The Empire Strikes Back

The Knicks went across the Brooklyn Bridge tonight, to take on their the crosstown rival Brooklyn Nets. This was the second matchup between the two teams this season. The last time these two teams met, the Knicks ran out of gas in OT, while the Nets cruised to a 98-86 victory. Last time the Knicks were shorthanded not having Jason Kidd. This time the Nets were the ones shorthanded without Brook Lopez. The Knicks got off to a terrible start. Every shot was a brick, and defense was playing poorly. The Nets got off to a great start, and at one point led the game 21-7. It looked like it was going to be all Brooklyn again at the Barclays Center. After the first quarter, the Nets were up by 14 leading 30-16. Then, the Knicks, defending the empire known as New York City, began to fight back.

Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks in the second quarter to get back into the fight. He closed the first half with 22 points and the Knicks were down by 4, trailing 53-49. For the rest of the game, the lead went back and forth. The Nets began to pull away, and the Knicks did their best to keep the Nets from going past 10 points. The game was tied at 97 with the clock ticking away it's final seconds. Jason Kidd, the former Nets star, sank a go ahead 3 pointer with 24 seconds left, and had a chance to make its four point game after he was fouled. He missed, but the Nets could not match it in the final seconds and the Knicks got their revenge with a 100-97 victory over the Brooklyn Nets. After the first quarter, the Knicks out scored the Nets 84-67. Carmelo Anthony, who lit up the Barclays Center, dropped 45 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. Jason Kidd, the game hero, had 18 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists. off the bench, JR Smith led the way with 16 points, 4 rebounds, and an assist. On the other side of the Brooklyn Bridge, Deron Williams and Joe Johnson had 18 and 16 points respectively. The lead scorer for Brooklyn was Andray Blatche who had 23 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals.
The Knicks victory even the season series against Brooklyn, and extends their record to 16-5 on the season. The next time these two team play it will in the worlds most famous arena, Madison Square Garden.

Keep Calm and Carry On

The way the last two victories came about seem to be a bit topsy turvy. A 2 point victory against Charlotte, and a 20 point victory against Miami. The Knicks had to go the distance with the Charlotte Bobcats, but thanks to good ol' JR Smith's buzzer beater fadeaway, the Knicks were able to walk out of Charlotte with a win. Carmelo had 23 points against the Bobcats, but began losing his touch in the second half. After Carmelo hurt his left hand in the second half, he sat out the rest of the game, leaving it up to the rest of the team to come through. Tyson Chandler once again did his part, with 18 points and 17 rebounds. Raymond Felton also pitched in with 17 points. Charlotte's Kemba Walker had 25 points The hero on Wednesday night was JR Smith. Smith once again proved the the Knicks can put up a fight when the stars are cold or hurt. He only had 13 points, but made a key steal that gave the Knicks a second chance after Felton missed a go ahead free throw. Smith off the inbound, drove in and hit a 18 ft fadeaway to seal the deal against Charlotte. As great of a victory it was, it came with the price of having Carmelo Anthony having to sit out Thursday night against, the Miami Heat.

It was the New York Knicks going up against the defending champion Miami Heat in South Beach. Carmelo was in a suit, due to his injured finger. The Knicks proved they could run without their star player, matching Miami basket by basket. Toward the end of the first half, Miami looked to pull away leading by 8, but great defense, ball movement, and finding Steve Novak wide open for two key three pointers the Knicks managed to tie the game at 50. Both teams were tied at 53 at the beginning of halftime. The Knicks came out with fire. They continued where they left off at the end of the first half and went 5 for 7 from three point range. The Miami fans blinked, and the Knicks were up by 9. The three point line had the Knicks feeling like kids in a candy store. It was eight threes in eight minutes, or how Knick fans put it......beautiful. The Knicks had the lead the rest of the game, despite Miami trying to fight back. for the second time this season, the Knicks defeated the Miami Heat, and once again, beat the defending champs by 20. Without Carmelo Anthony, this proved to be a huge win for the Knickerbockers. Raymond Felton had a career high 27 points, and also recorded 7 assists and a pair of steals. Tyson Chandler and JR Smith both had 13 points, and Chandler led the team with 9 rebounds. Steve Novak, who was one of the five players that helped reign threes in South Beach, had 18 points. On the other side of the floor, LeBron James played like LeBron James, putting up 31 points,10 rebounds, 9 assists, and 3 steals. The Knicks limited Dwayne Wade to 13 points, Chris Bosh to 12, and offseason pickup Ray Allen with 9. These were two good victories for the Knicks. They showed they can still get the job done without their superstars. So if your a Knicks fan, keep calm and carry on.

