only played 23 minutes due to 4 fouls — and didn’t block a shot, ending his consecutive game 2-blocks-or-more streak.

On the other end of the court, Andre Drummond powered his way to 20 points on 10-15 and 18 rebounds. DeAndre Jordan did not suit up for the game so couldn’t come in to help. Guess Fizdale wasn’t THAT intent on beating Detroit.

Luke Kornet couldn’t stop Drummond — he had 6 points (on 2-9 shooting) and 2 rebounds in 28 minutes. The Knicks left the job mostly to Isaiah Hicks (11 points) and Henry Ellenson (12 pts). If I were Charlotte I’d be like WTF?

John Jenkins played well — 16 points on 6-9. He’s a SHOOTER. Some believe the Knicks signed him to a one year contract to act as contract fodder in a coming deal for Anthony Davis (where Knicks need to accumulate salaries to send to Memphis to match Davis’ salary). Kadeem Allen (13 pts on 3-10) was brought in to lead the offense in the second half — he had a decent game — very aggressive and penetrating as usual. Billy Garrett Jr played ok.

The Low Lights

Mario Hezonja lost his slippers. He started at point and was horrible — 21 minutes, 0 points (0-3), 6 turnovers and a -21. Kevin Knox shot poorly — 3-12 (o-6 from 3) for 9 points with 7 rebounds. Damyean Dotson with another poor shooting game (2-8).

Lance Thomas suited but didn’t play — again — did Fizdale really care about this game?

Allonzo Trier, Emmanuel Mudiay, Frank Ntilikina, Noah Vonleh continued to be injured.

For Detroit

Detroit is in the playoffs with the win. Besides Drummond’s heroics, Reggie Jackson looked quick and fast and hit his jumper; Knick reject Langston Galloway played 32 important minutes and looked good; Jose Calderon played too. Detroit emptied their bench to get everyone playing time as they prepare for the playoffs — as this game was over in the 2nd quarter: Bruce Brown, Zaza Pachulia, Thon Maker, Jon Leuer, Ish Smith, Glenn Robinson III, Luke Kennard, and Khyri Thomas all got minutes.

The Boxscore

http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401071896

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]]> https://www.knicks.city/2018/stinking-up-fan-appreciation-day-april-10-2019-detroit-115-ny-89/feed/ 0 Tank Over — Like V-E Day — Knicks WIN! — April 7, 2019: NY 113 Washington 110 https://www.knicks.city/2018/tank-over-like-v-e-day-knicks-win-april-7-2019-ny-113-washington-110/ https://www.knicks.city/2018/tank-over-like-v-e-day-knicks-win-april-7-2019-ny-113-washington-110/#respond Tue, 09 Apr 2019 12:46:20 +0000 https://www.knicks.city/?p=897 Like Liberation. Like V-E day (Victory in Europe) for a Knicks fan. When the Knicks clinched sole possession of dead last — guaranteeing themselves no worse than the 5th pick this June — the Universe [...]

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]]> Like Liberation. Like V-E day (Victory in Europe) for a Knicks fan. When the Knicks clinched sole possession of dead last — guaranteeing themselves no worse than the 5th pick this June — the Universe changed for Knicks fans. NO MORE TANK. The Knicks were unbridled to WIN basketball games again.

And so they did.

Most curious thing is why Washington put up such a fight — entering the game in a 4-way tie for the 6th worst record in the league.

Hezonja was Rocking the Point

Mario Hezonja, playing the starting point guard position for second straight game — was electrofying and all over the place and led the Knicks to the win. Mario said after the game that point guard was his natural position growing up and in Europe — leading Knick fans like @MaishaNaUpendo on twitter to ask  “Knicks point guard of the future was here all along. The question is though, wasn’t #MarioHezonja always suppose to play point forward for us? Why did this take so long to do?”

or as @_Ck2K put it:

Hezonja finished with 12-21 30 pts, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals. He was hitting 3’s, driving to the basket, and finding teammates.

Mitchell Robinson was the benefit of some of Hezonja’s passes:

The Garden Was Rocking

The other takeaway from this game was the Garden — which was Rocking like a Playoff game on a Sunday night, almost last game of season for the team with worst record in the league! As @KnicksJets4Life put it, “ou know you have the best fans in the world when you clinched the worst record in the #NBA and the crowd is still cheering for you like it’s Game 7 of the #NBA finals.”

As Stefan Bondy of NY Daily News put it, “Knicks are 15-66, playing the Wizards, and these fans at MSG are life-and-death with every play. Crazy.”

The Comeback

The Knicks actually entered the 4th trailing by 10 points, but Hezonja and Dennis Smith Jr. led the comeback. Smith playing with a bad back that was noticeable — gamed it out.

Hezonja explained it all:

Haarlow later added: “Dennis Smith Jr told me his back is just as sore as before but he’s playing ‘bc it’s too hard to sit back & watch’ when he could be helping. These games don’t mean anything, yet he’s sacrificing his body for the team. That’s all you need to know about his character.”

