We could drone on and on in today’s roundup about what a huge victory it was yesterday for both Carmelo Anthony and the New York Knicks, being that this Web site is based out of the Big Apple.
But we shall spare you.
You know why the Knicks won Sunday in overtime? Three words:
Derrick Rose choked.
By my count, Rose is now 0-for-4 on game-deciding free throws in the final minute of the fourth quarter of Sunday afternoon ABC games, having gagged similarly a couple months ago when the Bulls played the Heat. He went to the line yesterday with 19 seconds remaining and the Bulls ahead by 3, and he missed both free throws. Anthony tied it with a clutch 3, then won it in overtime with another clutch 3.
In reality, Rose — not Anthony — is the primary reason why the Knicks are now technically ranked seventh in the East, sporting the same record as Philadelphia (29-27) but ahead of them in the rankings because they won the season series 2-1 over the 76ers. With the way the Sixers are self-destructing, the Knicks and Milwaukee Bucks might just back into the playoffs.
So enough about that.
You know where the real news is being made?
In the locker room and the adjacent’s coach’s office at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, where Gregg Popovich is either whimsically lucky or a psychotic genius for the way he has guided the Spurs to the top of the Western Conference standings with a winning streak that now stands at 11 following a 114-104 victory over the Utah Jazz.
Yesterday, Popovich pointed at Stephen Jackson and DeJuan Blair (who had been the only member of the team to start every game) and said “You’re not playing.”
After the game, somebody yelled to Manu Ginobili they’d see him when they got back from Utah, though Ginobili said he did not know if he was making the trip. (The teams have a rematch tonight).
Ginobili played with an unusual amount of abandon, saying he needs to get accustomed to some contact after avoiding it all season. (The Spurs have this thing about keeping Ginobili healthy. His ankle is only slightly stronger that Stephon Curry’s, and he went down in a meaningless Game No. 82 last season to help cause the 61-win Spurs to get bounced in the first round against Memphis.) Ginobili went to the line 15 times, made 14, and scored 23. Tony Parker was 10-for-10 from the line, Boris Diaw started used all six of his fouls in 24 minutes while making 4-of-5 shots and Tim Duncan added 13 points and 16 rebounds in the Spurs’ 28th win in 33 games.
This is the Spurs’ second 11-game winning streak of the season. Last time they had a chance to go for 12 in a row, Pop went into Portland, already without Ginobili and Tiago Splitter, and decided to rest Duncan and Parker. And they lost by 40 (!).
Tonight’s Spurs-Jazz rematch carries bigger implications for both teams. San Antonio (40-14) is percentage points ahead of Oklahoma City (41-15), but has played two fewer games. Utah is 10th in the conference, with three games in the loss column separating them from No. 6 Houston. They are entering must-win territory.
From Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News: “Though Popovich wouldn’t say, there is a good chance the Spurs’ Big Three might not even board the plane for tonight’s game in Utah. “None of your business,” Popovich offered, helpfully.”
Well done on the sarcasm, Jeff.
We now return to the events that transpired during the afternoon at Madison Square Garden.
As mentioned above, Derrick Rose choked in his first game back after missing a dozen.
From K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune: “The questions shifted from injury to insult, from the groin that sidelined him for 12 straight games to missed shots when the Bulls needed points the most. Derrick Rose finally returned to action Sunday afternoon, playing in his beloved Madison Square Garden. His performance featured as many ups and downs as Bulls fans experienced during the longest absence of his career. And when his baseline runner off a broken final possession in overtime rimmed harmlessly out, the Knicks had secured an improbable 100-99 victory. Carmelo Anthony’s 25-foot 3-pointer over Luol Deng with 8.2 seconds left provided the winning points, Anthony’s 41st, 42nd and 43rd of the matinee. The game-winner came following Rose’s eighth turnover and on a four-shot possession during which the Bulls couldn’t secure a rebound and Tyson Chandler eventually batted out J.R. Smith’s missed 3-pointer to set up Anthony. “It’s definitely tough,” Rose said.
It should not go unmentioned that Luol Deng also bricked a pair from the line with 34.1 seconds left, helping the Knicks come back from a 10-point deficit in the final 3:45.
