Results tagged “basketball”

Who had the Knicks as the first team to hold the Suns under 100 points? Mike D'Antoni's squad did just that against the coach's former team in a 126-99 rout of the Suns at Madison Square Garden. This is probably the best game the Knicks have played all season. Danilo Gallinari had 27 points and 10 rebounds. David Lee had 24 points, and Al Harrington had 22. The Knicks had 71 points in the first half alone. The Suns, who missed the playoffs last season, had the best record in the NBA entering Tuesday's game. This was a surprise, to say the least. New York made 10 more 3-pointers than Phoenix. Can the Knicks build on this? Time will tell.

With the New Jersey Nets likely to tie the NBA's record of for most consecutive losses (17) at the start of the season tonight when they play the Los Angeles Lakers, the team has fired coach Lawrence Frank. ESPN reports that the team was going to fire Frank after the game, "Yet it appears that Nets management determined that it had to make the move before facing the Lakers after reports became more widespread that Frank's dismissal was imminent."

In hockey news, the Rangers and Devils won, the Islanders lost. And in the depressing basketball update, the Knicks and Nets lost—the Nets are now 0-15.

The Knicks' record is now 3-11 after a loss to the Lakers and the Nets are at 0-14, just three losses short of tying the NBA's record.

They are a lot of issues that Allen Iverson brings to the table. He sulked his way out of Memphis and he has never been a great distributor of the basketball. But, he is still a great scorer and a great defender and for a team lacking both of those attributes, the Knicks were foolish not to sign him.

During the Knicks' "Basement Battle" win over the Nets yesterday, there was one sour moment for New York coach Mike D'Antoni. It was when Nate Robinson threw the ball at the Nets basket—and it went in—just after the first quarter buzzer. As Deadspin put it, "rather than quietly hand the ball to an official, or even chuck a desperation heave 80 feet down the court, [Robinson] decided to show what a good three-point shot he's got when no one is guarding him, and there's nothing at stake."

• Knicks 98, Nets 91: Something is rotten in the state of New Jersey. Al Harrington and Danilo Gallinari each had 17, but the real story is the Nets. They have lost 13 straight to start the season. The NBA record is 17. Devin Harris played 26 minutes off the bench and had 12 points. Chris Douglas-Roberts led the Nets with 24. All Knicks starters had double figures in points. The Knicks have won two straight and sit at 3-9.
Continue reading "Last Night's Action: A Knicks Winning Streak"

When we previously noted on the Knicks burgeoning interest in signing free agent guard Allen Iverson, it seemed as though it was a long shot to happen. But new reports have come out in the last two days that are making us question everything.

• Knicks 110, Pacers 103: What's this? A Knicks win? Al Harrington handed it to his former team, scoring 26 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter to help the Knicks snap a six-game losing streak. He wasn't the only one to fill up the stat sheet. Larry Hughes had 22 points, Wilson Chandler had 18 and David Lee had 17. Even Eddy Curry, playing for the first time this season after a calf injury, had 10 points in 12 minutes. The Knicks outscored the Pacers 56-34 in the second half. That kind of performance will end a lot of losing streaks.
Continue reading "Last Night's Action: Knicks Double Win Total"

Since 10-time All-Star guard and former Philadelphia 76er Allen Iverson was released from his one year contract with the Memphis Grizzlies earlier this week (he only played in three games with them, off the bench, this season), all the talk has revolved around whether or not the dismal 1-9 Knicks might sign him to a short term contract. The Knicks GM Donnie Walsh had flirted with signing "The Answer" briefly last summer, and cautiously said on Monday that they'd "look into it."

• Washington 4 Rangers 2: Marian Gaborik had two goals, but it wasn’t enough as Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals beat the Rangers again. Gaborik tied the game with his 15th goal of the year in the third, but the Caps added two goals in the final five minutes for the win.
  Continue reading "Last Night's Action: No Wins Here"

When Isiah Thomas returned to the tri-state area, bringing his Florida International team to play NJ's Monmouth College, the home crowd decided to go nostalgic with their jeers. According to the Daily News, they yelled, "sexual harassment," "take Lunesta," "Anucha Sanders," and "Magic hates you." Thomas took it in stride, "I'm used to being in a hostile work environment as athlete and former Bad Boy, every place we went to was this kind of environment... It's all in good spirit and good fun, that's what being a fan is all about. ... I thought the students were well in line and in bounds with the chants that they were saying."

• Devils 5 Washington 2: New Jersey didn’t come to play, surrendering two goals in the first five minutes, but they stormed back to clinch their eight-straight win. Five different players scored while Martin Brodeur stopped the final 27 shots he faced.

What's a good sign your team isn't going to win? Larry Hughes tallies the most minutes. He did that Monday with 41, and his the Knicks lost, 95-93, to Utah. The Knicks continued their 2009 trend of falling behind early (by nine after one quarter and 17 at the half) before rallying furiously only to come up short. Does anyone see a pattern forming here? Toney Douglas (pictured) surprised with 21 off the bench for the Knicks, who also got 17 from Wilson Chandler. New York checked Deron Williams' scoring -- the point guard had only five points -- but not his passing. He had 16 assists.

• Bucks 102, Knicks 87: Where to begin on this one? The Bucks shot 74 percent from the floor. They went on a 23-2 early to ice the game .They outscored the Knicks, 40-22, in the first quarter. Brandon Jennings, whom the Knicks passed over for Jordan Hill, had 22 points and eight rebounds. David Lee's 18 points led the Knicks, now 1-6 and losers of three straight.
Continue reading "Last Night's Action: So How Bad Are the Knicks?"

