New York Knicks
After Bulls Top Cavs on Thursday, Bulls Drop 2 In A Row To Spurs & Knicks
Monday, January 19th, 2009 | Chicago Bulls, NBA, Sports | No Comments
Oh how things have changed. After the Bulls come-from-behind win over the NBA’s best team – the Cleveland Cavaliers – on Thursday night at the United Center, there was excitement and optimism that the Bulls could turn around their spiraling season before it was too late. But after the last 2 losses, that just doesn’t seem possible.
The Bulls lost to the San Antonio Spurs 92-87 on Saturday night at the United Center. The Bulls fell behind by 11 points at the end of the 1st quarter and could never climb all the way back to take the lead. The Spurs had 5 players score in double-digits – led by Manu Ginobili’s 21 points, Tony Parker’s 20 points and Tim Duncan’s 18 points. Duncan also had 14 rebounds, while Parker dished out 8 assists. The Bulls also had 5 players with double-digit scoring, but the offensive output was just too inconsistent. Ben Gordon led the team with 20 points, while Luol Deng chipped in 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Andres Nocioni had the best night for the Bulls – 17 points and 15 rebounds. Derrick Rose also had a productive night with 12 points and 8 assists, but the team shot just 30% from 3-point range and 45% from the floor overall.
The Bulls shooting woes continued in Monday’s matinee game against the Knicks in New York. In a back-and-forth contest, the Bulls blew a late 3-point 4th quarter lead and lost to the lowly Knicks 102-98 at the Garden. In the loss, the Bulls wasted a number of solid efforts from key players. Joakim Noah grabbed a career-high 18 rebounds and even scored 7 points. The Bulls got double-doubles from Luol Deng (20 points and 10 rebounds) and Tyrus Thomas (19 points and 10 rebounds). Derrick Rose just missed a double-double of his own with points and 8 assists. But overall the Bulls shot only 24% from 3-point range and 43% from the floor overall. And the Bulls defense slacked off way too many times, allowing the Knicks to score too many easy baskets. Quentin Richardson led the Knicks with 24 points and 6 rebounds and hit a key 3-point shot from the corner which tied the game at 97 with just over 2 minutes to play in the game. Former Bulls player Chris Duhon hit the game winning shot for the Knicks with under a minute to play and poured in 19 points overall to go with 5 rebounds and 3 assists.
The Bulls are now 18-24 and sit 1.5 games behind the Milwaukee Bucks and New Jersey Nets for the 8th spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs race. Next up for the Bulls is 2 home games at the United Center – Tuesday night against the Atlanta Hawks and Friday night against the Toronto Raptors.
Celtics win 18th straight game
Monday, December 22nd, 2008 | NBA | No Comments
The Boston Celtics won their 18th straight game on Sunday beating the Knicks 124-105. Rajon Rondo was the start of the game with 26 points moving Boston’s record to 26-2, if they can win the game on Tuesday night this would put the Celtics as the best start by a team with only two losses. Kevin Garneett said after the game, “Rondo was unbelievable the third quarter”, He totally took the game over.”
Only two other teams in history have had a 26-2 start the Knicks in 1969-70 and Philadelphia in 1966-67, both went to win NBA titles. Rondo was not the only one with a good game, Ray Allen had 18 points, Paul Pierce 17, Perkins 12, and Garnett 12 showing why this team is an unstoppable force. This was the Knicks fourth straight loss and its eighth straight loss to Boston. Glen Davis was injured Sunday on his way to the game on the Massachusetts Turnpike. He was taken to the hospital and was released after the game.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
| New York (11-16) | 21 | 37 | 29 | 18 | 105 |
| Boston (26-2) « | 40 | 26 | 32 | 26 | 124 |
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Bulls Top Knicks 105-100 In “Big” December Game
Wednesday, December 10th, 2008 | Chicago Bulls, NBA, Sports | No Comments
If you can have a “big game” in December, this would have been it. With the Bulls 105-100 win over the re-vamped Knicks on Tuesday night, the Bulls got one game closer to .500 at 10-11 and vaulted into that coveted 8th playoff spot in the Eastern Conference race, with the honor of losing to the Boston Celtics in the 1st round of the playoffs. If you started laughing when you read that last sentence, it wasn’t meant to be funny.