Robinson & Knox

Mitchell Robinson with another fine game 11 pts (on 4-5 shooting) 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks, extending his at-least-2-blocks-per-game streak. He started off the game with this one:

And Kevin Knox looked good again — 16 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists — although his final boxscore shooting didn’t seem it (5-14 on 1-7 from 3).

Other Knicks

Luke Kornet played another strong game — starting with Robinson and Knox. Kornet had 17 pts (6-11 shooting, 4-8 from 3) and plays really well with Robinson — as Kornet stretches the floor on offense.

Damyean Dotson played well (6 pts on 2-8 but 2-3 from 3, 3 rebounds 5 assists), as did John Jenkins (8 pts on 3-5) and Henry Ellenson (10 pts on 3-4). Lance Thomas, DeAndre Jordan, Billy Garrett Jr, and Isiah Hicks suited but did not play. Frank Ntilikina, Allonzo Trier, Emmanuel Mudiay, and Noah Vonleh continued to be injured.

For the Wizards

For the Wizards, Jeff Green led all scorers with 19, Bradley Beal played 23 minutes and had 13 points, Bobby Portis had 11, Troy Brown Jr had 13 pts, and Thomas Brown their young center had 17 points.

The Boxscore

http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401071877

Past Game Post Game

During the game this surfaced on Twitter — Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy as analysts of the nationally televised game talking about the previous Knicks-Houston game and Houston starters leaving the bench to go to the lockerroom before the game was over.

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]]> https://www.knicks.city/2018/tank-over-like-v-e-day-knicks-win-april-7-2019-ny-113-washington-110/feed/ 0 More Insults! — April 5, 2019: Houston 120 NY 96 https://www.knicks.city/2018/more-insults-april-5-2019-houston-120-ny-96/ https://www.knicks.city/2018/more-insults-april-5-2019-houston-120-ny-96/#respond Sat, 06 Apr 2019 19:36:19 +0000 https://www.knicks.city/?p=888 This was a lackluster blowout game almost from the beginning. And then — in the 4th — it turned into a consequential game as Houston’s starters left the bench before the game was over to [...]

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]]> This was a lackluster blowout game almost from the beginning. And then — in the 4th — it turned into a consequential game as Houston’s starters left the bench before the game was over to go work out in the weight room!

According to Houston Chronicle writer Jenny Dial Creech, “they didn’t leave and like go home… they went to get treatment and lift instead of sitting cold on the bench during a crucial time in the season.” Also, quietly, Houston coach Mike D’Antoni wasn’t even there as he was out ‘sick’ for the game.

Disrespect & a Twitter War Between NY & Houston Analysts

After Walt Frazier had pointed it out during the game, Knicks analysts Bill Pidto and Alan Hahn pointed it out after the game:

This caused a war between Knick analyst Alan Hahn and Houston analyst Adam Clanton.

It might (and should?) give the Knicks players ammunition for revenge the next time they play Houston. Or not — maybe the Knicks will continue to be an embarrassment and disrespected by everyone forevermore. Last week it was another star (Dwayne Wade) getting lauded and then killing the Knicks at the Garden in his final game there. The Knicks have spent 18 years being continually disrespected. The players change — many of these Knicks won’t even be here next year. So who’s to say any Knick will remember.

Remember

The question is — which of these Knick players will still be here next year to remember it?

Knicks Clinch Dead Last

The Knicks went in perched on clinching dead last — 2.5 ahead of Phoenix with 4 left. A loss and they’d clinch a tie. As it turned out, the Knicks lost and Phoenix won so Knicks clinched sole possession of dead last and guarantee themselves no worse than the 5th pick in the draft.

This means — there are 3 games left and the Knicks can try to win them all. The Tank is OVER.

The Game

Mitchell Robinson (5-6 shooting, 12 pts, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks) shone out early, blocking or altering several James Harden drives to the basket, or causing him to effect his play. On one possession, Robinson blocked Harden’s layup sending it out of bounds, then Houston inbounded, and Harden through a pass through the lane out of bounds. But soon Houston started to build a big lead.

Hezonja

Before the game it was announced Emmanuel Mudiay was injured and wouldn’t play. So that meant all the Knick point guards (Mudiay, Dennis Smith Jr, Frank Ntilikina, and Trier) were out. Mario Hezonja would be the starting point guard, going up against Harden and Chris Paul. We were in for an eventful evening.

Hezonja simply laid down another fantastic game — a triple double — 16 pts, 15 rebounds, and 16 assists. LIKE WHAT THE HEY??? WHY DIDN’T HE DO THIS ALL YEAR???

Knox

Kevin Knox had a so-so game, 5-14 for 13 points and he got stripped of the ball once when he wasn’t looking.

Dotson

Damyean Dotson with another horrible shooting game — boy is he streaky. In this game, 3-14 (1-8 from 3).