• Cavaliers 100, Knicks 91: Is finishing within nine points of the Cavaliers a moral victory. What about holding LeBron James to 33 after he scored 53 in his final trip in the building last year. To answer the first question, not when the team trailed by 23 at the half. As for the second, James shot 12-for-17, had eight rebounds and nine assists, so he was hardly in check. Larry Hughes had 18 (Larry Hughes!) and David Lee led the Knicks with 21. The Knicks, now 1-5, have Milwaukee on the road on Saturday.

     

Yankees 7, Phillies 3: For the first time since 2000 and the 27th time in franchise history, the New York Yankees are the World Champions of baseball. The Yankees defeated the Philadelphia Phillies four games to two behind the bat of Hideki Matsui and the solid pitching of Andy Pettitte. Matsui was 3-4 in the game, including two two-RBI hits off Phillies starter Pedro Martinez and two more RBI against Phillies reliever Chad Durbin.

You know that the Yankees are thrilled to be in the World Series, but the Knicks should be equally thrilled that the Yankees made it. The World Series is distracting attention from their miserable start. Last night may have included a great fourth quarter comeback, but the fact remains that the Knicks allowed Philadelphia to shoot an astounding 61% from the field. Even the most optimistic Knicks’ fan has to realize the bitter truth- LeBron isn’t going to come to this team unless something radical changes.

• Bobcats 102, Knicks 100 (2 OT): A rally from a 21-point deficit and a 14-point margin at the start of the fourth quarter didn't give the Knicks anything more than a moral victory. They didn't lead until the second overtime, but some shaky defense gave the game to the Bobcats. Chris Duhon played 55 minutes. Danilo Gallinari had 16 off the bench, and Nate Robinson had 17 before fouling out. David Lee had the line of the game with 17 points and 18 rebounds. This game won't score any style points, but it did provide late drama. The Knicks open their home campaign Saturday against Philadelphia.
Continue reading "Last Night's Action: Knicks Drop A Heartbreaker"

• Philadelphia 6 Yankees 1: The Yankees looked like a team totally overwhelmed by circumstances while Cliff Lee looked like Orel Hershiser in 1988. CC Sabathia was good, allowing only two runs, both solo shots to Chase Utley, but Lee was much better. He dominated the Yankees, going the distance and he probably would have had a shutout if Jimmy Rollins hadn’t airmailed a throw in the ninth. The Yankees bullpen imploded in the 8th and 9th with Phil Hughes and Brian Bruney the chief culprits. New York will have to hope for a better result against Pedro Martinez in Game 2.

For basketball fans in New York, the upcoming NBA season is really all about next year. July 1, 2010, to be precise; the exact moment when free agents like LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh hit the market. It’s a strange year because you won’t have much to root for and apart from a few core players; the Knicks and Nets will be willing to trade away players in exchange for cap space next summer. And don’t forget Knicks’ fans, former GM Isiah Thomas traded away the 2010 number one pick for Stephon Marbury, so the draft lottery isn’t a possibility.

What better to follow up a meeting with a handful of NBA owners than a $19,000 lunch? That’s right, nothing, which is why Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, who is looking to purchase the floundering New Jersey Nets and bring then into Brooklyn, stopped into Nello on the Upper East Side Wednesday with a few friends, the Post reported.

Adding more fuel to the fire about where the Nets may play in the future, the Record says that the Izod Center (at the Meadowlands) and Prudential Center (in Newark) have stopped squabbling and may sign a deal, which "could have the Nets moving to Newark next fall for two seasons (or more) and the Izod Center becoming the long-term concert and family show mecca for North Jersey." The Nets, waiting to hear about what will happen with the Atlantic Yards, have been impressed with the crowds they've gotten at the Prudential Center.

Days after the Post had one of their "sources" describe Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz as "angry and embarrassed" over the prospect of a Russian-owned Nyets team at the embattled Atlantic Yards site in Brooklyn, Marty's fired back. Far from being embarrassed, he's simply delighted: "Brooklyn is the Russian capital of America, so [Russian playboy Mikhail] Prokhorov will feel right at home here, and I have been assured he will put the interests of Brooklyn first." Plus, given those Russkies' historic knack for winning basketball games against all odds, maybe New York will finally get a b-ball team to be proud of again?

• Yankees 8, White Sox 3: Being up six games in the standings has its advantages. They include pitching a starter for only three innings. The Yankees did that with Joba Chamberlain, then got three innings out of Alfredo Aceves en route to a three-game sweep of the White Sox. Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira each went deep. This was a 3-2 game when Phil Hughes got the last out of the seventh, but the Yankees blew it open later. Up next is a road trip to Baltimore and Toronto.

Is it too early to start a "Bring Starbury Back to New York" campaign? Say what you will about how he basically spent his tenure with the Knicks acting as a cancer to the team; the man knows how to make a quality YouTube clip. From our previous experience with putting a camera in front of Stephon Marbury, we knew that there had to be a few gems coming out of the former All-Star's 24-hour stint doing a video podcast a couple weeks back. It may have taken a little tinkering, but sure enough a little dance interlude taken by Steph led to this:

• Mets 3 Giants 2: It’s hard to see the Mets playing any role other than spoiler in the pennant race, but they played that role well this weekend. New York took the series thanks to a Daniel Murphy single in the ninth. Murphy lined 2-2 pitch into right field and Jeff Francoeur just beat the throw home to give the Mets their first walkoff win since May 29th. K-Rod picked up the win in relief and Luis Castillo added his first home run of the season.