But with 8:26 to play Porzingis was whistled for his fifth foul, sending him back to the bench. The rookie racked up 28 points and 11 rebounds as he nearly led the Knicks to victory over the San Antonio Spurs. He recorded a season-high 13 assists in Sunday’s loss to the Houston Rockets and is on pace to set a new career high in assists and assists per game. Anthony put up 29 points and 10 rebounds. Quite simply, he took over the game.
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In particular, Melo and Porzingis simply shot the lights out. He also had five assists.
“Teams like San Antonio, they execute”, he said. The latter decision was unorthodox, the coach knew, but he was sick of watching how Boston guarded the rookie in the first half. The young man showed a confidence and lack of hesitation that’s been slowly developing. Both teams traded tough shots in the final minutes. Since Christmas, Boston has the worst second half offensive rating in the league, so they needed that to change quickly. “And if Anderson failed to see 6’8”, 230-pound Anthony coming at him, what else did he fail to see?
The Knicks, allowing 95.2 points per game in their last five, led by 22 entering the fourth and won despite missing 17 from beyond the arc.
They didn’t have one to give up.
Isaiah Thomas had 34 points for the Celtics, who lost their fourth straight. “He controlled our team, controlled our offense, attacked their defense”.
Still, the Knicks fought and scrapped, and several of them repeatedly dove to the floor trying to rescue loose balls. The Celtics pulled ahead and even led late in the fourth, after Crowder knocked down a big three from the wing and drew a foul on another long-ball moments later. In fact, that rate is higher than Johnson’s free-throw percentage (.578) versus NY. AA finished 9-18 for 24 points in 40 minutes. The shot total is his lowest since that second year. Crowder hit two of three from the line for a 107-106 Boston lead.
Sam Vincent, 20th overall, 1985 – Vincent walked into a great situation with the superstar-laden mid-80s Celtics, but struggled to find his niche, averaging just 3.7 PPG over two years before being traded to Seattle before the 1987-88 season.
Other acquisitions such as Arron Afflalo, Robin, Lopez, and Derrick Williams have made significant contributions as well. They also sit only five games behind the division-leading Toronto Raptors-a distance certainly not insurmountable with 43 games remaining in the season.
The Knicks had no business winning that game Tuesday night, but they came together and figured out a way. It was a game that many people are saying helps remind us of the old-time Knick games.
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Surprise! Surprise! Grant hit a triple, two contested jumpers and a pair of complicated layups. Especially when it comes to playing with composure and poise down the stretch in close games.