The Reserves

The Knicks were down by about 40 in the 3rd and 4th, then with a 4th quarter run against Houston’s reserves pulled to within 20+ points. Henry Ellenson played really well (16 pts) and you wondered why he didn’t play more this year. Billy Garrett Jr was on the court as was John Jenkins,

And then the Houston starters — Clint Capela, Harden, Paul, PJ Tucker, and Eric Gordon — left for the weight room.

Next Year

After the game, coach David Fizdale admitted that with the Knicks moving towards not being in the playoffs most of the year (aka the Tank), he was essentially allowing players to build their career for next year — and their next team. On Mudiay, he said “I think about these guys’ careers from the standpoint of, we’re not going to the playoffs, this kid has now established himself and put himself in position to have an offseason where multiple teams are going to want to talk to him.” That’s why Fizdale is a Player’s Coach. But next year — if the Knicks land Durant and someone else — Fizdale had better be above .500 by end of December. This is the last year he’ll be allowed by Knick fans to build players’ careers for their next team.

Also after the game, Fizdale explained that when he promised a Winning Culture, what people didn’t understand is that it meant LOSE LOSE LOSE Losing first.

The Boxscore

http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401071857

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]]> https://www.knicks.city/2018/more-insults-april-5-2019-houston-120-ny-96/feed/ 0 A Good Loss — April 3, 2019: Orlando 114 NY 100 https://www.knicks.city/2018/a-good-loss-april-3-2019-orlando-114-ny-100/ https://www.knicks.city/2018/a-good-loss-april-3-2019-orlando-114-ny-100/#respond Thu, 04 Apr 2019 16:26:59 +0000 https://www.knicks.city/?p=873 This was “a good loss”. For a while there it looked like the Knicks would win this one. We are getting to that time of year when the Knicks win 3 of their last 6 [...]

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]]> This was “a good loss”. For a while there it looked like the Knicks would win this one. We are getting to that time of year when the Knicks win 3 of their last 6 or so games to screw up their lottery odds. But saner heads and Terrence Ross prevailed, and the Knicks remain 2.5 ahead of Phoenix (and 4 ahead of Cleveland) for the top lottery spot with 4 games left.

What Last Place Means

What Top Lottery Spot means is that the Knicks do not walk into the lottery with a 20 percent chance of the #6 pick, and a 33% chance of the #6 or #7 pick. They are guaranteed no lower than the #5 pick. It’s not much, but it’s all we’ve got. And in what some are calling ‘not a deep draft’ that could be significant. Remember Stephen Curry (whom the Knicks wanted but Golden State took with the #7 pick while Knicks had #8 pick) or Russell Westbrook (whom the Knicks wanted but Oklahoma took with the #4 pick while Knicks had the #6 pick).

The Game

Knicks jumped out to an early 24-16 lead in this one, before Orlando came back and tied the game in the 1st quarter and took a commanding lead by end of the second quarter on the play of Aaron Gordon, Evan Fournier, and Michael Carter-Williams (23 points with 5-10 from 3) especially. Orlando was up 58-45 at the half. But the Knicks hung tough and pulled to within 2 points near the end of the 3rd quarter, based on the terrific night that Mario Hezonja was having. Plus Kevin Knox.

Enter Terrence Ross, who came off the bench to hit 3 straight 3’s in the final minute of the 3rd quarter to put Orlando back up by 11. Knicks hung around a little bit, pulling to within 7 early in the 4th — creating ojeda for Knick fans watching who DID NOT WANT A WIN. But again, saner head prevailed; that was as close as the Knicks got.

The Players

At this point in the season, what matters to Knicks fans is not winning but how well the players are doing. The key players that could shape the Knicks future. In other words, Kevin Knox. We already know:

  • Mitchell Robinson is an “untouchable” and possible future superstar. And
  • Allonzo Trier looks real good too, but he’s injured.
  • Dennis Smith Jr is also injured, as is
  • Noah Vonleh, who will receive votes for ‘most improved player’ (although he is far from the winning candidate).
  • Emmanuel Mudiay (another ‘most improved’ vote getter) is going to be a free agent and he’s a nice guard who attacks attacks attacks but makes mistakes, is poor on defense, and doesn’t look like the Knicks future point guard.
  • Luke Kornet is etching a bench role for himself into the future.
  • Hezonja is probably gone unless he signs for a minimal salary if Knicks get two max free agents (aka Kevin Durant and someone else probably Kyrie Irving).
  • DeAndre Jordan may be back since he is going to be 31, and is wonderful for the lockerroom. It would depend on if he is content on being a reserve to Mitchell Robinson and signing for the $5 million stretch. He’s already made over $100 million in his career so might be open to that.

That leaves Knox.

Knicks’ Knox

And Knox looked Great last night. He is the Knicks best 3-pt shooter — it is one of his key strengths — ability to shoot off the pass with no hesitation with a beautiful high-arcing, and accurate 3-pt shot. And if he’s not shooting the 3, he’s attacking the basket. He’s a legit 6’10 maybe 6’11 and growing. He’s 19. He has to improve his handle and finishes at the rim, and his defense. Last night his drives were strong and accurate. He looked good.

