Results tagged “naterobinson”

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."

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.

A day after the Knicks' pugsy point guard Nate Robinson was bashed for his flip tweets while being pulled over and arrested in The Bronx, sources tell the Post that his attitude wasn't limited to his 24,000+ followers. The paper says that when Robinson got pulled over, he "cranked up a rap song when the cop walked off to check his license, and then sang along when the officer returned." Maybe Nate was singing along that he wished he had a girl who looked good so he could call her. When the cop came back, the flashy dunker then apparently mouthed off at the officer, "Well, I'm Nate Robinson from the Knicks," to which the cop replied, "OK, Nate Robinson from the Knicks, you're under arrest." While there's been much speculation that the incident won't help Robinson gain any leverage in contract negotiations with the Knicks, his agent said, "Whether he remains a Knick will not be effected by a traffic incident...He didn't murder anyone, didn't rape anyone.'' Nate's tweeting life is back to normal after the hub-bub, updating recently, "Just seen a girl run n wit an ipod and she fell on her face lol am I wrong for laugh n at her? Smh."

Nate Robinson hasn't been able to get signed in New York since becoming a free agent this off-season, but Tuesday he was able to get booked up in The Bronx, charged with driving with a suspended license. Cops say they pulled Robinson over for not having his seat belt on while driving down the Grand Concourse in Bedford Park, but the Knicks' two-time dunk contest champion tweeted, "Cops pulled me over cuz my windows were 2 dark (but my windows were down) lol how funny is that." Doesn't an NBA star get tinted windows specifically 95 degree days driving down the Grand Concourse? In any case, cops discovered that Robinson's license had been suspended in June for the fifth time after a series of infractions around the area including traffic violations, speeding, driving without his seat belt on and for driving while talking on a cell phone.

It’s May and for New York sports fans that means our attention is fixed to baseball, baseball and more baseball. It wasn’t always this way as May was once a time to watch the Knicks and Rangers make deep runs into the playoffs. It was a time when MSG was the place to be in May, but those times are a distant memory.

Two games in two nights, and two losses for the Knicks. In a quirk of the schedule, they headed out to the Mountain Time Zone for games against Utah on Monday and Denver on Tuesday. Neither went well. The Nuggets, surging toward the playoffs, downed the Knicks, 111-104 in the Mile High City. The Knicks, led by Nate Robinson's 30 points, have lost nine of 10. Chris Duhon had 11 assists, but it wasn't enough. A home-and-home against Toronto awaits this weekend.

Thankfully, the Knicks are losing again which means they will miss the playoffs and qualify for the draft lottery. That’s very important for a team trying to rebuild because it is the last first round pick the Knicks will have before the vital summer of 2010. Think of it as the final blow of the Stephon Marbury trade. As part of that deal, Isiah Thomas sent the Knicks first round pick in 2006 to Phoenix, but he protected it, allowing the Knicks to keep the pick if it was a top-25 selection in that draft. The protection went down to top-24 in 2007 and is now top-22, but there is no protection in 2010 and the Utah Jazz, who acquired the pick from Phoenix, will have it, no matter how high the pick is.

• Magic 106, Knicks 102: Is Nate Robinson anything more than a chucker these days? He finished this game 6-of-23, including 1-of-7 from 3-point land. Even discounting the final desperation heave, that's not a good line. Mike D'Antoni won't be pleased with that or the 46 free throws Orlando shot. Remember, D'Antoni specifically tells his teams not to foul. The Knicks entered play Monday 3 1/2 games out of a playoff spot but needing to pass five teams to qualify for the postseason. They now have 12 games remaining. At this point, they better get used to seeing the pingpong balls of the draft lottery. Wilson Chandler had 17 points and eight rebounds in the loss.
• Flyers 4, Devils 2: Is this a losing streak for the Devils? As strange as it sounds, the Devils have lost two straight games and three straight on the road. The last time the Devils lost consecutive games was Jan. 6 and 8. All this means is that the Devils will have to wait before celebrating a clinched playoff spot. Two early goals in the third period by Philadelphia ended the drama in this one. Brendan Shanahan and Jamie Langenbrunner had the Devils' scores.
Continue reading "Last Night's Action: Playoff Pipe Dream"

• Kings 121, Knicks 94: The circus isn't in town yet, but Madison Square Garden already stinks — the Knicks were blown out at home for the second game in a row. Friday night, it was the Western Conference doormat Kings, who were searching for their first win against a Eastern Conference team, that gave the Knicks a drubbing. The game was ugly from the start, with the Kings jumping out to a 15-0 lead and the Knicks missing their first nine shots. All the starters for Sacramento scored in double digits with Kevin Martin leading the way with 30. Nate Robinson led the Knicks with 19 points in the loss. Al Harrington, the Knicks' leading scorer was out with a sore Achilles. It's hard to believe that just a week ago, this team was playing well and had playoff hopes.
• Nets, 96, Heat 88: Who needs Devin Harris? With the All-Star guard sitting out another game due to injury, Chris Douglas-Roberts led the Nets to their second straight game, scoring a career high 18 points. NBA scoring leader Dwayne Wade, who sat out the Heat's previous loss, had 27 points in the loss. Vince Carter narrowly missed a triple double with 17 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists. The Nets are now two games behind Chicago for the final playoff spot.
• Devils 4, Wild 0: Martin Brodeur had no problem winning his 553rd game as he and the Devils blanked Minnesota. The win put Brodeur closer to yet another record — the shutout record currently held by Terry Sawchuk, with 103 shutouts.
• Hurricanes 5, Islanders 4: Four 2nd period goals weren't enough for the last place Islanders to beat Carolina. Chad Larose scored the go ahead goal for Carolina with 4:21 left in the game.