Those two teams play again Tuesday night in Chicago, and Tom Thibodeau and Mike Woodson will not be pulling a Popovich. Chicago is battling Miami for the No. 1 seed in the East (2-game lead, with two Bulls-Heat games remaining), and New York will make the short trip to Milwaukee after playing the Bulls on Tuesday, going north to try to tie the season series against a Bucks team that has won four in a row heading into tonight’s home tilt against the Thunder, who will be on the second night of a back-to-back after they used a 24-0 run to defeat the Raptors 91-75.
But again, as we mentioned earlier, the Sixers are in such a freefall that they may just play their way out of the postseason after holding a big lead in the Atlantic for a majority of the season. They have sunk to a season-low in my weekly Power Rankings, which run every Sunday. Can’t wait to see what Heisler, who has Philly roots, says about them in his Wednesday rankings.
Bob Cooney’s lead in the Philadelphia Daily News: “On a day when many Christians around the world observed a resurrection, the 76ers’ offense remained lifeless. And their playoff hopes are nearing life-support condition.”
More from Cooney: “Approaching the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, the Sixers appeared to be submerging just as quickly. … In the second quarter, while many at TD Garden were busy checking their phones for the Masters leaderboard, the 76ers were scoring about as often as CBS’ coverage of the season’s first golf major goes to commercial. after a somewhat spry first 12 minutes in which they trailed by only three points, the Sixers got colder than the chilly Garden, and in a hurry. Though many shots were open, the Sixers didn’t make them, hitting just two of their first 14 of the second quarter – and one of them was a goaltending call. That three-point deficit grew faster than Tiger Woods’ Masters score, getting as high as 28. … The inconsistency that has plagued the Sixers lately reared its ugly head again Sunday. In the loss to Orlando on Saturday, reserves Thaddeus Young, Lou Williams and Jodie Meeks provided much of the offense, scoring 51 of the team’s 82 points. Against Boston those three combined to shoot 4-for-20 for 16 total points. “That’s sort of been the story,”(coach Doug) Collins said. “[Saturday] our bench scored 51 points and our starters couldn’t [do anything]. [Sunday] it was like our starters had some points and our bench couldn’t score.”
There were three other games Sunday, two of importance and a third that I got drawn into watching as Lester Hudson and Gerald Green went at it in Newark with Mikhail Prokhorov in attendance. The big Russian looked mighty pleased after the JuggerNets pulled out a 122-117 victory over Cleveland.
In the two games of importance:
- LeBron James scored 26 points and bench fixture James Jones scored 18 with six 3-pointers as Miami defeated Detroit 98-75. Jones had totalled 22 points in Miami’s previous 23 games. Miami played without Dwyane Wade for the 11th time this season. Wade sat out with right ankle soreness, which the team said was caused by an awkward landing on a missed dunk attempt against Memphis on Friday night. The Heat are now 10-1 when Wade is sidelined.
- Kyle Lowry played for the first time after missing 15 games with a bacterial infection that required hospitalization, coming off the bench for one point and seven assists in 18 minutes. His replacement, Goran Dragic, had 15 points and nine assists as the Houston Rockets won their third in a row, 104-87 at Sacramento. Kevin Martin’s replacement in the starting five, Courtney Lee, scored 25. The Rockets (6th) are now a half-game ahead of the Mavericks (7th) in the West.
Finally someone called out DRose for choking. The media likes him because they state he is humble..etc but it was glossed over that he missed the FT and choked where if the was LBJ it would lead every Sports channel and talk radio. DRose has a history of choking. He not only missed the FT he had several key turnover and let’s not look at the FG %…please it was a joke he got the MVP last year.
Also, how are the Knicks “backing into the playoffs”? They’ve won 12 of their last 15 games.
Why is it always choking and not playing bad? So every player who misses any shot in a close game choked? Trust me, I agree that most of the blame goes on Rose for yesterday’s loss, (8 turnovers, terrible shooting %), but he is also the main reason why they came back in the third. To me choking means the pressure got to him, which I don’t believe. If anything Rose accepts pressure and always meets it head on. He talks constantly of understanding the moment and he wants to be the guy who takes those shots. So while he had a terrible game I don’t think he choked, he just had a terrible game.