What If...? | NYK 1999-2000: We Still Believe

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kibaxx7
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What If...? | NYK 1999-2000: We Still Believe

Post by kibaxx7 » 11 Aug 2019, 22:45

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  • Four days of rest, and the Knicks never missed a beat.

    New York used a 54-26 lead in the paint to thump the Golden State Warriors at Madison Square Garden, 95-73. Latrell Sprewell led with 22 points and Allan Houston posted 17, five boards and a season-best eight assists. "I'm just doing what I do every game," said Sprewell, who made just 9-of-22 shots but registered four rebounds, three assists and five steals. "I'm just playing my game and I pride myself in being the best basketball player I can." The Knicks never trailed en route to their sixth win in a row and eighth in their last ten games, pulling away for good midway through the second period; after a Larry Hughes midrange jumper drew the Warriors within 24-21 with 2:40 left in the first, six different Knicks scored in a 14-6 run that bridged the two quarters, pushing the advantage to 38-27. The Warriors cut it to a 6-point game, 42-36, but a 14-5 spark erased any chance of a turnaround. "We've had four days to prepare. We felt confident,'' said Houston. "We always want to be aggressive, go inside and get easy looks. We wound up controlling the game early.''

    The Warriors, winners of three straight before tonight, were able to grab 16 offensive rebounds but failed to replicate that in the final score, shooting just 34 percent from the field and 27 percent from 3-point territory. Hughes and Donyell Marshall had 14 points each, with Antawn Jamison notching in 13 and 11 rebounds. "We didn't provide much resistance," said Marshall. "The Knicks are starting to play at a high level. They are starting to really play." After a 26-point, 7-assist statline in the previous match between the teams in October, Mookie Blaylock shot 2-of-14 for a season-low five points; Hughes, Jamison and Blaylock combined to shoot 4-of-20 from beyond the arc. "We've got some work to do," said Golden State head coach P.J. Carlesimo. "They scored inside, we didn't. They took care of the ball, we didn't. We couldn't make our long range shots and that gave us no chance." The Warriors played without Chris Mills, suffering from plantar fasciitis; to make matters worse, Adonal Foyle was sent crashing to the floor by Marcus Camby on a blocked attempt in the third and didn't return -- he had five points and eight boards.

    "When they start yelling at you to shoot, you better shoot," said Larry Johnson, who had perhaps his best game of the season with 14 points and was 7-of-9 from the field. "I told him to shoot every time I throw it to him," Houston joked. Patrick Ewing added 14 of his own and 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the campaign, as seven Knicks were able to block shots and the team had ten; three by Camby and two by Ewing. Camby and Chris Childs tallied eight and six points, respectively, as reserves, as the Knicks closed the evening with a 7-0 run -- leading by as much as 26. "We are on a groove right now," said Childs. "Hopefully we can keep racking up victories." The hosts close their four-game homestand this Sunday by hosting the up-and-coming Toronto Raptors (8-4), winners of four in a row, before flying to Washington (5-8) and Dallas (7-6) to play back-to-back away contests on Tuesday and Wednesday.
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× The Life and Times of Tanjiro Sakai ×
× Watching: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Echo ×
× Watched:
Romeo + Juliet (1996), Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - To the Hashira Training (2024), Paper Moon (1973) ×
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The JZA
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What If...? | NYK 1999-2000: We Still Believe

Post by The JZA » 12 Aug 2019, 19:49

Warriors struggled bad since the 2nd. Not a player with 15 points or more. That's a win!
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The JZA
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What If...? | NYK 1999-2000: We Still Believe

Post by The JZA » 12 Aug 2019, 19:49

Warriors struggled bad since the 2nd. Not a player with 15 points or more. That's a win!
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kibaxx7
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What If...? | NYK 1999-2000: We Still Believe

Post by kibaxx7 » 14 Aug 2019, 23:57

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  • To Toronto's point guard rotation, Dee Brown and Alvin Williams: heal fast, your teammates are holding things down just fine.