Brook lyn divided

First let me start off by saying it been great that both NY teams off to a terrific start. Now I don't know about about the rest of New York City or North Jersey, but tonight the borough of Brooklyn was divided. It's the first time in 55 years that Brooklyn has a pro team to cheer for, but what about the loyalty many Brooklynites have to the Knickerbockers? Whether its Brooklyn love, or Knick loyalty, it put Brooklynites, like myself in a tough spot tonight. The matchup in the Barclays Center made the seats look like the subway series, wherever you went it was either black and white, or blue and orange. Tonight, the game could have gone either way. One problem the Knicks had entering tonight's game was Jason Kidd, who was out with back spasms. When the Nets had chances to pull away, the Knick remained tough keeping it a one possession game. The 4th quarter buzzer went off with the score being tied at 84. Melo missed a potential game-winning jumper that could have ended the game. The game was great and exciting to watch.......till overtime.

The Knicks performance in OT was nothing like the previous 46 minutes, it was the complete opposite. It started off with Ronnie Brewer getting hurt with a dislocated finger before the end of regulation. Brooklyn's Jerry Stackhouse hit a go ahead three with 3:31 left in OT to give the Nets a lead and helped start Brooklyn's run to control the game. Carmelo, who had an impressive 35 points, 13 rebounds, and a block tonight, had only 1 point in OT. Tyson Chandler did what he could tonight scoring a career high 28 points, and also had 10 rebounds. Jason Kidd's injury left the Knicks no choice but to keep a cold Raymond Felton in the game. Felton was just 3 for 19 from the field, despite leading the team with 5 assists and 3 steals. What I believe personally hurt the Knicks tonight was their foul shooting. Melo was just 10 for 16 from the line. If any of those 6 baskets were made, then maybe the Knicks could have won in 4 quarters, instead of fading in 5. As a team the Knicks finished 17-24 from the line while their counterparts finished 13-19. On the other side of the Brooklyn bridge, Brook Lopez, who is off to a great start this season, led the Nets with 22 points and had 11 rebounds, while Nets superstar Deron Williams had 16 points, 14 assists, and 6 rebounds. Overall, the Nets came out in OT and moved the ball well to get some quick points in the paint, and on the outside. There defensive rebounding kept the Knicks from getting back in the game and that's why Brooklyn won the game tonight. An impressive win in what is going to be one of the biggest rivalries in NBA history.

Both teams are now 9-4 and so far have some of the best records in the Eastern Conference, and they will meet again in the same arena December 11th. And last but not least, I'll close with this, if your a Knicks fan from the BK think of it like this, if the Knicks won Knicks win, and if the Nets won, Brooklyn wins, you couldent lose ;).

Phew......6-0

         I'm glad to say this is my first post for the Knicks, hopefully I can keep up to date with as the season progresses.  Let's just say that tonights win against the San Antonio Spurs is another great win to a great start on the Knicks 2012-2013 campaign.  They earned the victory tonight, and it's an opponent they can be proud to earn the W against tonight.  I mean the victory against Miami was great.  Limiting the defending champs under 40 points in the second half, having Melo drop 30 and have 10 rebounds, or getting help from the bench to knock off the defending champs 104-84.  Although the victories against Philly and Dallas were good, both those teams had key players out, Andrew Bynum and Jason Richardson out for the Sixers, and Dirk out for the Mavs.  But tonight the Knicks had a real test in front of them, San Antonio, one of the powerhouses in the Western Conference.  All healthy, 7-1, and eager to put a 1 in the Knicks L column.  At one point, Knicks fans were wondering was this the night their team would lose.  After the third quarter, where both teams had their lowest scoring quarters, Knicks fans were certain that the Spurs had them beat, but the Knicks kept fighting and with 7:14 left in the game, down 89-77, mounted a huge comeback.  The Spurs kept Melo on bay, and late on the game thought he would try to be the "hero" late in the game, but the Knicks were able to move the ball around and off season pick up Jason Kidd came though with three huge three pointers to get back in the game.  The Knicks managed to win the game tonight 104-100.  

        This victory is not significant because San Anton is good, or it's the first Knicks victory in San Antonio since 2003, or the fact that the Knicks were able to come back and remain undefeated, no, it's because on a night when your star player, Carmelo Anthony, comes out, get locked down by the spurs  puts up only, 9 points, the rest of the team stepped forward tremendously with the offence.  Tonight Raymond Felton started the late rally, and finished with 25 points, Jason Kidd put up 14, and hit 4 out of 6 fom behind the arc. Interestingly enough, no one realizes this is the first time this season the Knicks allowed their opponent to break the 100 mark, and it's the first victory this season by a single digit margin. For my first ever blog I hope this was good. I will try to get have a follow up after tomorrows game against the Grizzlies. Hopefully it's another positive result. Once again Knicks over the Spurs 104-100. And remember.......GO NY GO NY GO