Carmelo Anthony returned, and the Knicks finally won a game.
Forgive the cynical New York media if it wasn’t that impressed.
The Knicks were back home and hosting the Detroit Pistons, who would have trouble winning games if they played in the Big Ten Conference instead of the Central Division. In a season of awful performances, this one may have been the worst. Detroit established season “highs” for points allowed and margin of defeat, which is saying something when you have seven losses by at least 20 points.
The Knicks are just 8-13 overall but 5-1 vs. the Pistons (2-0), Bobcats (2-1) and Wizards (1-0), the three worst teams in the East who are a combined 11-55. Whoever was using the Pistons game as a measuring stick better not be a carpenter.
From Steve Adamek of the New York Times: “Carmelo Anthony returned to the Knicks’ lineup Tuesday night, and suddenly the ball moved quickly and crisply right from the start, while shots he and his teammates have missed much of this season started to fall. So was Anthony, who was part of the Knicks’ offensive problems before and while he sat out the previous two games with assorted injuries, part of the solution? Or was their 113-86 victory over the Detroit Pistons simply a function of the opponent. The Pistons are 4-19 and have lost six straight games, 10 of their last 11 and 11 of 12 over all on the road.”
Anthony sat out losses at Miami and Houston over the weekend with a variety of ailments, none of which are listed as a bruised psyche. He had one of his more efficient games of the season, scoring 25 points on 9-of-14 shooting and handing out six assists.
Anthony’s performance kept the wolves at coach Mike D’Antoni’s door merely baying for at least another day or three. There has been strong speculation that D’Antoni – who is in the final year of his contract and has a former head coach in Mike Woodson as an assistant – is in danger of losing his job.
From Frank Isola of the New York Daily News: “With about eight minutes left the crowd began chanting “Let’s Go Giants.” For D’Antoni, it sounded an awful lot better than fans calling for his firing. The game was the Knicks first at the Garden since losing in double overtime to Denver on Jan. 21. Coming in, the team had lost nine of 10 games and speculation of D’Antoni’s future was intensifying. D’Antoni is in his fourth season and the hope was that by now the Knicks, especially with Anthony and Stoudemire on the roster, would be one of the NBA’s top teams and not a bottom feeder.”
At shootaround earlier in the day, Anthony said the players support D’Antoni “100 percent.” A nice sentiment, but the death watch continues. One opinionated individual who occasionally lets his words get away from him says D’Antoni already is done.
From Stephen A. Smith of ESPNNewYork.com: “Nobody who works for ESPNNewYork.com is calling for D’Antoni to be axed as if it’s all his fault. The Knicks’ head coach never wanted Carmelo Anthony. D’Antoni desperately wanted to hold on to Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari and the relatively young squad he was nurturing last season. But the fact that he wasn’t able to have his way doesn’t give the Knicks the license to look as moribund, as pathetic, as impotent as they have looked. And failed expectations, along with spiked ticket prices, demand that heads will roll. Sooner rather than later.”
It could be real soon. After an off day Wednesday, the Knicks begin a stretch of three games in three nights. On Thursday, they host Chicago on TNT. On Friday, they visit Boston on ESPN. On Saturday, they host New Jersey. That sounds like two nationally televised losses followed by a must-win game while on the verge of exhaustion.
Then again, the Knicks could win in Boston, where the Celtics are developing a recent nasty habit of not finishing games.
After Sunday’s meltdown against the Cavaliers – Outscored 12-0 down the stretch? On your home floor? By the Cavs? Really? – the C’s appeared motivated to even the score in Tuesday’s rematch in Cleveland. They built a 22-point lead late in the third quarter – then nearly gave away another one.
Boston got lazy and sloppy, allowing Kyrie Irving more late-game heroics and Anderson Varejao to control the boards. In the second half, the Celts had 10 rebounds, two on the offensive end. Varejao had 13 boards, six on the offensive end.
A layup by Irving made it a two-point game with 1:18 left. Unlike Sunday, however, the Celtics had an answer this time as Kevin Garnett made a shaky jumper and the defense finally got a stop and a rebound on the same possession, holding on for a 93-90 win.
From Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald: It is said that revenge is a dish best served cold, but there was still steam rising from the Celtics when they took the floor last night. And they weren’t that pleased when they left it, either. The Shamrocks got what they came for — a victory over the same Cavaliers who two nights earlier had scored the game’s final 12 points to erase an 11-point Celtics lead and win by one at the Garden. But the 93-90 final margin in this one is of the hold-your-nose-and-smile variety because the Clevelanders were able to make up 20 points of their deficit. The Celts were just happy their lead was 22 before they assumed the crash position. It was, therefore, revenge — with an aftertaste.”
Had the Celts not hung on, they would have been in a three-way tie for seventh place in the East with the Cavs and Bucks. That’s not exactly the rarefied air that they’re used to, but it’s about right given their erratic play this season, which has been somewhat impacted by injuries.
From Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com: “The Celtics are still waiting to get healthy, and the lack of point guard Rajon Rondo goes a long way towards explaining some of their inconsistencies at both ends of the court. But it’s fair to say that Tuesday’s win might have been the least encouraging of the season because of the near meltdown — and that’s not exactly an unfamiliar feeling this season. The Celtics are simply struggling to put together 48 consistent minutes this season. The schedule thus far has been littered with slow starts and sloppy finishes. Players are showing up for portions of the game and disappearing for stretches. Blame the schedule, blame the injuries, blame the officials — but Boston only has itself to blame for much of its struggles so far. As coach Doc Rivers is fond of noting, Boston’s biggest opponent is itself.”
Boston is back at .500 – Hey, get out the sparklers and streamers! – as it begins a five-game homestand Wednesday vs. Toronto that includes four winnable games before a visit from the lovely Lakers on Feb. 9.
Elsewhere …
- The Lakers demolished the Bobcats, 106-73, as Andrew Bynum had 20 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks. As it embarks on a six-game road trip that begins with Denver, Utah, Philadelphia and Boston, LA is looking to upgrade its roster, perhaps with Agent Zero. Meanwhile, Charlotte fell to 3-19 as it started a four-game trip. The Bobcats are a nightmare.
- MIP candidate Paul George scored 24 points as the Pacers held off the Nets, 106-99. However, they lost George Hill to a chip fracture in his foot and is out indefinitely. New Jersey is playing no violins for Indiana as it has three players sidelined by foot injuries – Brook Lopez, Damion James and rookie hotshot MarShon Brooks, who now has a broken toe.
- As soon as the Hawks got rid of the cancerous Al Horford, they started winning. Just kidding, folks. Atlanta is now 9-2 without its All-Star center after a 100-77 win at Toronto in which Joe Johnson scored 30 points in three quarters. Asterisk alert: Eight of the nine wins have come against sub-.500 teams.
- For the sixth straight game, the Grizzlies dug themselves a double-digit hole, this one a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit at home vs. the Nuggets. But they rallied to force overtime and won, 100-97, ending a four-game skid. O.J. Mayo scored 15 of his 18 points in the final 12 minutes.
- The Warriors went to a zone in the third quarter and turned things around for a 93-90 home win over the Kings, spoiling Sacramento coach Keith Smart’s return to Golden State. In the second half, Kings guard Isaiah Thomas lost his sneaker and had to play three possessions without it after Warriors guard Nate Robinson kicked it under the home bench.