Hezonja’s Day in the Sun

Mario Hezonja had a terrific game. Before the game, it was reported that the Knicks Coach David Fizdale was going to ‘keep a promise’ to start him in his former home Orlando. Hezonja tweeted before the game that “I still have a lot of messages, a lot of texts on my Twitter feed full of Magic fans. So I want to thank them for everything for their support. Now that I’m on another team, they’re still supporting me. It means a lot to me.”

Hezonja lit the place up — 11-22 for 29 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals in 34 minutes. He was everywhere.

Which begs the question — why didn’t he do this all year???

Robinson vs Vucevic

Mitchell Robinson had a nice game — 6-9 for 12 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 blocks (one credited after the game when they switched a steal to a block) in 34 minutes. But he had trouble with Nikola Vucevic who pounded him inside for 29 points on 11-21 shooting, 13 rebounds and 3 assists in 33 minutes. Often Vucevic got inside position on Robinson; some of this a consequence of Robinson being so active on defense — patrolling the paint out to the 3-pt line; some of it because Vucevic is wiley. Going into the future this will be something Robinson will need to figure out — there is always a tradeoff, and in this case blocks of 3-pt shots create openings inside; and Robinson’s height-weight ratio which enables him to be so athletic, also allows him to be pushed a bit inside (although he is quite good at holding his position). If Robinson gains muscle weight, he might lose some of the athletic-ness. We’ll see.

Other Knicks

This was Billy Garrett Jr’s first game as a Knick. He had 4 pts. Unlike the previous game where only 8 Knicks played, Fizdale emptied the bench in this one. Henry Ellenson, Luke Kornett, Lance Thomas, and John Jenkins all got minutes off the bench. Damyean Dotson started and had 7 pts (1-4 from 3 where he is streaky). Frank Ntilikina, Allonzo Trier, Dennis Smith Jr, and Noah Vonleh continued to be injured.

For Orlando

Besides Aaron Gordon, Evan Fournier, Michael Carter-Williams and Terrence Ross, Orlando was helped by. Jonathan Isaac, DJ Augustin, Wes Iwundu, and Khem Birch. With the win, Orlando is 39-40, tied with Brooklyn for the 7th spot in the playoff race, with the top 8 making it. Good for them.

The Boxscore:

http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401071839

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]]> https://www.knicks.city/2018/a-good-loss-april-3-2019-orlando-114-ny-100/feed/ 0 Never Close — March 23, 2019: Denver 111 NY 93 https://www.knicks.city/2018/never-close-march-23-2019-denver-111-ny-93/ https://www.knicks.city/2018/never-close-march-23-2019-denver-111-ny-93/#respond Sat, 23 Mar 2019 23:07:31 +0000 https://www.knicks.city/?p=825 This one was never close. The Denver Nuggets CLUBBED the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on a Friday night. And still Knick fans were happy. We lost — so keep our #1 lottery-odds positioning, and [...]

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]]> This one was never close. The Denver Nuggets CLUBBED the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on a Friday night. And still Knick fans were happy. We lost — so keep our #1 lottery-odds positioning, and Mitchell Robinson had another great game. Kevin Knox looked good most of the night, and Frank Ntilikina was back from the extended injury, and played ok.

The 3’s

Denver jumped out to a 16-pt lead in the first quarter by hitting their 3’s, while the Knicks didn’t hit their 3’s. From there, Denver essentially coasted. Knicks were down by 4, then a couple of Emmanuel Mudiay turnovers, a couple of Denver 3’s and just like that it was 23-9 Denver. By midway thru the second quarter this was the story:

  • Knicks 2-13 from 3
  • Denver 7-17 from 3
  • Difference was 15 pts
  • Knicks were down by 16, 45-29

The 3 is an area where the Knicks are definitely behind other NBA teams in talent. The Knicks have Kevin Knox who can hit the 3. Allonzo Trier can hit a 3 but he was out injured for the second straight game.

There are a lot of guys on the Knicks who can’t hit a 3 with any regularity, or are streaky. Damyean Dotson can hit a 3, but can have off nights. This was an off night — he was 1-7 from 3 (2 for 9 overall) for 6 pts. Kadeem Allen also shot poorly (1-7, 3 pts).

Emmanuel Mudiay is just under 33% on the season — he had a decent shooting night — 9-21 (2-5 from 3) 21 pts, 7 rebounds, 4 assists. He attacks attacks attacks the basket. But he can turn the ball over on some stupid passes.

Kevin Knox has that Money 3 off the pass with no hesitation. It is pretty and accurate. That’s where his game is at. Knox still has a habit of being driven off the drive and tossing up a floater while running away from the basket out of bounds. Knox finished 6-16, 3-8 from 3 for 19 pts. Here was Knox off the pass after one of several unforced Denver turnovers in the lane due to Robinson’s presence:

And then there was Ntilikina — Ntilikina looked decent tonite; his defense was pretty good; he was active in attacking with the ball — didn’t quite drive into the paint but went around the baseline at one point; and distributed. He had 5 assists in 25 min. Good. But .. you know 1-6 (1-4 from 3) for 5 pts.

