(*T*M*C) Home, Sweet Home. It doesn’t get much better than the “World’s Most Famous Arena” on a Good Friday. The New York Knicks come in 25-10 at Madison Square Garden and have a 6-game winning streak. The Charlotte Bobcats land in NYC 6-29 on the road. Overall, the Bobcats are 17-54 and the worst team in the NBA. You talk about leading sheep to the slaughter. I give Michael Jordan all the credit in the world for making this expansion team, the train wreck that it is. Hard to believe 3 years ago Charlotte had it’s only winning season and playoff appearance thanks to players such as Tyson Chandler and Raymond Felton. With that said, the New York Knicks outlasted the Charlotte Bobcats 111-102.
JR Smith continues to be nothing short of phenomenal scoring 37 points(12-18 FGs, 2-2 3-PTs, 11-12). He was pivotal in the Knicks surviving that garbage Carmelo Anthony brought to the court last night. Most may look at the 32 points(9-10 FTs) and 11 rebounds as impressive but he shot 11-28 from the field which is 39.2%! Check your ego at the door, Melo! $20 million/year doesn’t mean carte blanche over the game! Raymond Felton tallied 18 points(7-11 FGs, 2-4 3-PTs, 2-2 FTs), 3 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists. For the Charlotte Bobcats, Gerald Henderson’s monster game went to waste as he dropped 35 points(9-16 FGs, 2-5 3-PTs, 15-17 FTs), 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Kemba Walker, 16 points(6-19 FGs, 1-5 3-PTs, 3-4 FTs), 8 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, 14 points(6-11 FGs, 2-2 FTs) and 8 rebounds. Ben Gordon, 12 points(4-9 FGs, 4-8 3-PTs).
6 minutes into the 1st Quarter and the Bobcats were who we thought they were trailing 21-8. The Knicks were 4-5 from downtown. Charlotte was 3-8 FGs, 3 turnovers and played atrocious defense. As the quarter came to a close, New York continued to dominate as they led 38-20. Anthony scored 13 points at the expense of Josh McRoberts. JR Smith flew off the bench with 9 points. Iman Shumpert enjoyed another hot 1st Quarter with 8 points. Raymond Felton was strong with 7 points. The Knicks shot 58% from the field.
2 minutes into the into the 2nd Quarter, Charlotte was 0-4 FGs with a turnover. After the first 6 minutes it was New York 17-Gerald Henderson 6. The Knicks had their biggest lead of 30 points, 58-28, at the 5:24 mark. From there the Bobcats snatched the momentum, went on a 19-11 spurt and cut the deficit to 69-37 at Halftime. JR Smith was magnificent with 15 points for New York. Gerald Henderson and Kemba Walker each had 9 points for Charlotte.
In the 3rd Quarter, the Knicks took a nap shooting 2-9 FGs and 3-4 FTs in the first 6 minutes, NY 76-CHA 58. The rest of the quarter looked as if both teams were content with mediocrity, NY 88-CHA 69. New York’s Carmelo Anthony leds all scores with 9 points. JR Smith produced 7 more points. Gerald Henderson kept on pushing with 7 points.
The Bobcats finally got off the plane to play in the 4th Quarter. Charlotte produced a quick 5 points at the 10:55 mark, NY 88-CHA 74. New York pushed back with a 6-0 run, NY 94-CHA 74. Bobcats had a 9-4 surge with 6 minutes remaining, NY 98-CHA 83. Charlotte crept a little closer with an 7-4 boost over the next 3 minutes, NY 102-CHA 90. New York continued to play with fire as the Bobcats carried a 5-0 run to the 1:15 mark, NY 102-CHA 95. The Knicks finally shut the door with a 7-2 spurt with 22 seconds, NY 109-CHA 97. JR Smith finished another brilliant performance with 7 points. Anthony & Felton each had 6 points. Charlotte’s Gerald Henderson soared with 14 points. Pargo, McRoberts and Gordon each dropped 6 points. New York has now won 7 straight games, a season high.
Head Coach Mike Woodson reflected with pride. “You’d like to win big when you’re up big. To me, a win is a win. We’re not closing out games as we should. It may be fatigue. I’ve guys playing a ton of minutes. We’re back to making shots like we did at the beginning of the season. Our spacing is nice but our defense is carrying us.” With the Brooklyn Nets getting blown out by the Denver Nuggets last night, the New York Knicks have increased their lead in the Atlantic Division to 3.5 games. The Boston Celtics, who are 7.5 games back, come in to Madison Square Garden on Sunday 3/31 and let’s hope they leave with a beating.(*T*M*C)
Written by Shelby Spencer
The Morning Crap 