Despite cutting the lead down to two points with about 50 second to go, the New York Knicks were unable to defeat the Blazers tonight. It was a very nice comeback attempt by the Knicks, but they would come up short tonight. The Blazers would win 94-90 to send the Knicks to their third straight defeat.
From the start the Blazers showed the poise that they would need to win the game. The Knicks fought tonight, but the Blazers didn’t get down on themselves, instead they went back down the court and played their game. For Portland Nicolas Batum was the leader tonight. Batum recorded a double-double tonight as he scored 20 points and grabbed ten rebounds. He was excellent in using his quickness to beat the Knicks. That quickness would allow him to have easy dunk attempts that he would capitalize on. He played a very smooth and simple game tonight and helped the Blazers get a very nice win.
LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard were really quiet tonight, but they both impacted the game in the end. Aldridge in particular was strong late as he nailed a very tough shot over Tyson Chandler that would grow Portland’s lead. Aldridge scored 15 points and was strong on the boards as he collected 12 rebounds.
Overall the Knicks struggles on defense would lead to their downfall. There were some very tough calls against the Knicks and calls they didn’t get. But like every game they had chances to make plays and didn’t.
The Knicks had strong play of of their bench tonight. Amare Stoudemire, Tim Hardaway Jr, and JR Smith all played strong off the bench as they combined to score 45 points. Those three were really strong throughout the game. Stoudemire really had a great game. He looked energized and looked strong driving to the rim. He is an important player for New York. He brings a low post scoring mentality, but can also step out and hit jump shots. Tonight he did a combination of both that really helped the Knicks. Overall his play benefited the team as he saw 21 minutes of action.
Carmelo Anthony scored 26 points in 40 minutes. He was at times upset from the non-calls he would get from the officials. He attacked the basket, but Robin Lopez was there to block or contest his shots. His performance tonight was a struggle at times, but he gave the Knicks some quality minutes despite all the missed shots.
Something very important happened in tonight’s game. Knicks coach Mike Woodson didn’t play Raymond Felton in the fourth quarter of tonight’s game. Pablo Prigioni, who impacted the game positively, saw the entire fourth quarter. Felton has been awful on defense this season. Tonight Prigioni really made plays defensively to give New York opportunities while Felton did not. Overall Felton will be the starting point guard going forward, but it is worth noting that this is the first time Felton has been benched late in a Knicks game.
Photo Credit: AP Photo/Frank Franklin II
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