Mercedes Mitch

Mitchell Robinson had another terrific night — 16 points (7-10), 10 rebounds, 3 blocks in 23 minutes and his presence caused several Denver unforced turnovers in the lane — leading to fastbreaks the other way — one leading to a Knox 3.

This was the play of the night:

There were other Robinson highlights — like every play is a highlight:

Other Knicks

DeAndre Jordan added 7 pts, Mario Hezonja 7 pts, Lance Thomas 3 pts, Henry Ellenson 3 pts, John Jenkins 3 pts, and Luke Kornet didn’t score. Dennis Smith Jr and Noah Vonleh continued to be injured.

For Denver

Denver finished 15-38 from 3 for 39.5%; Knicks closed to 9-32 for 28%.  Nikola Jokic (8-20) played effortlessly well; he had 21 pts, 17 rebounds, 5 assists

Paul Millsap 3-12 for 8 pts, Jamal Murray was 7-16 for 18 pts, Will Barton 4-13 for 12 pts, Gary Harris was 4-5 from 3 (5-8 overall) for 14 pts. Mason Plumlee put a body on the Knicks and was 4-6 for 11 pts. Juan Hernangomez was first man off Denver’s bench — 0 pts in 7 minutes.

Again — you look at the Denver team and you aren’t blown away by the talent in the boxscore. But they are well coached, they pass well and hit their 3’s.

The Boxscore:

http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401071755

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]]> https://www.knicks.city/2018/never-close-march-23-2019-denver-111-ny-93/feed/ 0 Magnifying Glasses & Microscopes — March 20, 2019: Utah 137 NY 116 https://www.knicks.city/2018/magnifying-glasses-microscopes-march-20-2019-utah-137-ny-116/ https://www.knicks.city/2018/magnifying-glasses-microscopes-march-20-2019-utah-137-ny-116/#respond Thu, 21 Mar 2019 13:40:36 +0000 https://www.knicks.city/?p=814 Blow out. Not quite but pretty close. Another solid, thunderous loss. At least the Knicks aren’t winning games at this point to screw up their lottery position — that would really suck. But for a [...]

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]]> Blow out. Not quite but pretty close. Another solid, thunderous loss. At least the Knicks aren’t winning games at this point to screw up their lottery position — that would really suck. But for a second straight game the Knicks didn’t look like a team that could play any kind of NBA defense against a good team and that conjures up worries again if they have the right coach.

It shouldn’t prevent top free agents from signing here, and Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are still fully expected to join the team this summer. But Coach David Fizdale must certainly be under the magnifying glass by GM Scott Perry and Knicks management right now. Next year it will be a microscope.

The Math

Put it this way — the Knicks will finish with about 15 (or less) wins this year. Next year, if they bring in Durant and Irving, added to this young core, with a top pick in this June’s draft — the Knicks will be expected to win 45 games and advance to the second round of the playoffs. Anything less would be a disappointment. If the Knicks are 12-18 at end of December, Fizdale may be on the firing block.

Remember Durant will be 31 next year, with a 3-year window. Irving will be 27, and for an ultra quick point guard — will also be looking at a 3-yr window.

So the Knicks will need to jump from 15 wins to 45 wins in a year. Everyone says the Knicks are tanking the second half this year — so it’s not a true 15-win team. But still others are now saying the Knicks don’t have enough talent so you can’t judge Fizdale properly. Knicks certainly seem to have a lot of young talent — it may be “too young” at this point.

This year the magnifying glass; next year the Microscope.

The Picture

This picture of Mario Hezonja surfaced on Twitter after the game. It was the picture of the night:

The Highlights

It’s a Hard Knicks Life suggested this was Highlight #1 of the game:

The Game

Utah pummeled the Knicks from the 3-pt arc. They hit their 3’s; the Knicks didn’t hit their 3’s. The Knicks didn’t do a good job of being in Utah’s face, defensively.

Near the end of the 2nd quarter, this was the story:

  • Utah 11-23 from 3 for 33 pts
  • Knicks 5-15 from 3 for 15 pts
  • Utah 66 Knicks 40

The Knicks were without Allonzo Trier and Kadeem Allen so they didn’t have as much firepower as usual. They would’ve helped. But it wouldn’t have mattered — Knicks were down by 30 for most of this game.

The Bright Spots

The bright spots were the play of the following guys:

  • Kevin Knox 10-17, 27 pts, 8 rebounds, 3 assists — looked Terrific. Driving to the basket, being aggressive.

  • Mitchell Robinson 6-10, 14 pts, 12 rebounds, 3 blocks — another fine game. Broke a bunch of Knicks records on the evening — most consecutive games with a blocked shot (29, besting Patrick Ewing), and most blocked shots by a rookie (besting Kristaps Porzingis). It was also Robinson’s 20th straight game with 2 or more blocks.