    Running away with a 19-point lead in the first moments of the third frame, the Raptors watched as New York crawled back and even were ahead again in the fourth, but ultimately ran out of fuel in a 89-82 setback. Latrell Sprewell led once again with 24 points and seven rebounds, with Allan Houston tallying 23 and a season-best 11, but the Knicks couldn't seal the deal down the stretch. "We found ourselves in a hole early," said Houston, "but we never gave up. It's a shame that we couldn't clinch the win but at least we fought until the very end." Larry Johnson added 13 points as the Knicks toppled the visitors on the fast break (20-4), inside scoring (38-26) and second chance points (14-2), but with the Raptors registering 24 assists on 33 field goals and season-bests in blocks (11) and turnovers (seven), it was a vast mountain to climb. "You start comparing our stats, you'd think we won," said Sprewell. "but we made a huge commitment in third quarter to come back and our legs felt pretty heavy." With the Raptors taking a 51-32 lead to start the third quarter after a 3-pointer by Doug Christie, New York finished the period with a 16-2 spark and took a 67-65 edge in the fourth, their first since 6-4, but could not maintain it.

    The absences of its first and second point guard options, Brown (sore hamstring) and Williams (plantar fasciitis), obligated Raptors head coach Butch Carter to play Christie in the position and the decision proved to be fruitful, as he posted season-highs of 18 points and nine rebounds and limited Charlie Ward to just two points. Vince Carter shot 12-of-23 for a game-high 30 points as Toronto won its fifth straight contest. "We did what we had to do to win," said Carter, who grabbed six rebounds and dished four assists. Newcomer Antonio Davis had 12 points and limited Patrick Ewing to just eight. "I definitely wanted to be aggressive on both ends of the floor," said Davis. "Ewing got into foul trouble early and was never comfortable against me. That was a huge boost for us." Struggling with his jumper, as he made only 6-of-15 attempts for 15 points, Tracy McGrady contributed with season-highs of four rejections and seven dimes. "Whether it was taking my shot or looking for my teammates, it was about just making plays," McGrady commented. Acquired last year in the trade that sent Marcus Camby to the Big Apple, Charles Oakley notched in four points, six boards and five assists.

    Ewing was never a factor as he sank just 4-of-15 from the floor and six of his eight points came in the first quarter, with the Raptors racing to a 32-19 advantage -- unable to play through him, New York fell behind and could not match Toronto's energy. With four fouls to his name in the first half, he was never able to recover and fouled out with 3:14 left in the evening. "We needed to go out there and handle business and we didn't do that. I didn't do that," said Ewing. "I was not as focused on offense as I should be." Sprewell, Houston and Johnson made just three Knicks in double figures as the team's bench scored only 12 points -- seven by Chris Childs and four by Camby. "The problem was how well they moved the ball and played off each other," said head coach Jeff Van Gundy. "They did a great job of kicking our butt early and then handled their defense pretty well." The Knicks now play four of their next five away from Madison Square Garden, with stops at Washington, Dallas, Detroit and Utah.
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Last edited by kibaxx7 on 15 Aug 2019, 00:03, edited 2 times in total.
× The Life and Times of Tanjiro Sakai ×
× Watching: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Echo ×
× Watched:
Romeo + Juliet (1996), Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - To the Hashira Training (2024), Paper Moon (1973) ×
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kibaxx7
Posts: 1617
Joined: 27 Nov 2018, 18:56

What If...? | NYK 1999-2000: We Still Believe

Post by kibaxx7 » 14 Aug 2019, 23:57

The JZA wrote:
12 Aug 2019, 19:49
Warriors struggled bad since the 2nd. Not a player with 15 points or more. That's a win!
Thanks man. That was a nice win but then the Raps were pretty difficult...
× The Life and Times of Tanjiro Sakai ×
× Watching: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Echo ×
× Watched:
Romeo + Juliet (1996), Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - To the Hashira Training (2024), Paper Moon (1973) ×
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Captain Canada
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What If...? | NYK 1999-2000: We Still Believe

Post by Captain Canada » 16 Aug 2019, 08:11

We The North :blessed:
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What If...? | NYK 1999-2000: We Still Believe

Post by kibaxx7 » 21 Aug 2019, 23:47

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  • One, two, three -- it didn't matter how many Wizards joined forces to try and stop Latrell Sprewell.

