New York Knicks Live And Die By Carmelo Anthony

After an impressive victory in Boston on Wednesday, the New York Knicks fell short against John Wall and the Washington Wizards on Thursday, 113-110.

The New York Knicks rolled into TD Garden on Wednesday night and shocked the Boston Celtics by beating them without the help of Kristaps Porzingis and Joakim Noah. A day later, the Knicks welcomed the Washington Wizards to Madison Square Garden.

Unfortunately, the end result was yet another crushing loss for the Knicks.

This came on a night where Carmelo Anthony scored 25 points in the second quarter, setting a franchise record for the most points scored in a single quarter.

The Knicks came out in the second half and again struggled in the third quarter, getting outscored 34-19. However, the Knicks battled back in the fourth quarter with their second unit, and put themselves in prime position to steal a game at home.

Things were looking bleak for the Knicks until Porzingis brought the house down with this transition putback dunk that he always seems to time so well.

The Knicks were down 111-110 with under a minute left. Instead of continuing to run the pick-and-roll with Derrick Rose and Porzingis, Anthony opted for an isolation play.

Anthony settled for a tough jump shot, which led to John Wall’s breakaway dunk.

This play put the Knicks down 113-110 with one more possession to go.

Since Anthony knew his previous play was ineffective, he opted to pass up the final shot of the game and dish it to an open Courtney Lee, who didn’t take the shot.

Lee blamed Wizards assistant coach Sidney Lowe for yelling, “I got your help,” leading Lee to believe that it was a Wizards player on the floor.

In Lee’s defense, the Wizards should have absolutely been called for too many people on the court, as Lowe was literally standing right beside Lee and the referee.

Nevertheless, Lee had an open shot that he needed to take. Instead, the Knicks didn’t even get a shot up on the final play of the game.

A game that was 67-66 at halftime, and ended at 113-110, clearly shows a lack of defensive intensity. The Knicks continue to have poor third quarters, which forces them to exert more energy in the fourth quarter while trying to mount a comeback.

However, not every game is going to go perfectly in all facets. At the end of the day, the Knicks were in a position to win an important game against a postseason-caliber team and it came down to one thing.

Execution

The Knicks have lost eight games this season by five points or less. If you ask most Knick fans how much they confidence have in their team down the stretch, the results would be telling.

Last night’s game came down to Anthony.

On the second to last possession for the Knicks, Anthony took his defender one-on-one and attempted a tough fallaway jumper that resulted in a miss. Anthony is an elite scorer, but with the game on the line, opposing teams will take that shot every single time.

The whole point in putting players around Anthony is so that Anthony doesn’t have to take these hero shots at the end of games. Want to know who takes the final shot for the Golden State Warriors?

The open man.

Rose and Porzingis in the pick and roll opens up the floor, puts pressure on the defense, and more times than not, results in a high percentage shot.

On the final play, the ball was in Anthony’s hands again. This time, he had a great matchup, and drove past his man and into the paint. However, instead of shooting the ball, he made a pass to Lee in the corner for a potential game-tying three pointer.

Since Anthony forced the play in the prior possession, he was probably hesitant to take the shot he should have taken. Unfortunately, Lowe distracted Lee, forcing him to pass up the 3-pointer and pass the ball to Brandon Jennings, who was unable to get a shot off.

Anthony took a shot he wasn’t supposed to take, and made a pass he wasn’t supposed to make.

Head coach Jeff Hornacek can’t allow this hero-ball to continue to dictate the end of games. The Knicks are too talented on the offensive side of the ball to settle for Anthony’s isolation plays.

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The Knicks are now 19-25, 2.5 games back of the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference. If they want to make a playoff push, then they’ll have to execute better down the stretch and win the close games that have eluded them all season.

On a positive note, the Knicks welcomed Porzingis back into the lineup, as MRI results revealed no structural damage to his achilles tendon.

Once Porzingis can shake off the rust from his four-game layoff, the Knicks should be significantly better on both sides of the ball.

The Knicks host the 13-29 Phoenix Suns at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night—a game that the Knicks should dominate from beginning to end.

Except, there’s no such thing as a guaranteed victory for the Knicks. In fact, the last time these teams played one another, the Suns beat the Knicks in overtime, 113-111.

Must Read: Jeff Hornacek must proceed with caution with Kristaps Porzingis

Let’s hope the Knicks can avenge their loss to the Suns and get their 20th win.