The Other Knicks

Henry Ellenson played well (3-6 for 7 pts, a +12), and Luke Kornet, Lance Thomas, and John Jenkins logged minutes. Frank Ntilikina, Dennis Smith Jr and Noah Vonleh continued to be injured, as was Trier and Kadeem Allen.

The Jazz

Joe Ingles in particular, killed the Knicks. At one point he was 5-6 from 3, and finished 6-9 from 3 — 18 pts.

Donovan Mitchell 30 points on 12-20. Looks like Knicks should have picked him in that draft (it was either him or Ntilikina said some sources afterwards). Rudy Gobert 18 pts on 7-7 inside. (DeAndre Jordan, the Knicks big body guarding him, had only 6 pts on 3-4 in 18 min, 3 fouls). Ricky Rubio 12 pts on 10-10 from free throw line. Jae Crowder 15 pts, Derrick Favors 10 pts, Kyle Korver 9 points on 3-9 from 3. Utah played their whole bench in the blowout, and whoever came in — Raul Neto, Royce O’Neale, Ekpe Udoh, Grayson Allen — hit their shots.

After the game, Stefan Bondy of the NY Daily News reported that Donovan Mitchell had this to say about Frank Ntilikina: “When he gets a chance, he’ll figure it out. He’s a great defender. He was one of the hardest guys I had to go against last year. He came in in the second half and shut me down when we played here.”

The Boxscore:

http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401071741

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]]> https://www.knicks.city/2018/magnifying-glasses-microscopes-march-20-2019-utah-137-ny-116/feed/ 0 Like Van Gogh Knicks Paint Another Loss — March 12, 2019: Indiana 103 NY 98 https://www.knicks.city/2018/like-van-gogh-knicks-paint-another-loss-march-12-2019-indiana-103-ny-98/ https://www.knicks.city/2018/like-van-gogh-knicks-paint-another-loss-march-12-2019-indiana-103-ny-98/#respond Wed, 13 Mar 2019 22:11:00 +0000 https://www.knicks.city/?p=758 Knicks have made losing an Art Form. They are Van Gogh. This may have been their Starry Night. Up against the 42-25 Pacers — whom the Knicks had twice as many losses as going in [...]

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]]> Knicks have made losing an Art Form. They are Van Gogh. This may have been their Starry Night. Up against the 42-25 Pacers — whom the Knicks had twice as many losses as going in — in Indiana — the Knicks had the lead throughout the first half, by as many as 10 points. But you knew they would lose by about 10. And they lost by 5. They had fallen down by 18 early in the 4th but then the late run.

With the loss, Knicks have a very nice 3-GAME LEAD on last place, 4-game lead over Cleveland, and 5.5-game lead over Chicago with 14 games to go.

Van Gogh Overrated

Van Gogh is by the way overrated as an artist. He was my favorite artist as a kid; loved his colors. But visited the Vincent Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam, and found out he only learned to paint late in life, painted for only 10 years (some of his stuff was rudimentary with bad angles but he was in right place at right time — in Paris at the advent of new paint technology — became ‘one of the boys’ of the many other famous artists flocking to Paris at the time; he artfully used the new bright colors available); cut off his ear after an argument with another male artist because he was going insane due to syphilis (there was a syphilis epidemic at the time); and went to town and threw his ear at a hooker (who perhaps gave him the syphilis). He sold one painting while alive and wasn’t particularly regarded as a fantastic painter; he lived off his brother who owned an art gallery, and died after his brother died also of syphilis. The brother’s wife, with child, out of desperation marketed and sold Van Gogh’s art and made him famous in his after-life. The song “Starry Starry Night” furthered his fame to current-day gigantic proportions. There are probably thousands of current day artists who are better. Maybe tens of thousands. Not so Rembrandt.

The Game

Trying to think of a deeper analogy between Van Gogh and the Knicks but can’t. Last night was not a good night if you are a fan of Mitchell Robinson or Allonzo Trier (3-12 for 7 points) as Robinson played only 13 minutes, and Trier had a poor shooting game. Robinson — who has been avoiding foul trouble almost completely the last two months — got into early foul trouble in this game against Domantas Sabonis, who can do that to you. Robinson picked up his 3rd foul in the second quarter — and finished with only 13 minutes, 3-3 shooting for 7 pts and 3 blocks. Sabonis dominated the Knicks in two previous games against them this season, but not tonite — 4-12, 10 points — although he did pick up two fouls on Robinson, once by leaning into Robinson on a drive.

DeAndre Jordan had something to do with that and blew up the boxscore for 5-6 shooting, 12 pts, 16 rebounds, 5 assists. Somehow he didn’t look that impressive while watching the game; will have to watch it again.

