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Knicks Hold On
Gilbert Arenas' 30 point effort couldn't get it done tonight against a tough New York Knicks squad. Tonight was the first game that New York decided to play without Carmelo Anthony, their star studded starting small forward. Stephon Marbury and company looked more comfortable on the court, while Anthony looked uncomfortable in his tux on the sidelines. Carmelo was seen booing Marbury when Stephon hit a 3 in the late stages of the 1st half. Allan Houston was cleared to play and made the game time decision to start. He started at SG and played well, producing 19 points (5/10) in 21 minutes. After the game he tripped on a banana peel that Carmelo had mischievously placed on the locker room floors. Houston will be put back on the IL for at least 3 weeks. Let's get to the game.
In the 1st quarter Houston was playing like his old self, knocking down the outside jumper at ease. His quick shot making forced Larry Hughes to play him on the outside, spreading out the court. This allowed Marbury to take Arenas one-on-one, which he was able to do successfully. 1 play that showed the significant difference between what Houston can do and what Carmelo could do was when Marbury got past Arenas to drive to the hoop, pro-hopped inside the paint, and made a beautiful behind the back pass to a wide open Allan Houston who knocked down the trey. At the end of the quarter the score was 25-22 for New York. The 2nd quarter was an even higher scoring quarter, in which the Knicks had a season high 31. Marbury had 4 assists in the quarter, and Boykins scored 9. Every Knick was shooting the ball well from outside and ball movement was excellent. That's something that never happened with Carmelo on the floor. At the end of the half the score was 56-38 New York, as they took clear control of the game. The players at the half were Kurt Thomas (7 points, 10 rebounds) and Gilbert Arenas (13 points, 2 rebounds).
Midway through the 3rd quarter Gilbert Arenas hit a long contested 3 that would start a 12-0 Wizards run. An 18 point lead was shot down to 6, 74-69, with a minute remaining in the 3rd. Tim Thomas came in and hit a crucial 3 which put New York up by 9. Washington came within 6 again at 85-79 with 4 minutes remaining in the last quarter, but they never got closer then that. Marbury iced the game at the FT line as he got intentionally fouled 5 times in the remaining 1:05. He was 12/12 from the charity stripe in the game. The Knicks seemed to play better without Anthony which is a good sign for Joe Johnson, Michael Redd, and Stephen Jackson fans.
New York goes to 7-12 and is trying to climb back towards the top of the Atlantic and a .500 record. They are still out of the playoffs but only a month has gone by and there is plenty of time for a playoff push. Gilbert Arenas led all scorers with 30 points, but Washington's other stars Larry Hughes and Antawn Jamison only combined for 21. Allan Houston was Herb William's personal MVP of the game, as he opened up the court and knocked down key jumpers. Houston would be the perfect SG in the Knicks lineup but his injury prone knee destroys his dependability. Knick fans should pray for the best from the banana peel incident and hope he comes back by the All Star Break.That's wet.
FendeR` wrote:I like the way you showed the league leaders and MVP candidates, nice pictures. I'd recommend putting the names above the pictures of the MVP candidates though (even though they are recognizable players, I think it'd be best, great format nonetheless).
Just kidding. Michael Redd will not be progressing beside Stephon Marbury.
There is a conflict regarding Joe Johnson's and Maurice Taylor's jersey numbers. Both wear the #2, and one player will have to give up their number. Neither player has budged so far, and so we are asking our audience and Knick fans to give us their advice. Who should change their number and what should it be changed to?
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