The New York Knicks jumped out to an early lead Sunday afternoon against the Phoenix Suns and while the Suns made it interesting at times, the big early lead was enough for the Knicks to improve to an outstanding 12-4 on the season.
Dec 2, 2012; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony (7) drives around Phoenix Suns shooting guard P.J. Tucker (17) during the fourth quarter at Madison Square Garden. Knicks won 106-99. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-US PRESSWIRE
New York jumped out by as many as 20 in this one and held off a late Suns charge to stay perfect at Madison Square Garden on the season.
The Knicks got the win despite playing without both Jason Kidd (back) and Marcus Camby (foot) and watched Raymond Felton injured his hand late, but no matter the combinations, the Knicks keep clicking.
Here’s a look at how each Knick graded out in the win.
Game Stats:
Field Goal Percentage– 44.4% (40-of-90)
Opponents Field Goal Percentage– 48.8 (39-of-80)
Three-point Percentage- 41.4% (12-of-29)
Opponents Three-point Percentage- 34.8 (8-of-23)
Free-throw Percentage- 82.4% (14-of-17)
Opponents Free-throw Percentage– 68.4% (13-of-19)
Rebounds- 45-43 (Knicks, -2)
Points in the paint- 38-30 (Knicks, -8)
Individual Grades:
Raymond Felton: (23 points, 10-of-17 shooting, seven assists, three rebounds) Felton was brilliant running the Knicks’ offense. He was good from the floor and knocked down 3-of-6 shots from behind the arc. The most impressive part was that he didn’t turn the ball over in a team-high 39 minutes. Grade: A-
Ronnie Brewer: (eight points, 3-of-8 shooting, four rebounds, two steals): Brewer wasn’t bad. He knocked down a few shots and did a decent job defensively. But Phoenix crept back into the game several times and shot almost 49 percent from the floor. The Knicks better defenders have to step up and defend better. Grade C+
Carmelo Anthony: (34 points, 11-of-27 shooting, four rebounds, two assists, one block): ‘Melo was great as usual, but he wasn’t as efficient from the floor and I would like to see the rebound and assist numbers go up, but regardless it was a typical MVP-type performance. Grade: A-
Dec 2, 2012; New York, NY, USA; Phoenix Suns point guard Sebastian Telfair (31) drives past New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler (6) during the fourth quarter at Madison Square Garden. Knicks won 106-99. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-US PRESSWIRE
Kurt Thomas: (two points, 1-of-3 shooting, six rebounds) Thomas played 19 minutes and did a good job on the glass. He also did a good job on Luis Scola and Michael Beasley. Grade: B-
Tyson Chandler: (15 points, 6-of-8 shooting, 13 rebounds, two blocks): Chandler has been great lately. He’s shooting a high percentage from the floor and has been more involved offensively. In addition, this one of his better performances crashing the glass all season. Grade: A-
Rasheed Wallace: (one minute played) Two technicals in one minute just doesn’t cut it. He can’t hang his teammates out to dry like that. Grade: F
Steve Novak: (12 points, 4-of-10 shooting) Novak did what Novak does- drain three’s. He hit four more big ones on Sunday. Grade: B
Chris Copeland: (eight points, 4-of-5 shooting, three rebounds, two assists, one steal, one block) Because of the Wallace ejection, Copeland got 10 minutes of playing time and filled the stat sheet. Some decent performances of late could earn Copeland some more playing time. Grade: B+
Pablo Prigioni: (no points, 0-1 shooting, one rebound, one steal) Prigioni wasn’t nearly as effective as he was against the Bucks and received only nine minutes of playing time and turned the ball over three times in that span. Not his best day. Grade: D+
J.R. Smith: (four points, 1-of-11 shooting, five rebounds, four assists) It keeps getting uglier and uglier for Smith, but he made an impact rebounding and passing the ball. Grade: C-
Jason Kidd: DNP (back spasms)
Marcus Camby: DNP (sore left foot)
James White: DNP (Coach’s Decision)
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