    Sprewell made 11-of-19 from the field, including three long range bombs, for 29 points as the New York Knicks stunned the Washington Wizards in a wire-to-wire 101-84 victory. It was a close one to start the contest, but the Knicks used a 13-4 spark in the second period to pull away for good and take a 47-37 lead. "Scoring isn't everything, but of course, I'm glad my shot is falling," said Sprewell, who added six rebounds and a season-best four blocks. "I try to do a little bit of everything and help my partners in crime get the job done." The Knicks needed to get back on winning ways after a 19-point comeback to Toronto fell short on Sunday. "I think we bounced back pretty well," Patrick Ewing said. "We played hard from beginning to finish, and we executed everything." Similarly to other games this season, New York was able to clinch the win despite allowing its opponent to grab a season-high number on offensive rebounds (19). The visitors countered that with a fast break fest (28-6) and with nine rejections by five different players. Ewing and Allan Houston notched in 14 points apiece for the winners, finishing with 48 percent shooting from the floor (37-of-77).

    As mentioned, the Wizards collected a season-best 19 rebounds on offense -- four each by Lorenzo Williams, Jahidi White and Aaron Williams, but could not mirror that on their scoring. Mitch Richmond stepped up for Washington with 17 points but shot just 4-of-12. "It feels like we lost, much more than they won," said Richmond. "We had the opportunities in the paint but we had a tough time converting them, so we have a lot of work to do." Rod Strickland just missed a triple-double, with 12 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists, but the hosts counted just 3 of 18 attempts from beyond the arc and never led, struggling to contain Sprewell and New York's fast break power -- they have lost four of their last five games, all by double digits. "Getting wins in front of your fans is key. We couldn't defend when we needed it the most," Strickland said. "We have not been getting stops lately. We're not going to win games like that." Tracy Murray and rookie Richard Hamilton, as a reserve, made four Wizards in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively. President Bill Clinton attended the game.

    For the Knicks, Larry Johnson posted 15 points, but suffered a bruised hip after colliding with White, 5:41 remaining in the fourth frame; he didn't return to the court and looks set to miss a week of action. "I'm getting re-evaluated tomorrow, but it doesn't look good," said Johnson, who will fly back to New York tomorrow morning. Off the bench, Marcus Camby and Kurt Thomas combined to supply the Knicks with 17 points and 11 boards; Charlie Ward was limited to just two points, but dished 12 assists. "I'm more than satisfied with my role," said Ward, 5th in the NBA in assists per game. "I'm not a scorer, but you can be sure I'm going to bring energy to the floor and assist my teammates." New York completes its fourth back-to-back of the season tomorrow at Dallas (7-7). "There's always room for improvement, but I think our intensity level for all four periods tonight was off the charts," head coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "It obviously hurts to not have Larry with us next week, but we will try to work around that."
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× The Life and Times of Tanjiro Sakai ×
× Watching: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Echo ×
× Watched:
Romeo + Juliet (1996), Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - To the Hashira Training (2024), Paper Moon (1973) ×
User avatar

Topic author
kibaxx7
Posts: 1617
Joined: 27 Nov 2018, 18:56

What If...? | NYK 1999-2000: We Still Believe

Post by kibaxx7 » 21 Aug 2019, 23:47

Captain Canada wrote:
16 Aug 2019, 08:11
We The North :blessed:
Oh, I feel this is the beginning of a long, long rivalry.
× The Life and Times of Tanjiro Sakai ×
× Watching: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Echo ×
× Watched:
Romeo + Juliet (1996), Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - To the Hashira Training (2024), Paper Moon (1973) ×
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The JZA
Posts: 4611
Joined: 07 Dec 2018, 13:10

What If...? | NYK 1999-2000: We Still Believe

Post by The JZA » 22 Aug 2019, 21:05

Spree, Grandmama, Ewing, & Hosuton. Four names I like to see in the top spots all day. Good win
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