• Cavaliers 98, Knicks 93: Only the Lakers have beaten the Cavaliers in Cleveland this year. So the Knicks didn't have that great a chance of knocking the LeBron James gang's home record to 28-2. The tough part about this game? James, who had three triple-doubles in his past four games, didn't even play that well. He had 19 points but only shot three free throws and went 9-of-17 from the floor. Al Harrington's 26 wasn't enough for the Knicks. Nate Robinson had 20 but went 1-for-5 from 3-point range.
• Clippers 107, Nets 105: Normally losing to the Clippers is bad enough. But losing on a last-second 3-pointer after seeing an All-Star point guard leave the game just adds injury to insult. Devin Harris departed with a sprained shoulder and not even Vince Carter's 41 points could save them. The Nets have lost 11 of 15.
• Rangers 4, Flyers 1: What struggling power play? The Rangers entered this contest having converted on zero of their previous 12 man-advantages. Playing the Flyers for the second straight day, the Rangers got power-play four goals, including two from Sean Avery in eight chances. Avery also drew two penalties. As Avery continues to get under the skin of opponents, he keeps making the Rangers better.
• Islanders 4,Blackhawks 2: How about Peter Mannino? He made 40 saves in his first NHL start to give the Islanders another win. Mark Streit scored twice on the power play.
Continue reading "Last Night's Action: Not Enough in Cleveland"

• Knicks 102, Timberwolves 94: If the Knicks want to make the playoffs, they'll have to win games like this one. Wilson Chandler had 24 points and 12 rebounds. David Lee posted yet another double-double (12 and 13) and Nate Robinson had 25 points and seven assists. He continues to get to the line -- he made 14-of-17 attempts. The Knicks' position in the conference doesn't look too good, but they are on the cusp of the playoffs. If they keep on winning, stranger things have happened.
• Louisville 69, Villanova 55: Rick Pitino hasn't done too well at his hometown tournament. The New York native and product of St. Dominic's High School in Oyster Bay has seen Louisville have some short stays at the Big East Tournament in his tenure. At halftime of this one, it seemed as if the Cardinals were due for another early exit. But they came back against Jay Wright's Villanova team and advanced to the final. The quest for a No. 1 seed is very much alive.
• Syracuse 74, West Virginia 69 (OT): Only one overtime? Ridiculous! One night after playing six overtimes against Connecticut, Syracuse snuck by West Virginia in one. Jim Boeheim has five titles at the Big East Tournament. He'll try to No. 6 Saturday.

• Bobcats 114, Knicks 105: After Knicks losses, a good place to start evaluating what went wrong is the opponent's shooting percentages. Charlotte shot 55.4 percent from the floor, 50 percent on 3-pointers and 87.5 percent. Those are a good sign that the Knicks did not play good defense. Charlotte isn't very good, but it has won six straight -- the longest streak in franchise history. Al Harrington had 24 points, but he only scored four after halftime. Nate Robinson had 20 points, nine from the free-throw line.
• Islanders 7, Devils 3: Martin Brodeur finally laid an egg. "I would have liked to have played better," he said. He got yanked after allowing six goals through two periods in his first loss since coming back from a biceps injury. The Islanders have won three of four (!).
Continue reading "Last Night's Action: Cat Attack"

• Rangers 6 Colorado 1: Can we credit the new coach for this offensive explosion or should we just write this off as what should happen when a lousy team hits the road? After all, Colorado didn’t look very good against the Devils the other night.
  Continue reading "Last Night's Action: Hockey Good/Basketball Bad"

76ers 108, Knicks 103: After trailing by 22 late in the first half, the Knicks made it a two-point game in the third quarter and even to to 101-99 in the fourth. But they still lost. Maybe if they had shown up in the first half, things would have turned out differently.

