Knicks Post-Game Notes: NY Wins in the Clutch

It was a close-fought game, perhaps closer than it should have been, but the New York Knicks managed to come through with a win over the Philadelphia 76ers, in Philly, for the first time since Allan Houston was in uniform.

The Knicks were down a few points in the 4th quarter with less than 4 minutes to go, but managed to get a series of defensive stops and a big “And 1” play from Wilson Chandler that helped the Knicks steal the win. Ultimately, it was David Lee’s layup off a Chris Duhon pick-n-roll that won the game with just 13 seconds left. Lee finished with 24 points and 9 rebounds, leading the way for a Knicks team that didn’t have their perimeter game going at all.

Here are my post-game notes on tonight’s game:

Jared Jeffries comes up big. – Jeffries scored a season-high 15 points against the 76ers, shooting 6 of 9 from the field, including his patented 3-pointer when the other team is completely ignoring him. He also pulled down 9 rebounds, had just 2 turnovers, and gave the Knicks an additional possession 6 occasions (4 offensive rebounds, 2 steals). Most importantly, Jeffries had a very crucial put-back during the last 3 minutes of the game that helped the Knicks overcome that late deficit.

Lee’s shot was finally going down. – Lee’s shot has been off for a few games now, but he did very well shooting from the outside in this game, hitting 2 big shots off the pick-n-roll during the final minutes. I’ve gotten bashed for saying this, but I really think he can be a Karl Malone-esque player. Obviously, he hasn’t had the point production that Malone had at this point in his career, but with that shot and his inside-scoring ability, he’s gong to be a pick-n-roll master for years to come.

Al Harrington got just 26 minutes? In an 8-man rotation? – Yes, it’s true. I don’t know what’s going on, but it doesn’t make sense that Harrington saw so few minutes. I hope this doesn’t turn into a Nate Robinson situation where Mike D’Antoni thinks keeping Harrington on the bench will serve as some kind of lesson. Personally, there’s rarely a time in the game in which either Danillo Gallinari or Wilson Chandler is a better option to have in the game than Harrington. So let’s get those minutes up, Mike, for the better of the team.

Bench was extremely weak tonight. – Had the Knicks lost this game, it would have been very easy to blame it on the bench. The Knicks brought 3 players off the bench and they combined for just 21 points, 17 of which were Al Harrington’s. Jonathan Bender and Nate Robinson combined for 24 minutes, 4 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists. Each player on the bench has a negative plus/minus ratio, for a total of -16. The Knicks bench nearly cost them this game.

Marreese Speights? Really? – I’m not sure why the Knicks couldn’t guard this guy. I guess it starts with the fact that David Lee’s defense is just horrible. Speights played just 9 minutes but scored 10 points on 4 shots, most of which occurred in the last few minutes of the game. Speights points in the paint almost prevented the Knicks from winning. If the Knicks want to continue winning, they are going to have to find a way to defend the paint against guys that are a lot better than Marreese Speights.

Great job on Andre Iguodala. – While the Knicks couldn’t defend Speights, their defense on Andre Iguodala was outstanding. Iguodala played 40 minutes and finished with just 4 points on 2 of 9 shooting. The matchup zone made it hard for Iguodala to get to the basket, and the Knicks flew guys at him when he had the ball on the perimeter. To Iguodala’s credit, he managed to get 8 assists on 0 turnovers, so the night wasn’t a total loss for them. But it’s safe to say that if you hold Iguodala to just 4 points, you probably have a good chance at beating the 76ers.

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