Knicks’ Loss Stings Like Decade Of Misery

A prediction that was made by me yesterday morning on Facebook, that the Knicks were going to lose by 10 points and sure enough they did.. Check out the full story here…

2010-11 was supposed to be a season of changing fortunes for the New York Knicks. And in a few meaningful ways, it has been. Playoff bound for the first time in seven seasons and with a certifiable big three to call their own, the Knicks seem to have embraced the new decade — like fans of the new-look squad — while distancing themselves from the relative misery and disappointment of the one just past.

But when it comes to the Boston Celtics, Monday night’s 96-86 humiliating home meltdown was very much the same old story. The Celtics outscored the Bockers 33-17 in a final frame that saw both Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony all but vanish. Boston’s big three of Pierce, Allen and Garnett, meanwhile, tallied 25 of their team’s fourth-quarter points, as the Celtics seemed to beat the Knicks to every loose ball and critical rebound.

To say the game was a slugfest would be an understatement: Both Ray Allen and Anthony found themselves on the receiving end of errant elbows that drew literal streams of blood.

The fact that it was Melo who inadvertently caught Allen on the top of the head in the second quarter — only to get the same from Rajon Rondo at midcourt halfway through the fourth — imparted a karmic irony that was lost on no one, as barbs, barks and elbows were traded as much as butterfly Band-Aids in a truly heated second half.

The loss put the Knicks at .500 for the first time since Feb. 11, a 113-96 home drubbing by the Los Angeles Lakers. At that point in the season, many blamed the Knicks’ woes on the incessant Anthony trade talks and the toll it was taking on team chemistry and morale. Now, with New York having dropped six of its past seven and nine of 16 since the Anthony trade, chemistry and morale are again at the heart of the conversation.

Refreshingly, both seemed intact early, as solid ball movement and the efficient shooting of Anthony (15 first-half points on 7-of-12 shooting) and Stoudemire (11 points on 5-of-8 shooting) — combined with a shockingly staunch stretch of D that included a span of 270 seconds during which the Celtics failed to score — helped put the Knicks up 14 at the break.

After cutting the Knicks’ lead to six entering the fourth, Boston’s lockdown defense and patient ball movement began to pay dividends. With Stoudemire and Anthony both looking lost and unsure, the Knicks offense crumbled steadily, mustering a measly four points in the final 7:26, and no points in the final 3:28.

Using the frenzied Garden chants as fuel down the stretch, the Celtics closed the game with a playoff-level intensity unbecoming their typical March malaise. What was a still a two-point game with 2:34 quickly mushroomed to six, then eight, then 10, in a span in which Anthony attempted exactly zero shots and Stoudemire’s lone 15-foot jumper clanked off the rim.

All three Knicks-Celtics games have had a palpable playoff feel. But as the season nears the finish line, the likelihood of the first Boston-New York playoff series since 1990 is becoming more of a possibility. The surging Sixers seem poised to hold on to the sixth seed — if not steal the fifth spot from the stumbling Atlanta Hawks — and an equally favorable home stretch makes the Chicago Bulls’ chances of landing the top seed even more likely. The Orlando Magic, meanwhile, should retain the fourth seed, which they’ve held for most of the season.

That leaves the enigmatic Miami Heat, who may wish to stand pat at No. 3 — where they’d face a Philadelphia team they have yet to lose to — rather than risk a run-in with the Knicks, who seem to have their number of late. The Knicks and Celtics will meet one more time in Boston on April 13, the last game of the regular season for both squads.

The way it’s shaping up now, it could be the Knicks’ final pre-playoff chance to exorcise their many demons in what will certainly have the look and feel of a de facto Game 1. Monday, they were all on display, with rebounding (44-38), turnovers (13-8), and interior defense (44 points in the paint to 28) all once again finding the Knicks holding the short end of the stat stick.

But one demon more than any other will doubtless loom larger and louder: their fourth-quarter collapse. Having been outscored by a combined 25 points in the last two final frames against their old nemesis, Stoudemire, Anthony and the rest of the Knicks should by then know better than anyone the importance of execution and smart play when it counts.

If they don’t, the Celtics would certainly love nothing better than to teach them again.

Jim Cavan’s work appears regularly on KnickerBlogger.net

NBA: Bucks beat Knicks; Knicks lose last 5 out of 6 games. Melo says ‘It’ll just take time’

Carmelo Anthony tried to put an end Sunday to the latest MeloDrama surrounding the New York Knicks, saying his frustration boiled over Friday night in a loss at Detroit.

Anthony, who at one point refused to join the huddle during a timeout, said he did not take Amare Stoudemire’s pointed post game comments personally, and he said there was laughter in a team meeting Saturday as the Knicks broke down film of the 99-95 loss, which dropped them behind Philadelphia into seventh place in the Eastern Conference.

