by 3C on Sun Apr 09, 2006 8:28 am
NY @ SA (120-117) W
It was nothing more than a fourth quarter rally and good play to hold the lead that helped the Knicks defeat the current NBA champions for a second time. The Knicks entered the fourth quarter with a double digit deficit, foul trouble from key players (Mek, Curry, Francis & Robinson) and very low confidence. The quarter started with both teams trading baskets and the Spurs frustrating the Knicks into more foul trouble. It was the bench in form of Crawford (good passing, hitting open shots and surprisingly his ability to get to the free throw line), Salim Stoudamire (good passing and good shooting as well as a surprising ability to penetrate the lane) & LaFrentz (his good shooting and defensive plays downlow) that really sparked the run for the Knicks. The Spurs kept it close through Duncan who seemed to always score despite Mek and Curry, Tony Parker with his pin point passes and Bruce Bowen who seemed to rain threes. The Knicks were able to intercept slow passes and made many of their fourth quarter points through fast breaks, steals and defensive rebounds. Q-Rich was the player of the game with 29 points and 10 rebounds (Double double). Larry Brown although happy with the win expects such fourth quarter play through out the entire game, he expects the team to start early to build consistency just despite all the changes taking place. The Knicks will look to add to their two game winning streak when they face the Golden State Warriors in six days time.
Major Knicks' Players
Q. Richardon: 29pts, 10reb, 4ast & 2stl
S. Stoudamire: 15pts & 1ast
E. Curry: 14pts, 15reb
S. Francis: 12pts, 7ast, 4stl & 2reb
J. Crawford: 10pts, 6ast & 1reb
N. Robinson: 9pts, 5ast, 2reb
E. Okafor: 8pts, 10reb & 2blk
The Spurs started off strong for the first three quarters out scoring the Knicks in all but the third quarter. Duncan torched the Knicks downlow despite all efforts from Curry and Mek to contain him. Ginobili was held to ten points of 4/10 shooting. Parker did a nice job of passing the ball and dictating the Spurs offense. Bowen nailed four three point shots during the fourth quarter to keep the Spurs within contention but all to no avail as they fell short as the Knicks clinched a very close victory from the NBA champs. The Spurs failed to continue attacking despite NY's fourth quarter come back. They (Spurs) need to learn to attack all four quarters of the game to seal a victory not build a lead and hope to hang to it.
Major Spurs' Players
T. Duncan: 35pts, 13reb, 3ast & 2stl
T. Parker: 21pts, 9ast, 5reb & 1stl
B. Bowen: 18pts, 5reb, 3ast & 2stl
N. Mohammed: 14pts, 11re & 2blk
M. Ginobili: 10pts, 4ast, 3stl & 2reb
M. Finely: 10pts & 3reb
Next game preview (and possibly recap) will be posted tomorrow or in the following week at the latest. Keep reading.
3C