New York Knicks Fall To Los Angeles Clippers In Shootout

The New York Knicks took on the Los Angeles Clippers in a shootout on Feb. 8th. DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin stopped New York in its tracks.

The New York Knicks lost again in disappointing fashion on Wednesday, Feb. 8, dropping another home game, 119-115, to the Los Angeles Clippers.

The game had all the makings of a feel good home victory over one of the Western Conference’s premier contenders. The Clips were playing shorthanded without Chris Paul. Knicks legend Charles Oakley was in the house, and Kristaps Porzingis found his rhythm again.

Things didn’t go as planned. The Knicks were utterly dominated on the inside throughout the game.

Feb. 8 marked the one-year anniversary of the firing of former head coach Derek Fisher. At this point, the Knicks under Fisher held a 23-31 record. Entering Wednesday’s game against the Clippers, the Knicks held an eerily similar 22-31 record.

Carmelo Anthony continued to show remarkable resolve by playing his hardest. He scored 28 points, blocked two shots, and grabbed nine rebounds. He shot 50.0 percent from the field and made five of his six free throw attempts.

He also put Marreese Speights on skates in the third quarter.

Derrick Rose rounded back into form in his second game back from an ankle injury. He finished with a near triple double, recording 20 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds.

He was explosively attacking the rim and even hitting more mid range jumpers than usual, which is a great sign for the Knicks.

Kristaps Porzingis once again impressed, scoring 27 points and leading the team early in the game. He shot an efficient 4-of-7 from three and blocked two shots. Unfortunately, he still struggles with fouling and rebounding.

Porzingis needs to work harder on the glass for the Knicks to succeed after only gathering six boards in Wednesdays loss to the Clippers.

The difference came late in the fourth when Jamal Crawford proved he still is J-Crossover. He scored 20 points in the game and hit the two biggest shots of the night. New York was leading 111-109 with 1:41 to play and he converted an impressive turnaround jumper to tie the game.

10 seconds later, Crawford hit a dagger three-pointer in front of Anthony to give the Clips a 114-111 lead they would not relinquish.

DeAndre Jordan played like a man possessed, scoring 28 points, gathering 15 rebounds and blocking two shots. Jordan, a career 43.0 percent free throw shooter, even hit four free-throws in a row in second half.

He dominated the much smaller Knicks big men in the middle, working brilliantly off the ball with Blake Griffin.

Griffin controlled this game with 32 points, five assists, and eight rebounds. He also hit a game-clinching free throw that gave the Clips their four-point lead with five seconds left.

Griffin is showing the NBA world his playmaking ability that could push him up into the Top 10 players in this league. His ability to see the floor and handle the ball as a big man is perfect for today’s NBA, and he should be a hot commodity in free agency.

The Knicks battled, they fought, and they showed an urgency to win that embodies New York. They are fighting to make a playoff push and it’s respectable. They work hard night in and night out for the fans and for the love of basketball.

The fight is there, the only things missing now is the wins.

Must Read: Small forwards to keep an eye on in the 2017 NBA Draft

With a little luck and continuous effort from the Knicks, things may turn around in New York.