After disappointing losses to the 76ers and Bucks on back-to-back nights last week, the Bulls have rebounded with consecutive wins over the Wizards and Knicks. It wasn’t pretty, but a win is a win, especially when your goal is to simply make the playoffs. The 4th through 8th seeds in the Eastern Conference playoff race will be contested by 9 different teams all season long, so every win counts.
The Bulls had a balanced offensive attack, with 6 different players in double-digit scoring. Drew Gooden led the team with 22 points and 16 rebounds. Derrick Rose turned in another solid effort – 15 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists and only 3 turnovers in 40+ minutes. Ben Gordon chipped in 17 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, while Larry Hughes came off the bench to score 16 points and grab 8 boards in only 28 minutes. Luol Deng (16 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists) and Andres Nocioni (10 points) also played well after several weeks of mediocre play.
As for the Knicks, a former Bull almost cost the Bulls the game. Chris Duhon put in his best effort of the 2008-9 NBA season. In 45 minutes, Duhon scored 15 points and dished out 14 assists, and came within 1 rebound of a triple-double (he had 9 rebounds). Quentin Richardson chipped in 22 points and 8 rebounds, Al Harrington exploded for 28 points and 6 rebounds, and David Lee dropped in 11 points while grabbing 15 boards. The Knicks used only 7 players.
The Bulls have a chance to get back to .500 on Friday night with a game against the lowly Grizzlies in Memphis. If the Bulls can win that game, then the Bulls can make a big statement with a home game against the surprising New Jersey Nets who have exceeded expectations with an 11-8 start. Let’s hope the Bulls don’t look past the Grizzlies…
Knicks Off to the Races, Beat Heat 120-115 in D’Antoni’s Debut
Friday, October 31st, 2008 | College Football, NBA, NHL, Sports | No Comments
The New York Knicks defeated the Miami Heat 120-115 in Head Coach Mike D’Antoni’s Knicks head coaching debut at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Knicks seemed to thrive under D’Antoni’s up tempo style. Controversial guard Jamal Crawford scored 29 points, going 13-29 from the field with four 3-pointers and 7 free throws. Crawford also added 4 assists and 4 rebounds. Center Zach Randolph chipped in 20 points and 9 rebounds, forward David Lee added 16 points and 11 rebounds and forward Wilson Chandler tallied 17 points and 9 rebounds. Starter Quentin Richardson also scored 16 points, giving the Knicks 6 players in double-digit scoring.
After an even 1st quarter, the Knicks outscored the Heat 32-18 in the 2nd quarter to take a 15-point advantage into halftime. The Knicks scored 60 points in each half, but had to hold off a resurgent Heat team that scored 40 points in the 4th quarter. Winning only 23 games during the 2007-8 NBA season, the Knicks looked like a revived team under D’Antoni. D’Antoni emphasized that his team would always play hard and would put on entertaining performances during the 2008-9 NBA campaign. On opening night D’Antoni and his team did not disappoint. Whether this turns into an every night occurrence remains to be seen. The talent is definitely there, but the players will need to commit to D’Antoni’s style and not get down when they lose a couple of games in a row. Under former coach Isiah Thomas, there tended to be a lot of finger-pointing when things went south. Under D’Antoni, that won’t be tolerated. Each player will be held accountable for his consistent play, and if D’Antoni senses that someone isn’t giving his all, he’ll send someone in the game who will.
As for the Heat, rookie head coach Erik Spoelstra did not have the same success with his new team that D’Antoni did. His team got off to a slow start, and by the time they got back in synch, it was too late. The Heat did have 5 players score in double-digits – including Dwayne Wade with 26 points, 9 assists and 7 rebounds; Udonis Haslem with 23 points and 10 rebounds; Shawn Marion with 14 points and 11 rebounds; and Mario Chalmers with 17 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds. 2nd overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft Michael Beasley had a lackluster NBA debut. He scored only 9 points and pulled down only 4 rebounds.
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