The best thing about this game was that we get to play tomorrow night and erase this mess. Of course the Phoenix Suns play the Cleveland Cavaliers and LeBron James. That won't be too easy, but the victory will be all the sweeter.
There are a lot of different reasons for this loss. I'm not going to go through it all, but I'll tell you, when you give up 71 first half points, you aren't playing good basketball.
The Knicks seemed to make nearly everything they hoisted up tonight. The trio of Al Harrington, David Lee, and Danilo Gallinari went a combined 28-46 (73 points). Even more disheartening was Jared Jeffries, who finished with a +30.
UGH
The Suns were never in this game, giving up 39 points in the first period. It was if they were playing, like, the Suns or something. I t was enough for Danil Gallinari to gush: "I think we are a great team with many offensive weapons."
Well, let's not overdo it, Danilo. The Suns helped out by shooting 23% from three point range (4-17), getting out rebounded 40-50, and turning the ball over 17 times.
Another bad sign for your team is when you allow Larry Hughes 11 points, 12 assists, 6 rebounds, and 4 steals.
The Bright Side:
- Alando Tucker showed some life in garbage time, scoring 14 points and looking pretty aggressive. He must want to stay in the NBA
- Earl Clark got some quality time and made a few shots
- ROLO went 7 and 5 in garbage time as well.
- Nash went for 20 and 8
Ah, who am kidding? There wasn't much bright about this. Losing to a 3-14 squad, losing to your former coach, not really playing inspired basketball, not making many shots, etc. I could start pointing fingers or pushing panic buttons, but I won't. Every now and again Amare Stoudemire will have as many turnovers as rebounds, Dragic will go 0 for everything, the defense will allow a team to make 14 three pointers, and collectively, simply not show up. Let's breathe here, let's accept the fact the Suns will get "Fat and happy" from time to time.
Remember, it's an 82 game season.
Oh, and, let's give a little credit to the Knicks, they did what they had to do to win.
On to Cleveland, people.....
Highlights er, lowlights:
Links
- Recap
- Posting and Toasting
- Suns vs Knicks boxscore
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SUNS: Postgame Quotes: Suns vs Knicks, December 1, 2009
We didn’t play hard tonight, we got out-played, out-hustled – [we] didn’t deserve to win. Maybe we took them [Knicks] a little lightly, but you still have to play hard. They got all the loose balls, offensive rebounds. Obviously they made some shots and you take your hats off when shots are made but it’s all the layups and hustle plays and not getting back on defense that kill you. They just played harder than we did. We’re embarrassed and have to pick ourselves up. Not a whole lot to say tonight. - Nash - I feel just like Bill Belichick felt last night. I think we were out-coached, we were out-played and we were out-hustled. It’s one of those games where I just didn’t think we played real well. I don’t want to take away anything from the Knicks because I think they played hard. I think they had a good game plan and they made shots. You can see what they’re capable of doing when they’re making shots and their offense flows well. They out-played us but it’s one game. We didn’t play real well and I’m disappointed. It’s not a very good feeling. - Gentry
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Surprising Knicks dismantle Suns- AZ Central.com
It was D'Antoni, the coach criticized so often for a lack of devotion to defense, who helped the 3-14 Knicks, who ranked 28th in the NBA in defense, become the first team to hold the Suns below 100 points this season. The Knicks demolished the Suns 126-99 at Madison Square Garden, ending Phoenix's four-game win streak. -
Knicks 126, Suns 99 - Posting and Toasting
Phoenix, meanwhile, played the part of the home team, flubbing easy plays and exerting very little effort en route to their first sub-100-point output of the season. The Knicks' best stuff and the Suns' worst just happened to coincide, and I must say it was positively exquisite.