• Maple Leafs 2, Rangers 1 (SO): If John Tortorella is the Rangers' savior, he will need more than one game to prove it. The Rangers failed to score in the shootout as they dropped this game to a team below them in the standings. That group of clubs is growing smaller by the day. Wade Redden, one of the players vilified for underachieving under Tom Renney, had the Rangers' only goal.
• Penguins 1, Islanders 0: This game is not going in a time capsule. The first goal was scored 57 minutes, 32 seconds into the game. The Islanders had 21 shots overall and four in the third period. And this was against a Sydney Crosby-less Penguins team.
• Magic 114, Knicks 109: Nate Robinson may have gotten the better of Dwight Howard at the slam dunk contest two weeks ago, but Howard had the last laugh Wednesday. He only had 24 points and 21 rebounds. If only Eddy Curry had been there to put a body on him. Robinson did have 32 points in 36 minutes, but the Knicks aren't going to win too many games in which their opponents shoot 51 percent from the floor and attempt 38 free throws.
• Nets 111, Bulls 99: This hasn't been a bad two-game stretch for Devin Harris. He had 42 -- including 19 in the fourth quarter -- after a 39-point effort Monday. Even the people most impressed with the deal that brought him to New Jersey didn't think he'd be able to take over games this soon. He did just that in the final period. Even if the Nets don't make the playoffs this year, they can take solace in the emergence of a true star not named Vince Carter.
Continue reading "Last Night's Action: New Coach, Same Result"

• Knicks 127, Raptors 97: Nate Robinson is calling it the "funnest basketball of his career." Luckily his on-court skill exceeds his grammatical ability. He had 26 to go along with a career-high 32 from Wilson Chandler and a measly 24 from David Lee. The Knicks never trailed, led by as many as 38 and have now equaled last season's win total of 23. They did all this with Chris Wilcox dressed but on the bench. Larry Hughes was in street clothes and ineligible to play since the players sent to Chicago have yet to clear their physicals. The two teams meet again Sunday in Toronto.
• Wizards 107, Nets 96: Things are not as rosy for the Nets. They lost to the lowly Wizards one day after making no moves at the trade deadline. Vince Carter, too expensive to swap, had 17 points. Devin Harris had 26 points and 10 assists. For reference, Washington improved to 13-42 with the win. The Nets aren't world-beaters, but they should take care of the Wizards at home.
Continue reading "Last Night's Action: A Blowout for the Knicks"

Robinson had 32 points including the tying shot in regulation and the first six Knicks’ points in overtime. The 5’9” guard also pulled down ten rebounds. David Lee and Al Harrington both added double-doubles.

      

With none of the Knicks getting invited out to Phoenix to play in today's All-Star Game, New York's own Nate Robinson used his under six-foot status to play the role of underdog and swipe the Slam Dunk Competition crown away from Orlando's Dwight Howard. Howard won 2008's contest by donning a Superman cape that would see a reprisal last night—this time accompanied by the heightened theatrics of Howard busting out of a phone booth toward his dunk march. But Nate came prepared with a costume of his own, making the most of some leftover Knicks St. Patty's promotional gear and donning all green (surely to the delight of contest sponsor Sprite) to become "Krypto-Nate." Not since the 2000 3 Doors Down tour have so many fans found themselves on the side of Kryptonite as Robinson eked out Howard in the final round by a fans' text messaging vote count of 52 to 48 percent. It was Robinson's second victory after a win in 2006.

On the bright side, the Knicks' Nate Robinson won the slam dunk contest at the NBA All-Star weekend -- and he was dressed in green.

• Knicks 112, Hawks 104: Who knew Nate Robinson had the 10th-most popular jersey in the NBA? He did, apparently. He put up 20 points in the fourth quarter and led the Knicks to another win at home. David Lee had another double-double and so did Chris Duhon, who dished out 11 assists. Wilson Chandler had 12 points off the bench. His adjustment to that role appears to be going well.
• Raptors 107, Nets 106: Devin Harris had his shot. He got a wide-open 16-footer at the buzzer but it was to no avail. His counterpart, Jose Calderon, had 17 points and 11 assists. The Nets blew a nine-point lead after one quarter and a four-point lead at halftime.
• Penguins 6, Rangers 2: Sidney Crosby's return was not good news for the Rangers. Pittsburgh simply has New York's number. In the last eight games, the Blueshirts have lost two games in regulation. Both have come against the Pens.
Continue reading "Last Night's Action: Robinson Makes A Statement"

Cleveland 119 Knicks 101: Hopefully, LeBron forgets about this game when he thinks about signing with the Knicks in July 2010. New York didn’t play defense and didn’t take care of the ball as the lost a game much worse than the score indicates. The Knicks may have also lost Nate Robinson who collapsed to the floor with a groin injury. LeBron was cheered by the crowd and got the fourth quarter off because the game was such a blowout.

The Knicks’ plan is clear, wait until July 2010 and then sign LeBron James and possibly Chris Bosh or another superstar as well. The problem is there is a lot of work left to be done to realize that plan. The Knicks will enter the 2010-11 season with four players under contract: Eddy Curry, Jared Jeffries, Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari. That gives the Knicks plenty of space under the salary cap, but it is hardly the makings of a good team and that is what is most important to LeBron.

Maybe it was Isiah Thomas and his constant trades that did it. Maybe it was the lousy basketball that did it. Maybe you are just waiting (and waiting) for the Nets to move to Brooklyn. Whatever the reason, at some point you stopped caring about the Knicks and no one can blame you. Being a Knicks’ fan has been almost impossible for the last few years and having doubts about their 6-3 start is only natural.