Different Melo-drama for Knicks; Lakers, Clippers head home with wins

At the end of the film Se7en, Detective Mills, played by Brad Pitt, gets into an argument with serial killer Jon Doe, played by Kevin Spacey. Doe claims what he is doing will be remembered forever. Mills dismisses him by saying, “You’re no messiah. You’re a Movie of the Week. You’re a T-shirt, at best.”

That’s about where Linsanity is right now.

It’s not Lin’s fault that his novelty has somewhat worn off. He is still playing pretty well, as evidenced by his 20 points, 13 assists and four steals in Milwaukee on Friday. But those numbers ring hollow when the Knicks lose, which they are doing with alarming frequency these days.

A 119-114 setback to the Bucks completed an 0-4 road trip and was the sixth loss in the last eight games for the Knicks. That slump has coincided with the return of Carmelo Anthony, who has been unable to get in synch with his teammates. Our own Moke Hamilton believes the answer lies in replacing Mike D’Antoni with Nate McMillan, who may not survive the Blazers’ current road trip.

Even before the latest loss, the relentless New York media was pointing the finger at Melo.

From Marc Berman of the New York Post: “Carmelo Anthony has a long way to go before ever receiving the compliment Mike D’Antoni bestowed recently on Tyson Chandler as the Knicks’ “most irreplaceable player.” On the flip side, Anthony has looked more like their most replaceable player. It showed in San Antonio on Wednesday when the Knicks looked like all the other defense-poor teams of years past without Chandler. In games Anthony has played this season, discounting the first five minutes of the Utah win, the Knicks are 11-17. When Anthony has been out, the Knicks are 7-4. … As feared, The Melo Effect has spoiled Linsanity. D’Antoni has allowed the offense to revert to Anthony’s liking, where he controlled the flow in San Antonio with 24 shot attempts. Point guard Jeremy Lin did not make an impact as Anthony became chief decision-maker. Anthony’s lack of defensive instincts is also contributing to the losing as the club plays with less spirit on that end. With the NBA trade deadline Thursday, the Knicks don’t need to add another player to their overcrowded rotation, but they could use a chemistry kit for D’Antoni.”

No word yet from Lin’s mother, Shirley, on what might be the best fix. But she is poking around.

You can point to some ancillary factors – recent injuries to Tyson Chandler and Jared Jeffries, the team’s two best defenders; incorporating recently added rotation players Baron Davis and J.R. Smith; opponents now more aware of Lin’s tendencies – but here’s the bottom line: including playoffs, the Knicks are 26-36 when Anthony plays since acquiring him just over a year ago.

That’s 26-36 from a guy who was supposed to leading the Knicks to title contention. The honeymoon has been over for a while.

From Frank Isola of the New York Daily News: “Tyson Chandler spent most of the game standing on the sidelines barking out defensive instructions to his teammates, many of whom are either hard of hearing or just can’t defend. It wasn’t until the Knicks had arrived at the hour of desperation – down 15 with eight minutes – left that they finally obeyed the orders of their injured center and defensive leader. And it was too late. The Knicks’ frantic rally ultimately fell short, about as short as Carmelo Anthony’s fourth quarter air ball.”

The Knicks have been sleeping in hotels for a week. They flew home after Friday’s game and have a Saturday night back in New York before a noon start Sunday vs. Philadelphia. They lose an hour of sleep as the clocks go forward, which will not help given that they have to be at MSG by 10:30 a.m. This is not the time to catch up on the city’s nightlife scene, and it will be evident very early how they decided to spend the night.

Two days ago, we addressed in some detail the road woes of both the Lakers and Clippers. However, both teams wrapped up treks Friday with wins, catching a break when the opposing All-Star could not play.

The Lakers salvaged the finale of their three-game trip with a 105-102 victory over the Timberwolves, a team they have beaten 18 straight times. The task became much easier when Kevin Love – who had torched LaMarcus Aldridge, Blake Griffin and Aldridge again this week – was a late scratch with back spasms.

