Peja4threee
G-League
January 5, 2005 -- The Knicks just can't beat the elite. And now tonight, it's the Heat.
From whatever angle you view last night's game, the Knickerbockers simply didn't do enough good things against Sacramento, falling behind 16 points in the second quarter and then fading down the stretch of a 105-98 loss to the Kings.
A futile third-quarter comeback and some exceptional individual performances by Stephon Marbury, Allan Houston and Nazr Mohammed went to waste, and the suddenly reeling squad must face Shaquille O'Neal tonight in Miami.
So much for momentum. It's a frustrating trend for a 16-15 team that's yearning to topple the big boys.
But Houston is trying to stay positive. "Nothing is guaranteed in this league," Houston said after turning in his best performance this season. "Just because it's Miami . . . doesn't mean it's a loss.
"If we go in and we play and we pay attention to our game plan, we do what we're supposed to do, we could get a win."
It didn't happen last night. Mohammed (22 points, 11 rebounds) stepped up over 39 minutes because Michael Sweetney sprained his right ankle in the first quarter and did not return, and because Kurt Thomas found himself in constant foul trouble. X-rays on Sweetney were negative, but the young big man is listed as day-to-day.
Although Houston scored seven of his 21 points in the fourth, Marbury vanished in the final 12 minutes after pouring in 17 of his team-high 26 points to spark a third-quarter resurrection. He scored one fourth-quarter point.
And so, the Knicks are 0-2 in the "post-boast" era, losing to New Jersey and now Sacramento after Marbury's unsolicited claim that he's the best point guard in the NBA. Coach Lenny Wilkens tried to cover for Marbury by claiming he hadn't run out of gas, but Marbury admitted otherwise.
"We adjusted well, but it was kind of too late," Marbury said. "We exerted so much energy in the third quarter that in the fourth quarter, we couldn't put forth the same energy."
The Knicks trailed 98-95 after Thomas' 18-footer with 1:35 remaining, but the Kings pulled away. Chris Webber (22 points) hit jumpers of 20 and 18 feet that iced the game.
There were some questionable calls both on Thomas and on Mohammed, who was charged with a turnover after Maurice Evans ran into his backside after a rebound with 5:00 remaining. Wilkens was incensed by the call, but his team squandered opportunities after that because of a disjointed offense.
After team president Isiah Thomas gave a pregame thumbs-up to Marbury's boast that he was the best of the bunch, the point guard came out with a mundane first half. His teammates played dead during a 12-0 Sacramento run to open the second, falling behind 50-34 with 3:07 left before the break.
But in the third, Marbury drove the hoop and used deadeye 7-of-10 marksmanship to help erase a 56-43 halftime ditch. The Knicks led by four late in the third before the Kings went on an 8-0 run. They never trailed during the fourth.
"They've been together for a long time," Houston said. "They are one of the toughest teams to defend in the NBA."
http://www.nypost.com/sports/knicks/37820.htm
From whatever angle you view last night's game, the Knickerbockers simply didn't do enough good things against Sacramento, falling behind 16 points in the second quarter and then fading down the stretch of a 105-98 loss to the Kings.
A futile third-quarter comeback and some exceptional individual performances by Stephon Marbury, Allan Houston and Nazr Mohammed went to waste, and the suddenly reeling squad must face Shaquille O'Neal tonight in Miami.
So much for momentum. It's a frustrating trend for a 16-15 team that's yearning to topple the big boys.
But Houston is trying to stay positive. "Nothing is guaranteed in this league," Houston said after turning in his best performance this season. "Just because it's Miami . . . doesn't mean it's a loss.
"If we go in and we play and we pay attention to our game plan, we do what we're supposed to do, we could get a win."
It didn't happen last night. Mohammed (22 points, 11 rebounds) stepped up over 39 minutes because Michael Sweetney sprained his right ankle in the first quarter and did not return, and because Kurt Thomas found himself in constant foul trouble. X-rays on Sweetney were negative, but the young big man is listed as day-to-day.
Although Houston scored seven of his 21 points in the fourth, Marbury vanished in the final 12 minutes after pouring in 17 of his team-high 26 points to spark a third-quarter resurrection. He scored one fourth-quarter point.
And so, the Knicks are 0-2 in the "post-boast" era, losing to New Jersey and now Sacramento after Marbury's unsolicited claim that he's the best point guard in the NBA. Coach Lenny Wilkens tried to cover for Marbury by claiming he hadn't run out of gas, but Marbury admitted otherwise.
"We adjusted well, but it was kind of too late," Marbury said. "We exerted so much energy in the third quarter that in the fourth quarter, we couldn't put forth the same energy."
The Knicks trailed 98-95 after Thomas' 18-footer with 1:35 remaining, but the Kings pulled away. Chris Webber (22 points) hit jumpers of 20 and 18 feet that iced the game.
There were some questionable calls both on Thomas and on Mohammed, who was charged with a turnover after Maurice Evans ran into his backside after a rebound with 5:00 remaining. Wilkens was incensed by the call, but his team squandered opportunities after that because of a disjointed offense.
After team president Isiah Thomas gave a pregame thumbs-up to Marbury's boast that he was the best of the bunch, the point guard came out with a mundane first half. His teammates played dead during a 12-0 Sacramento run to open the second, falling behind 50-34 with 3:07 left before the break.
But in the third, Marbury drove the hoop and used deadeye 7-of-10 marksmanship to help erase a 56-43 halftime ditch. The Knicks led by four late in the third before the Kings went on an 8-0 run. They never trailed during the fourth.
"They've been together for a long time," Houston said. "They are one of the toughest teams to defend in the NBA."
http://www.nypost.com/sports/knicks/37820.htm
