All through the recent losing streak, Derek Fisher kept his New York Knicks fighting, night in and night out. So when their shot at winning their second straight game came to a rough start, they were ready to keep on battling.
The Knicks scored just 18 points and shot 30.4 percent in the first quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers, but they quickly rebounded and cruised to a 98-91 victory. Afterward, Coach Fish commended his team on its tenacity and for coming back with a strong performance.
“(They) just kept fighting out there,” he said after the game. “It was an up-and-down game. Slow start, but picked it up a little bit here and there, but just kept figuring out ways to make plays for each other on both ends of the floor.”
Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire, playing just their third and second games back from injury respectively, both played big parts in the win. Anthony tallied a game-high 27 points with 11 rebounds, four assists and three steals, while Stoudemire went 3-of-5 for nine points off the bench.
With the Knicks holding onto a 15-13 lead early, Jose Calderon found Stoudemire heading toward a few defenders camped out under the basket. Stoudemire backed his defender under the hoop, and wrestled his way toward a gritty layup, giving the Knicks a four-point lead and some confidence heading into the second.
In the second, Calderon took the ball down court once again, and got the ball out to nearby Langston Galloway who stood waiting beyond the corner of the arc. Without even looking at the basket, Galloway hot-potatoed the ball right back to Calderon, who buried the trey to give the Knicks a 38-33 lead.
Calderon finished second to Melo with 15 points, knocking down three threes and turning in seven assists along the way. Galloway, who played his college ball in Philadelphia at Saint Joseph’s, made just his second career start and tallied 11 points, seven boards, four dimes, two steals and a block.
“I thought Langston maybe started out a little slow probably thinking about playing at home,” Fish said of the rookie who scored all 11 of his points after the first quarter. “But throughout the game, he just found ways at different times to help us win, and that’s what you need players to do.”
Moments after Calderon’s three, another newcomer, Lance Thomas, worked the ball inside and barely missed a one-handed floater. Melo snagged the offensive board, turned and laid it back in despite being surrounded by Philly defenders.
Melo’s basket may have looked like a routine layup, but it showed that Dere’s crew has regained its ability to score on the inside, and it showed that Anthony was ready to roll toward his fourth double-double of the season after a slow first quarter.
Despite the Knicks carrying a 49-42 lead into the half, D-Fish is rarely one to think there wasn’t room for improvement.
“Well I think for the way we ended the first half, it made it clear that we were going to have to find out how to do this together,” Derek said. “I think in the first half, offensively and defensively, guys were thinking about themselves and their own situations. I thought in the second half, guys started out with a little more purpose and I think it energized everyone in the group.”
Energized would be the correct word to describe the second half, as New York came out firing. Up 49-42, Anthony received a pass at the top of the arc, and sunk a three in typical Melo fashion. Only moments later, he reached out to snag a wide pass with a defender draped along his back. The N.Y. star spun off his defender, and shot a beautiful three after barely getting his feet set, to give the Knicks a 13 point lead.
Melo’s 27 points and 11 rebounds helped spark this much-needed victory, but it was Galloway who, once again, provided the fireworks with his spectacular play.
The Sixers had mounted a furious comeback, bringing the game within four points in the final seconds of the contest. With 20 seconds left in the fourth, and 4 seconds on the shot clock, big man Jason Smith had his shot erased by Philadelphia forward Jerami Grant. Galloway sprinted down the edge of the sidelines to recover the ball, and threw up an incredible off-balance three pointer that splashed through the net as the clock expired to put the dagger in Philly’s comeback hopes.
“Anytime a player is able to make a big play to help his team win, there was no greater feeling for me, and I don’t think there was a greater feeling for a player,” Derek said of Galloway’s dagger three. “To see Langston enjoy that moment, and probably more importantly to see the way his bench and teammates responded to that moment, it just says a lot about him and what we’re trying to do and who we’re trying to be.”
The Knicks are on their first roll in a long time, but Derek said at the end of the game that his team is keeping a humble mentality going forward.
“We are not in any position to think any night is going to be our night,” he said. “We’re still trying to figure out ways to scratch and claw wins any way we can, and the guys did that tonight.”
NEXT UP
The Knicks (7-36) will travel back home to take on the Orlando Magic (15-30) Friday night, in search of their first three-game win streak of the season.
The Magic edged the Knicks 97-95 at Madison Square Garden earlier this season behind a 28-point outburst from Evan Fournier.
Orlando has been a bit of an enigmatic squad this year. Earlier this month, they broke a six game losing streak by beating two surefire playoff teams, the Chicago Bulls and the Houston Rockets. Since then, however, they’ve lost three straight—most recently a 128-118 Wednesday night loss to the Detroit Pistons.
Tipoff in contest No. 2 of four between the Magic and the Knicks is this season is set for 7:30 p.m. EST. MSG will have the broadcast.