But the Lakers aren’t giving back the W, just their seventh on the road this season.

From Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register: “The Lakers needed more feel-good in their stories after what Kobe Bryant called “two embarrassing losses” in Detroit and Washington to start this trip. They wound up Friday night with Lakers coach Mike Brown praising their resolve and togetherness after they came from behind for a 105-102 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Lakers got sparks of defensive intensity from Metta World Peace and timely 3-point shooting from Derek Fisher. Those developments, plus Andrew Bynum’s 26 points and Kobe Bryant’s clutch free throws, helped them overcome a 14-point deficit.”

And from Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com: “Credit the Lakers for cranking up the energy in the second half and showing some fight in the Twin Cities. It was refreshing to see the comeback initially fueled with Kobe on the bench, who overcame a very difficult three quarters to make some big shots late. Bynum in particular was a second-half monster, continuously fed and eating like he had a tapeworm. And the defense, while still guilty of breakdowns, came through enough times to make a difference.”

Bryant’s go-ahead free throws with 16 seconds left came after he collided with Ricky Rubio, who left the game with a knee injury and did not return. Yahoo! Sports speculated a torn ACL, which seemed a bit premature but not out of the realm of possibility.

From Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune: Teammates helped rookie Ricky Rubio to the locker room at game’s end after he sustained what the team would only call a “left knee injury” with 16.4 seconds left, and they won’t exhale until Saturday, when Rubio’s knee will be further examined. Rubio didn’t talk to reporters after the game, and he was supported by a friend as he left the arena, but he tweeted later that he will have an MRI test on Saturday “to see how is my knee” and reveal if he damaged any ligaments. Rubio fell to the court clutching his knee in pain after he went to help stop Bryant, planted his foot and his knee appeared to buckle before he collided with Bryant, drawing a foul that sent Bryant to the free-throw line for the go-ahead shots from which the Wolves never recovered. He held his hands over his eyes seated on the bench while Bryant shot two free throws and the team’s athletic trainer examined that knee. He tried to walk a few steps during an ensuing timeout, couldn’t go much farther than that and then was helped off the court after the Lakers held on to win.”

Losing Rubio would be a crushing blow to the Wolves, who began the night holding the eighth and final playoff spot in the West. They host New Orleans on Saturday before a seven-game road trip that will undoubtedly define their season.

The Clippers also are returning to LA as winners, completing a 3-3 trip with a 120-108 win at San Antonio, which was without Tony Parker due to a strained quad. They ended a 17-game losing streak in the Alamo City that dated to Jan. 31, 2002.

From Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times: “Chris Paul and Mo Williams wouldn’t let the Clippers finish their six-game, 10-day trip as losers. Mo Williams and Chris Paul were not going to let the Clippers continue their losing ways against the Spurs when they play in San Antonio. No matter which order the two point guards were placed in, they were the primary forces behind the Clippers’ impressive 120-108 victory over the Spurs on Friday night at the AT&T Center. They combined to score more than half of the Clippers’ points, lighting up the Spurs’ backcourt by producing 69 points. Paul tied his season high with 36 points, Williams scored a season-high 33, and because of that the Clippers returned home with a 3-3 record on the trip. “It was more about this road trip, ending it on a good note,” said Paul, who also had 11 assists, four steals and just one turnover in almost 38 minutes. “Three and three sounds a lot better than 2-4, and we had lost two in a row. So going back home, we just needed to see what it felt like to win again. We’ve got a long flight back tonight so it makes the flight easier when we win.”   On busy nights, NBA League Pass airs only the home team’s feed of a game. That was disappointing, because the Clippers set a season high with 14 3-pointers – seven by Williams, three by Paul – which likely had announcer Ralph Lawler in a “Bingo!” frenzy.

According to Williams, the barrage wasn’t planned; it just kind of happened.