Despite the poor shooting game from Trier, he did connect on a 3 and provide one of his usual drives:

Good News Knox

Good news for the Knicks: the second good game in a row for Kevin Knox — he hit his 3 and finished on drives to the basket — he was 5-9 (4-5 from 3, 2-2 from free throw line) 16 pts, 5 rebounds in 25 minutes.

Other Knicks

Damyean Dotson again looked like a starting NBA shooting guard. He had 18 pts on 6-16 shooting (4-8 from 3) and 6 rebounds, 3 assists. Emmanuel Mudiay played well — 7-14 for 21 pts. He attacks the basket — attack attack attack — and has become much better at finishing tough layups in traffic, something he didn’t do when he came to the Knicks a year ago. He still doesn’t orchestrate his teammates well — doesn’t even look to pass sometimes; and his defense is shoddy. Coach has him out there because he attacks; pushes the tempo.

Dennis Smith Jr (3-8 for 7 points, 3 assists) didn’t play that well again. He was there at the end and you had a feeling if Trier was in there instead in the last 3 minutes, the Knicks would have won. Smith did nothing as far as penetrating to the basket or scoring in the final minutes. Still he finished with a team high +11. Fizdale is clearly playing Smith Jr to close to see what he has in him for the future.

Lance Thomas played 12 minutes and scored 2 points. Henry Ellenson and Luke Kornet did not play. Frank Ntilikina and Mario Hezonja continue to be injured.

For Indiana

This is Indiana without Victor Oladipo, out for the rest of the year. Knick castoff Wesley Matthews is the starting shooting guard, playing well (4-8, 14 pts). Boran Bogdanovic was tough — 24 pts on 9-16. Miles Turner was 5-15 for 15 pts, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks in 37 minutes (Mitchell Robinson had 3 blocks in only 13 minutes). Darren Collison had 16 pts on 5-11 shooting. And Doug McDermott had 8 pts on 4-6.

More on Banning of Knick Fan Event

Meanwhile, there was more news on the banning of the Knick fan for telling James Dolan to sell the team — according to Dolan he was going to give the fan a visit to the lockerroom, etc, but then found out the fan set up the whole thing:

The boxscore:

http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401071680

 

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]]> https://www.knicks.city/2018/like-van-gogh-knicks-paint-another-loss-march-12-2019-indiana-103-ny-98/feed/ 0 Tank or Poor Coaching? — March 9, 2019: Sacramento 102 NY 94 https://www.knicks.city/2018/tank-or-poor-coaching-march-9-2019-sacramento-102-ny-94/ https://www.knicks.city/2018/tank-or-poor-coaching-march-9-2019-sacramento-102-ny-94/#respond Sun, 10 Mar 2019 14:56:14 +0000 https://www.knicks.city/?p=735 This was an inexplicable loss — one that had you feeling Coach David Fizdale is a bad coach, or he was trying to lose on purpose even though the Knicks have a 1.5 game lead [...]

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]]> This was an inexplicable loss — one that had you feeling Coach David Fizdale is a bad coach, or he was trying to lose on purpose even though the Knicks have a 1.5 game lead on worst record and this was one the Knicks could afford to win — against Sacramento at The Garden on a Saturday afternoon.

NY Didn’t Play their Best Team at the End

The Knicks had the lead with 5 minutes left, and were playing well. Then, inexplicably, Fizdale lifted most of the players playing well — Mitchell Robinson, Allonzo Trier, Luke Kornet, and Emmanuel Mudiay, who were playing well with John Jenkins — a team that had just erased a 12-pt deficit to take the lead — for an entirely new team (with Jenkins) for the final 3-4 minutes. That team — DeAndre Jordan, Lance Thomas, Damyean Dotson, Dennis Smith Jr., and Jenkins — came in cold and Sacramento blew past them. On two key plays Sacramento went right at Deandre Jordan in the lane — Harrison Barnes scored in the lane and on the next time down, De’Aaron Fox drove the lane for 3-pt play — plays that would not have happened with Mitchell Robinson out there. Deandre Jordan at 30 is not the inside defensive shot-blocking force he was 2 years ago. He still blocks shots but can be challenged.

After the game, Fizdale was asked about lifting Mitchell Robinson for the final 3 minutes. He said he sat Robinson because “he was done. He was barely getting up & down the court. Instead of letting him not be focused & play & make mental mistakes, I figured get a fresh body in there & having the luxury of DJ we didn’t think it would be that big of a shift.”

One could imagine the Knicks could have simply called a timeout and let Robinson rest for a minute, then continue playing. He is only 20 yrs old.

But it was another loss and the Knicks maintain their 1.5 lead on last place with 16 to go.

Battle of Point Guards

In this game, De’Aaron Fox dominated. He had 30 pts on 11-17 shooting, 5 rebounds, 8 assists and carried Sacramento at the end, pushing the tempo, scoring and finding teammates. Dennis Smith Jr wasn’t as good — he had 17 pts on 7-19 shooting, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Mudiay had 9 pts on 4-8 shooting, 3 assists.

