Knicks Make It 2 In A Row With Win Over Lakers
Posted by Kenneth Teape on Sunday, January 26, 2014 with No comments
Post Game Recap
The Knicks were able to build off their strong performance
Friday night with another strong offensive performance Sunday night to get the
victory over the Lakers 110-103. There was not much defense in the game but the
Knicks were able to get stops when they needed them and were able to control
the pace at times when the Lakers were trying to get the run’n’gun game going.
It was not the best of overall performances for the Knicks but they got the
win, which in the end is the most important thing. With the win the Knicks have
won two in a row and will look to continue the winning streak Tuesday night
against the Boston Celtics.
Player of the Game: Tim Hardaway Jr.
Match-Up of the Game Recap:
Seth Wenig/AP Photo |
Both Chandler
and Pau Gasol had solid games this afternoon, as both players went for
double-doubles; Chandler finished
with 13 points and 14 rebounds, Gasol with 20 points and 13 rebounds. The two
of them were matched up with each other throughout the game and early on Gasol
was giving Chandler some fits,
getting him in early foul trouble in the first quarter. As the game waned Chandler
was able to enforce his will on Gasol as he started making things more
difficult and Gasol was unable to truly get into the flow of the game. Both
players played strong, but in the end Chandler
gets the edge because it was his team that came out on top.
-Positives
Anthony did not score 62 points, but he still had a big
scoring night, putting in 35 points on 14-31 shooting from the field. Anthony
only had four rebounds, but he tied for the game high in assists with five
tonight, as his teammates picked up him and knocked down shots when given the
opportunity. Anthony established himself early, scoring 10 points in the first
quarter and his teammates picked it up from there as his shooting percentage
dropped. It was encouraging to see Anthony make the right pass and his
teammates knocking them down to help hold the Lakers off tonight.
Raymond Felton put together a second consecutive strong game
after calling out his poor play. Tonight he scored 20 points on 8-10 shooting,
knocking down both his three point attempts and both his free throws. Felton
got into the paint at will tonight and was able to get the lob game going with Chandler
on multiple occasions. Felton needs to continue his strong play for the Knicks
to truly turn things around, as poor guard play has hurt the Knicks immensely
during the season.
The bench gave the Knicks a big boost in what was a pretty
lax setting early on. The crowd wasn’t very into the game and the pace was
slow, but when the bench came in things picked up. Hardaway Jr. was not the
only player to give the Knicks a spark, as Jeremy Tyler and Cole Aldrich gave
solid minutes as the bigs off the bench. The two of them combined for nine
rebounds, three blocks and three points in 20 minutes. Smith provided another
strong scoring output alongside Hardaway Jr., putting in 16 of his own, while
grabbing six rebounds and handing out four assists.
Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke |
The Knicks were able to dominate the battle on the boards
tonight, outrebounding the Lakers 45-35. Every Knicks who came off the bench
grabbed at least four, in addition to the three in the starting lineup as the
Knicks gang rebounded successfully tonight against an undersized Lakers squad.
The Knicks also became more aggressive as the game went on, finishing tied at
38 points in the paint after settling early on for jump shots.
-Negatives
It sounds like a broken record but the Knicks perimeter
defense was beyond bad once again. The Lakers feasted from the three-point
line, shooting 11-23 from deep on the afternoon. Jodie Meeks scored 24 points
on 8-13 shooting and journeyman Manny Harris justified his second 10-day
contract with the Lakers by pouring in 18 off the bench, most of which came
against fellow Michigan Wolverine Hardaway Jr.
The Knicks need to find a way to get more out of Pablo
Prigioni and Iman Shumpert. When you start two players that combined for only
five points in 49 minutes you make things much more difficult on your
teammates. Both players do other things while on the court but adding a little
more scoring punch from the second guard and wing spot would go a long way in
the helping the Knicks.
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