Knicks Pull Out Tough Win Against Celtics in Game One of Playoffs

The New York Knicks Dominated in the Fourth Quarter to Come Away With the Win

By Alexandra Georgette

Despite trailing Boston for the majority of the game, New York pulled out of game one of the first round of the playoffs with a win.  The Knicks beat the Celtics 85-78 in New York on Saturday.

AP Photo/ Kathy Willens

Carmelo Anthony finished the game with 36 points, four steals, and six rebounds.  He started strong, scoring 13 in the first quarter.  For the Celtics, Jeff Green shone:  in 46 minutes, he scored 26 points, pulled down seven rebounds, and blocked three shots—although he also had six turnovers.  Green’s big quarter was the second, where he scored 12 points.

The Celtics led by at least three at the end of each quarter, going into the fourth quarter.  In that last quarter, their offense broke down, and as a team they only scored eight points—the same number of points Anthony scored on his own in that quarter. 

One problem might have been the fact that Green only attempted one field goal and missed—when the leading scorer of the team only gets up one shot in the last quarter, you know something is wrong.

Boston has had a history of difficulties when it comes to closing games out, and that was definitely the case here. A win away would have put the team in much better position than they are now. 

On another note, the Knicks did not play very well on their home court and Boston came very close to winning (even without their most important player, Rajon Rondo, who is still out with a knee injury).  The Celtics were very close to a win and this might remind people not to underestimate Boston.

Paul Pierce chipped in 21points and seven assists (and also turned the ball over six times), while J.R. Smith scored 15 points off the bench for New York.  Brandon Bass pulled down a game high 10 rebounds and Raymond Felton scored 13 points and dished out six assists.

New York led Boston in two important columns in this game: offensive rebounds and turnovers.  The Knicks grabbed ten offensive rebounds and only turned the ball over 13 times—they also stole the ball 15 times.  The Celtics grabbed just four offensive rebounds and turned the ball over 20 times. 

In total, both teams had 40 rebounds and the Celtics led the Knicks 18-13 with assists, but these were just not enough for Boston to keep the lead.

Game two of the series starts at 8pm on Tuesday in New York— right now, the Knicks is the dominant team; if Boston wants any chance of going on to the next round, the team has to be incredibly focused and consistent.

Move Over Kevin Durant

Is Kevin Durant ready to hand his three-time scoring title over just yet?

By Kristina Callahan

Three years in a row.

That’s quite an accomplishment.

AP Photo/ Sue Ogrocki

Three years of maintaining the highest points per game all season. 30.1, 27.7 and 28.0 points per game in 2010, 2011 and 2012, respectively. The former Texas Longhorn has been assumed to make it four years in a row this season but in the past week, a new scoring leader has emerged.

Carmelo Anthony is scoring 28.44 points per game compared to Durant’s 28.35 points per game. Pretty close, huh? Anthony took the slight lead over Durant after a win against the Thunder in which he put up 36 points, nine more than Durant’s 27 points.

Part of the reason ‘Melo is leading the three-time scoring leader is because of his unbelievable numbers in the month of April. The former Syracuse Orange is averaging over 41 points per game this month, including games of 50, 40, 41 and 36 points. Anthony has shot 60 percent from the field, including 56 percent from behind the arc.

Durant doesn’t seem to be too concerned at all. Actually, he said that Carmelo can have the scoring title.

“He can have it,” Durant said flatly after OKC’s Thursday morning shootaround.

“I mean the stuff he’s doing right now, every time he touches the ball it looks like it’s going to go in,” Durant said. “He’s having a nice run right now and his confidence is high. I’m sure he’s going to take over. If it happens, cool.”

What would mean more for Durant is an NBA Championship and a ring on his finger. He came close last year before falling to Lebron James and the Heat in the NBA Finals. If Durant weathers ‘Melo’s scoring storm and does end up winning his fourth scoring title, he will join a club with Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain of players to win the scoring title more than three years in a row. That’s quite an accomplishment considering this is just Durant’s sixth season in the NBA.

With the NBA season wrapping up in the next week, it’s inevitable that the scoring title will come down to the final games. Carmelo and the Knicks have six games remaining while Durant and the Thunder have just five games left in the season.

Crazy Statistics Make Up Epic New York vs. Golden State Game

Curry Scores 54, but the Warriors Fall to the Knicks with 28 Rebounds From Chandler and 35 Points from Anthony

By Ali Koskoris

AP Photo/ Frank Franklin II

Tyson Chandler and Stephen Curry lit up Wednesday’s neck-at-neck game in the Garden with their fantastic play.  Chandler pulled down a career-high number of rebounds and Curry scored over half of the Warriors’ points.

Chandler grabbed 17 rebounds and scored 12 points and Carmelo Anthony scored 18 in the first half of the game to keep a three point lead on the Golden State Warriors and counter Curry’s 27 first half points.