“No not at all, why would I do that?” Anthony said of taking offense at the team captain’s comments. “[Coach] D’Antoni got a hell of an offense, I can tell you that. Everybody knows that around this league, everybody on the team knows that.

“It’s a matter of me picking my spots in the offense and figuring them out in a timely fashion. What I told the guys is ‘Let’s be patient, man. This is not going to get together, this is not going to be 100 percent in two-and-a-half weeks. It’ll just take some time.’”

Anthony missed all five of his shots in the fourth quarter and then bolted for the team bus without speaking to reporters after the Knicks lost to the Pistons, dropping New York to 7-7 since acquiring him.

Afterward, Stoudemire had said there were some players on the team who still needed to buy into coach Mike D’Antoni’s system, and it seemed clear he was speaking of Anthony.

But D’Antoni said the air was cleared at the team’s film session Saturday as the Knicks prepared for Sunday afternoon’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks, which New York lost 100-95.

“I think everybody wants an ideal situation where it’s all campfires and singing and all that, but it’s just not going to be that way,” D’Antoni said. “We have a lot of high stakes right now, and as you see there’s people that want to getcha. Again, it’s nothing bad, that’s just the way it is.

“We’re on a big stage and we’re going through practice on an open court and sometimes it doesn’t get good. I guess the bottom line is I’m not worried about it. We’ve talked about it and we’ll get things right, and guys are still hanging in there and we’ll solve the problem. There are going to be frustrations that boil over some, but they know and we all know, and we’re all in the same boat, how to get the job done.”

Chris Sheridan covers the NBA for ESPN.com and ESPNNewYork.com.

Follow Chris Sheridan on Twitter: @csheridanespn

DWade’s Dunk Last Night! WOWZERS!

Just look at this highlight dunk from last nights game against Oklahoma City! Although the Heat lost last night, this will be the most talked about dunk of the week and maybe of the YEAR!! Remington Approves!

NBA: HEATS PAYBACK against SPURS! WIN by 30, SPURS worst loss of season:)

For the Miami Heat, there was symmetry in the turnabout. Lose by 30 in San Antonio, win by 30 in Miami! You know what they say ” What goes around comes around!” lol Great Job Miami Heat!

For the Miami Heat, there was symmetry in the turnabout. Lose by 30 in San Antonio, win by 30 in Miami.

Chris Bosh scored 30 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, Dwyane Wade scored 29 and the Heat avenged their worst loss of the season by rolling past the NBA-leading Spurs 110-80 on Monday night.

“It’s huge for us, really, just getting even with this team,” Bosh said. “They beat us pretty good and I’m happy that we were able to respond by playing a complete game tonight. But at the same time, it is just one game.”

LeBron James finished with 21 points, eight assists and six rebounds for the Heat, who have won three straight and moved within two games of Eastern Conference front-runners Boston and Chicago.

Miami lost 125-95 in San Antonio on March 4, the midpoint of a five-game slide that now seems all but forgotten after wins over the Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies and now the Spurs.

“Sometimes when you suffer the results that we were and you have this extreme noise from outside, that can be a distraction only if you let it,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “But in terms of the guys’ confidence, it never really wavered. This is a very confident group. But the consistency that we’ve had the last three games is something we can build on.”

It was the Spurs’ biggest regular-season loss since April 7, 2005, a 104-68 defeat in Dallas.

Tony Parker scored 18 points and Tim Duncan added 14 for the Spurs, who had won 15 of their last 18 against Miami. Before Monday, San Antonio’s worst loss of the season had been a 96-72 defeat in New Orleans.

And this one was decisive in more than the scoring column: Miami outrebounded the Spurs 47-33 and shot 54 percent to San Antonio’s 38.

“We made a lot of shots in San Antonio and they made a lot of shots here,” said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, whose team endured its third-lowest scoring total and fifth-worst shooting effort of the season. “What goes around comes around.”

According to STATS LLC, it’s just the second time in NBA history that a two-game series had both clubs winning once by 30 or more. The other occurrence came last season, when Dallas beat New York by 50 at Madison Square Garden, then lost at home to the Knicks by 34 nearly two months later.

“We were in attack mode,” James said. “We were in attack all night.”

Add this to San Antonio’s 123-101 loss in Orlando on Dec. 23, and the Spurs’ two trips to the Sunshine State this season were losses by a combined 52 points.

Mario Chalmers scored 11 for Miami.Manu Ginobili finished with 12 andAntonio McDyess scored 10 for the Spurs.

“They needed the game more than us,” Ginobili said. “They were more upset than us and they are a great team. We are not playing against a second-division team in Asia. We are talking about the Heat.”

When the teams met a week and a half ago, it was over after one quarter. San Antonio ran out to a 36-12 lead, making eight 3-pointers in the first quarter alone, on the way to a franchise-record 17 connections from beyond the arc.

Funny how things even out: In Miami, the Spurs could get very little from outside the paint to fall. They finished 6 for 22 on 3′s.

