Last Night's Action: Knicks as Good as Last Season

Knicks 107, Lakers 106:Well, that didn't take long. The Knicks have reached 23 wins -- matching last season's win total -- by defeating the Lakers (only their 7th loss at home this season) and sweeping the season series. Although Kobe Bryant was suspended for the Lakers for the matchup at the Garden but scored 31 on Tuesday night. The game-winning basket came after a missed 3-pointer and an offensive rebound. Jamal Crawford, who led the Knicks with 24 points, also had the game-winning assist with a lob pass to Eddy Curry. Curry dunked the ball with 7.1 seconds to play. Surprisingly, Kobe didn't take the Lakers' final shot but was instead a decoy for Lamar Odom, who badly missed a jump shot.
Spurs 107, Nets 82: Entering this season, plenty of the media were high on the Nets' new bench, saying it could prove the difference between this season's club and last year's. Well, depth is great until you have to play it. Marcus Williams became the latest reserve thrust into a starting role; his promotion came after Jason Kidd's back injury. Williams played well -- nine points and 10 assists -- but the rest of the Nets didn't. They allowed 20 straight points to open the second quarter, and they haven't beaten the Spurs in the regular season since 2002.

Islanders 3, Maple Leafs 2 (SO): Give the credit to Rick DiPietro. He made plenty of third period saves to get the game to overtime and a shootout before the Islanders could pull it out. The Islanders had been 0-10-1 in their last 11 trips to Toronto, and they got outshot 16-1 in the third period. They might not be so lucky the next time.

Photo of Spike Lee celebrating after last night's Knicks win by AP/Jeff Lewis

Post a comment (Comment Policy)

Follow us