Trier and Robinson

Allonzo Trier was 0-5 from 3, but otherwise played well (10 pts on 3-10 in 24 minutes). At one point he made a terrific cross-court pass to Kornet on opposite baseline. Trier was inexplicably pulled for the final 4 minutes while Damyean Dotson played the shooting guard (2-12, 0-4 from 3, 5 pts in 33 minutes).

Mitchell Robinson was a beast as usual — 8 pts (on 2-4, 4-4 free throws — great news there as he continues to look great on the free throw line), 9 rebounds, 3 blocks in 22 minutes. His rebounding has improved by light years in the last 2 months — whereas he used to not pull down rebounds in traffic, now he does. His free throw shooting also is improved by light years in two months, as is his ability to stay out of foul trouble! (He did foul out twice in the last 5 games but in one of those games, 2 of the fouls were on purpose to stop the clock.)

Other Knicks

Kevin Knox made one terrific Euro step drive to the basket which left you feeling he can be Really good if he increases his motor a tad and gets better at finishing at the rim, percentage wise. He has that pretty, accurate 3-pt jumpshot, shoots immediately off the pass, and is either shooting 3’s or driving to the hoop — a game made for the current NBA.

Jenkins it should be mentioned, shot lights out in the 4th — at one point hitting 3 straight 3’s.

Lance Thomas played ok (10 pts, 7 rebounds — not sure why he continues to start and get a lot of minutes), Henry Ellenson got some minutes, and Noah Vonleh sat out with a hip injury. Mario Hezonja and Frank Ntilikina continued to be injured.

For Sacramento

For Sacramento Buddy Hield had a not-great shooting game (7-22, 4-13 from 3), Willie Cauley-Stein was tough inside (12 rebounds, 7 pts). The Knicks mostly kept Nemanja Bjelica (5-13, 13 pts) and Bogdan Bogdanovic (2-9, 9 pts) from doing damage with their outside shooting. This game was all about De’Aaron Fox and the Knicks not putting their best team on the court the final 3 minutes.

Dolan Tells Fan to Get Lost

After the game, this surfaced on Twitter which — all we can say is, Who are the Girls??

The Boxscore:

http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401071659

 

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]]> https://www.knicks.city/2018/tank-or-poor-coaching-march-9-2019-sacramento-102-ny-94/feed/ 0 Just Another Loss: March 4, 2019: Sacramento 115 NY 108 https://www.knicks.city/2018/just-another-loss-march-4-2019-sacramento-115-ny-108/ https://www.knicks.city/2018/just-another-loss-march-4-2019-sacramento-115-ny-108/#respond Thu, 07 Mar 2019 01:07:56 +0000 https://www.knicks.city/?p=719 A solid loss. But just another loss. Knicks played well in this one throughout, and never trailed by much — versus the previous game where they were down by almost 40 early in the 2nd [...]

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]]> A solid loss. But just another loss. Knicks played well in this one throughout, and never trailed by much — versus the previous game where they were down by almost 40 early in the 2nd quarter. This was the Allonzo Trier game — as Trier excelled and Knicks fans on Twitter were abuzz about him again after the game.

A Buzz About Trier

I say again, because Knicks fans on Twitter were abuzz about him early in the year, then came a mini slump in February as he seemed to be purposely trying to pass first and not being as aggressive — and now he has come thru that plateau as we’ve written about previously — and is knifing thru defenses… again.

Trier had 29 pts on 8-16 shooting (3-4 from 3), 8 rebounds, and 2 steals. No assists .. but hey he’s the shooting guard.

Before the game, Trier had this to say on Twitter:

The D’Aaron Fox vs Dennis Smith Jr Matchup

Dennis Smith Jr played well (8-17, 18 pts) in his matchup with D’Aaron Fox, who had 16 pts on 5-12.

And that’s pretty much all there is to write about concerning this game. Mitchell Robinson had an off night due to foul trouble — 4 pts (2 of 2) and 7 rebounds, 2 blocks in 19 minutes. Noah Vonleh (4-8 for 9 pts, 13 rebounds) played well; Damyean Dotson (11 pts on 4-10), played OK, and even Kevin Knox — who did not play in the 4th but finished with 4-6 (1-1 from 3, 2-2 free throws) for 11 pts in 21 minutes — had his first good shooting game in a long time.

Knox Tired

Knox has been playing as much as 38 minutes a night seems like all season, and he may be gassed which may be contributing to his recent poor play. As a rookie he’s never played past a 20-something-game college or high school schedule and now here he is in the NBA with over 30 min a night and it’s game 64.

For Sacramento

For Sacramento, Buddy Hield stole the spotlight shooting 9-18 (3-8 from 3) for 28 pts. Harrison Barnes added 22 and Harry Giles 17. Willie Cauley-Stein had 9 pts, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and excellent Defense. In his first season he looked like a lottery bust but has come into his own and is a very nice interior player.

The boxscore:

http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401071630

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]]> https://www.knicks.city/2018/just-another-loss-march-4-2019-sacramento-115-ny-108/feed/ 0