San Antonio shot just 6 for 25 from the perimeter in the first half, 1 for 9 in the second quarter, and the Heat held the Spurs to their fourth-lowest output in the first 24 minutes of a game this season. The Heat lead was 49-39 at the break, with Bosh and Wade combining for 31 points and 12 rebounds along the way.

Meanwhile, take away Duncan and McDyess — a combined 9 for 13 in the half — and the Spurs were downright abysmal offensively. Combined, their teammates shot 9 for 33 in the opening two quarters.

“They definitely had a lot of energy,” Parker said of the Heat. “But overall, they just played better than us.”

The Spurs got some things going in the third, particularly Parker, who hit 5 of 6 shots and scored 14 in the period.

But the outcome was never in doubt. Wade found James for a dunk with 10:14 remaining, then gave a joyous shout heading back to the other end. He had a more prolonged scream 17 seconds later after stealing the ball away from Steve Novak and going in for a dunk of his own that pushed the Miami edge to 87-67.

Wade is averaging 28.5 points in two games since winning a lengthy custody fight for his two sons on Friday, and even James noted that the 2006 NBA finals MVP has a newfound spring in his step.

“A lot of good things are happening,” Wade said.

by STATS LLC and The Associated Press

NBA: CELTICS OWNED THE BUCKS! 87-56

Ray Allen and the Boston Celtics take a lot of pride in their defense, so this one was a gem. For Milwaukee Bucks coach Scott Skiles, it was embarrassing.

Allen scored 17 points in just three quarters and the Celtics set a franchise record for fewest points allowed in the shot-clock era, routing the Bucks 87-56 on Sunday.

“I think playing defense perfectly is our goal,” Allen said. “That’s what we shoot for, but a team can still score while you’re doing that.”

Not this time.

It was the lowest score against the Celtics since they beat the Milwaukee Hawks 62-57 at Providence, R.I., on Feb. 27, 1955. The Bucks, who joined the NBA before the 1968-69 season, set a franchise record for fewest points.

“That’s about as humiliating a defeat as you’ll ever see,” Skiles said. “They got us on our heels and took our competitive fight away from us. We pretty much just gave into it.”

Milwaukee was coming off 102-74 home win over Philadelphia on Saturday. When the Bucks flew east to Boston, they lost an hour to the Eastern time zone and then another hour to daylight savings time. And when the 6 p.m. EDT start arrived on Sunday, they plodded their way to all of nine points in the first quarter.

“You could see they were tired,” Boston coach Doc Rivers said. “So, we took advantage and that was great, but a lot of it had to do with their schedule.”

The Celtics held the Bucks to just 38 points through three quarters — an NBA record, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. They clinched the new franchise low when Milwaukee’s Keyon Dooling missed a pair of free throws with 22 seconds remaining.

Nenad Krstic had 11 points and 14 rebounds and Paul Pierce scored 14 for the Celtics, who rested their starters throughout the fourth quarter.

Earl Barron was the only player to score in double figures for the Bucks, finishing with 10 points. Andrew Bogut and Brandon Jennings led Milwaukee’s starters with eight points apiece. Guard John Salmons was shut out altogether in 21 minutes.

It was Milwaukee’s most dismal performance since an 88-58 loss to Seattle on Feb. 21, 2003 — the day after the Bucks traded Allen to the SuperSonics in a multiplayer deal for Gary Payton.

Eight years later, Allen had a light workout with 30 minutes for the Celtics, who also got Glen Davis back after missing four games with a strained tendon in his left knee. Davis finished with nine points and seven rebounds. Troy Murphy added 12 points and seven boards and Jeff Green scored 11 for Boston.

The Bucks, who had won three straight, barely avoided the NBA record for fewest points in a half. Two field goals by Bogut in the final minute of the second quarter pushed Milwaukee’s score from 18 to 22 — just three better than the league record for futility. It tied the Bucks’ franchise low and was the fewest scored in a half against the Celtics ever.

The Bucks had more turnovers (nine) than field goals (eight) in the half and were outrebounded by Boston 27-17 in the first two periods.

by STATS LLC and The Associated Press

(Video) NBA Top 10 Plays from Wednesday featuring Darrell Arthur, Carmelo Anthony, & more

What’s in a Name? LeBron James and Michael Jordan Sued $150 Million Each

A shoe company calling itself “Lebron Jordan Incorporated,” or LJI, is suing NBA greats LeBron James and Michael Jordan for costing them a major deal.
The suit contends that James and Jordan’s representatives at Nike and Live Nation killed a multi-million dollar deal by threatening to sue LJI unless it stopped selling a line of basketball shoes under the “Lebron Jordan” name.
WRITTEN BY IBTIMES.COM & FULL STORY CLICK HERE

Check out (Video) NBA: LeBron James Crossover breaks ankles

LeBron, putting in that work lol Watch the video