Recaps
Nueva York Loses Second Game in Five Days to the Brooklyn Nets
A huge third quarter propelled the Brooklyn Hipsters past Los Knicks in Jeremy Lin’s glorious return to MSG
Folks, the Knicks dropped another game to the Brooklyn Nets. Kristaps Porzingis sat out of this game, nursing a thigh injury he suffered in Tuesday night’s win over the Indiana Pacers. Brooklyn was missing a few guys like Trevor Booker and Archie Goodwin.
This game started out like most games with these New York Knicks: no defense. Derrick Rose was in usual form, meaning he was converting his looks efficiently on the offensive end, while allowing even more points on the defensive end. Jeremy Lin sliced and diced the Knicks in the first, getting to the hoop at will. If Lin was unable to convert, Brook Lopez would out-muscle Willy Hernangómez down low, inhaling any available rebounds and abusing Willy down low all throughout the contest.
Towards the end of the first quarter, and into the second, it seemed as though the Knicks finally hit their stride. The Knicks led for the duration of the second quarter, going up by as many as 11 points. Rose helped pace the team offensively out of the gates, aided by Kyle O’Quinn and Justin Holiday, who chipped in 10 and 8 points in the first half, respectively. It was an all-around team effort that paced the team early, but that all changed abruptly in the second half.
In a tale of two halves, the Nets lambasted the Knicks in the second act of this game. Brooklyn outscored the ‘Bockers 38–26 in the third quarter behind a flurry of three-pointers, hitting five treys in the frame. In addition to the 15 points from behind the arc, the Nets also bullied the Knicks in the paint, scoring 14 points inside the Garden’s blue paint.
A lethargic effort to open the fourth didn’t remedy the situation. Outside of Lance Thomas, Courtney Lee, and Kyle O’Quinn, none of the Knicks had the knack tonight.
Inevitably, the tank rolls onward.
The Good
- Lance Thomas: Lance finished with 15 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting tonight, and tossed in 10 rebounds for good measure. The stats are great, but the important thing here is that Lance, once again, was one of two or three guys who actually gave a damn tonight. His constant energy and presence on the defensive end, combined with his reliability on the offensive end, made for another great game in a chock stretch full of them for Thomas.
- Courtney Lee: Lee posted 13 points, but his constant movement on offensive is something that goes unappreciated most nights. Lee never demands the ball, much like Thomas, but always makes the most of his opportunities. Tonight was no different.
- Kyle O’Quinn: Big night from my fellow Kyle. O’Quinn posted a season-high 23 points (10-of-15 from the field), eight rebounds, three assists and a block for good measure. Kyle was one of three Knicks who showed up to play tonight.
- Derrick Rose (kind of): Rose finished with 22 points, and while that’s important, it’s worth noting he allowed at least that much on the defensive end. New York needed the firepower to stay in this game, and he provided a spark in the fourth quarter, scoring nine points in the final frame.
The Bad
- Carmelo Anthony: He just had a poor offensive night. Truth be told, he played one of his better games defensively tonight. He was a constant presence in the paint, blocking one shot, tipping a few passes and forcing a jump ball with Brook Lopez. He made some sound rotations on the blocks, which was encouraging. ‘Melo did manage to chip in six boards and five assists tonight, so it wasn’t all bad.
- Willy Hernangómez: It pains me to talk about my son this way, but man, did Willy get the crap kicked out of him tonight by Brook Lopez. Willy finished with a measly four points and six rebounds in 19 minutes, but the story was how much Lopez managed to box out, shove, and bully Willy for much of the night. Willy has work to do on the defensive end, but Brook simply outworked and out-muscled him tonight.
- Ron Baker: He just contributed nothing tonight. It was a limp, lifeless performance. He tried to do too much, forcing silly, hopeless shots near the rim. (Ron shot 20 percent from the field.)
- Derrick Rose and anyone who guarded an opposing PG tonight: This one likely goes without saying, but the Nets perimeter players kicked the crap out of the Knicks tonight. It was a parade marching into the lane and none of New York’s bigs were able to rotate in time. The issue was, even if the Nets didn’t convert, they were afforded 12 second chance opportunities by way of offensive rebounding.
Another game, another night where your hometown heroes were outworked by a talent-inferior team. The bad news is the Knicks still haven’t won back-to-back games since December. The good news is the tank rolls onward, gaining more momentum after dropping two games to the lowly Brooklyn Nets in the last week.
Next up for the Knicks: the team heads west to take on the Clippers in L.A. on Monday, March 20, at 10:30 PM ET.
— Kyle Maggio, senior writer
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