Smith leads Knicks past Suns 99-97

JR Smith was a very significant in tonight’s 99-97 win over the Phoenix Suns. With one second left on the clock Smith would hit another buzzer beating shot to get the Knicks the win. Smith was a leader tonight as he really played at a high level.

Without Carmelo Anthony and Raymond Felton, Smith really stepped up by scoring 27 points, grabbing 6 rebounds, dishing out 5 assists, and recording 5 steals. His effort was exceptional tonight and that effort really gave the Knicks a nice opportunity to win the game. His late game heroics continue to give the Knicks wins and tonight he really made the most of his late game shot.


Not only did Smith have success tonight, but Jason Kidd really made an impact tonight. Kidd scored 23 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, and dished out 8 assists. His knowledge of the game is really winning games for the Knicks. In the final seconds of this game Kidd made a nice defensive play to knock the ball away, which led to Sebastian Telfair turning the ball over. If it wasn’t for that play, JR Smith may have never made that shot. This season Kidd continues to play at a high level and really is a leader in everyway.

Tyson Chandler had a strong game tonight as he scored 14 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. His play on defense really was solid as he blocked two shots. His back up, Marcus Camby, really played well in 12 minutes of action. Camby scored 4 points and grabbed 9 rebounds. He also recorded a blocked shot. He really showed signs of being the back up the Knicks wanted. Tonight he really crashed the boards and gave the Knicks more opportunities to score.

Overall this was a nice performance by a shorthanded Knicks team. They played as one and really won this game because of excellent team work. Their 21 team assists really showed the excellent ball movement and smart passes. They also won the rebounding battle as they out rebounded the Suns by three.

Tonight the Knicks really went back to excellent team work and it paid off. They will be celebrating this win for tonight, but come Friday night they will be ready to take on the Sacramento Kings. That game will be very important for them to win especially since the health of the team is in question.

Photo Credit: Christian Petersen/Getty Images
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