Anthony and Curry continued to battle it out offensively in the second half, and Chandler pulled down another 11 rebounds. 

With the game knotted at 105 with about two minutes left in the game, Raymond Felton blocked a shot attempt by Curry, and the Knicks pulled away, scoring on a J.R. Smith (who scored 26) field goal and an Anthony jumper.  The Warriors had no reply, and New York left the building with a win.

Curry’s 54 points is a career high and an NBA high for points in a game by a player this season.  He went 11-13 from downtown and was one 3 away from the NBA record for most 3-pointers in a game.  He has hit 177 this season.  Curry played the whole game.

“We closed out,” Knicks’ coach Mike Woodson said, “We made the defensive stops that we had to make coming down the stretch run… but boy, you gotta tip your hat, Curry’s pretty good tonight.”

Knicks Start the Season With Four Straight Wins

Carmelo Anthony Leads the Knicks to a Strong Start

By Ali Koskoris

New York is proving that they are true contenders in the Eastern Division, winning the first four games of the season with dominance.  Even without all-star forward Amar’e Stoudemire, New York is averaging 104.5 points a game and is keeping their opponents to only 87.5 points a game.

Carmelo Anthony has been leading the Knicks so far this season, averaging an impressive 27.3 points a game.  He produced high numbers against LeBron James and the Miami Heat, scoring 31 points and pulling down 7 rebounds in the first game of the season and continued to dominate in the next three contests.

J.R. Smith is also proving his worth as the sixth man.  The 6-6 guard is averaging 17.5 points, 5 rebounds, and 2.2 steals a game.  He brings the Knicks both offensive and defensive energy off the bench, clocking in as much time in the game as many of the starters.

New York has played Miami, Philadelphia twice, and Dallas.  Only Dallas managed to crack 90 points, and the Knicks have broken 100 points in every game.  Clearly, New York’s defense has improved and their offense has exploded. 

The Knicks are only four games into the season, though—and the only elite team they have played is the Heat (although the Mavericks are sure to be a playoff contender).  New York needs to continue to attack and focus if they want to continue their streak.

The team’s strengths are the all-star in Anthony, the shooting point guard Raymond Felton, the forward play of Tyson Chandler, and the offensive and defensive energy off the bench—especially from Smith and Steve Novak.

When Stoudemire is once again active, the Knicks are going to be even more dangerous.  Stoudemire is imperative to New York’s offense, as he brings down a high number of rebounds, and is a strong defensive player.  Adding him to the rotation of a seemingly in-sync Knicks team who has been dominating will be a great advantage to New York.

For now, with Stoudemire out for six to eight weeks, the Knicks need to continue to focus and play to the strengths of the players.  If Anthony and Smith continue to play the way they have been, New York will be a tough team to beat.

Carmelo Anthony Returns to the Carrier Dome

Anthony loses for the first time in the Dome in a preseason game versus the Sixers

By Ali Koskoris

Carmelo Anthony returned to the Carrier Dome at Syracuse University last Monday night, and his Knicks dropped their third consecutive preseason game—this time against the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Knicks started out well. Anthony scored the first points of the contest just thirteen seconds in on a beautiful jumper. Raymond Felton then swished a three pointer at the buzzer off of an Anthony assist.  Anthony then proceeded to steal the ball and alley-oop it up to Tyson Chandler for a monstrous dunk to put the Knicks up 7-0.

The game went downhill from there for the Knicks, as the Sixers went on a 14-0 run and headed into the second quarter leading 26-23.  Philadelphia continued to dominate in the second quarter, outscoring the Knicks 36-21.  Jason Richardson and Thaddeus Young led the 76ers’ attack. 

AP Photo/ Kevin Rivoll

In the first half, Richardson scored 14, pulled down six rebounds, and dished out five assists.  He finished the game 8-17 from downtown, with seven rebounds, six assists, two steals, one blocked shot, and 23 points.  Young scored 12 and grabbed three rebounds that first half.  He ended the game with 22 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and a steal.

At halftime, the Knicks trailed the Sixers 62-44.  Anthony and Felton entered the second half in attack mode, driving to the basket and taking open jumpers.  By the end of the third quarter, the Knicks were only trailing by four. 

New York played more aggressively in the second half, and had many open shots, but their shots were not falling, and they did not take the lead at any point.  Philadelphia continued its strong play, and defeated the Knicks 98-90.  New York clearly missed the power and offensive and defensive prowess of forward Amar’e Stoudemire, who did not travel to Syracuse because of an injured knee.

Felton was the only consistent player for the Knicks, going 5-7 from beyond the arc with three assists and 23 points.  Anthony grabbed six rebounds, with five assists, four steals, a blocked shot, and 23 points.  Despite his nice statistics, Anthony did not play his best game.

Anthony received a standing ovation from the crowd when he ultimately left the game with a minute left to play.  “My streak is over,” he said on his first loss in the Dome.