From Kevin Arnovitz for ESPNLosAngeles.com: “The most difficult thing to do in this game is to call things on the fly,” Williams said. “It was nothing that came from the sidelines. It was just basically, ‘I just hit a 3, okay, let’s get you another 3. That’s what we’re going to do.’ It was kind of like an eye contact.” In many respects, Williams is the Clippers’ totem. There isn’t so much a reason as a rhythm to his game. He doesn’t offer the Clippers much on the defensive side of the ball, and his role on the team is more fuzzy than defined. But give him enough space on the offensive end of the floor and he’ll occasionally win you a basketball game.”   The Clippers now play 11 of their next 14 games at home. The Lakers play nine of their next 14 at home. The Staples Center will be busy, starting with Sunday’s day-night doubleheader that has the Lakers hosting the Celtics and the Clippers entertaining the Warriors.

Elsewhere …

In one of the more stunning scores of the season, it was Cavaliers 96, Thunder 90 as Oklahoma City’s 14-game home winning streak came to an end. Kyrie Irving had 12 points, 12 assists and fueled a late 12-0 run as Cleveland simply out-executed Oklahoma City down the stretch. No one besides Kevin Durant scored in the last four minutes for the Thunder, who lost at home for the first time since Jan. 3.

Rick Carlisle is running out of super glue and rubber bands in trying to hold together the Mavericks, who were run out of the gym by the host Kings, 110-97. Dallas has lost six straight road games for the first time since Nov. 1999. Carlisle has dealt with a revamped roster, injuries, Dirk Nowitzki’s conditioning vacation, Lamar Odom’s homesickness and now Jason Terry’s hissy fit about playing time. The Mavs (23-19) fell to seventh in the West, even in the loss column with eighth-place Houston and just two games ahead of Portland, Phoenix and Golden State.

The 76ers gave long-time statistician Harvey Pollack a nice present for his 90th birthday with a 104-91 home win over the Jazz. Philadelphia has won consecutive games for the first time since Feb. 11-13. For all you whippersnappers, Pollack meticulously tracked all sorts of oddball stats such as jump balls won, dunks, four-point plays, etc. before they were in vogue and done electronically by sites such as 82games.com. They were made available in the Sixers’ media guide.

In their last home game until March 25, the Celtics absolutely annihilated the Trail Blazers, 104-86. It was 65-30 at halftime, when Portland had 17 turnovers against 12 baskets while surrendering runs of 22-0 and 12-0. Afterward, coach Nate McMillan called his team’s approach “unprofessional.” The Blazers are 0-2 on a seven-game trip that still has stops at Indiana, New York, Chicago and Oklahoma City. They have one road win since Jan. 20. Meanwhile, the Celtics begin an eight-game trip Sunday vs. the Lakers.

The recent fortunes of the Hornets have eerily coincided with some of this site’s posts. On March 15, I wrote a piece claiming David Stern had made a mess of the team, and New Orleans responded with its best stretch of the season, winning four of six entering the All-Star break. In Orlando, editor-in-chief Chris Sheridan went face-to-face with Stern on his veto of the Chris Paul trade, and the Hornets have lost six of seven, including a 110-97 setback at Denver, which is 5-1 since the break.

Tayshaun Prince made a short jumper with 24 seconds left and the Pistons held on for an 86-85 victory over the visiting Hawks. Detroit is 10-6 since a 4-20 start, a hot stretch that has coincided with Jason Maxiell replacing Ben Wallace as the starting power forward. Atlanta had a chance to win, but Joe Johnson – returning after missing six games with a sore knee – missed a contested 3-pointer. Josh Smith is still a Hawk, for now.

Five days after needing a franchise-record 57 points from Deron Williams to hold off the Bobcats, New Jersey defeated host Charlotte, 83-74, with zero points from Williams, who was a late scratch with a sore right calf. Picking up the slack was Charlotte native Anthony Morrow, who scored all 17 of his points in the final period. Bobcats coach Paul Silas let his son, assistant Stephen Silas, coach the team. He could let Red Auerbach coach this bunch and it wouldn’t make a difference.