Knicks-Kings Preview

DAN PIERINGER
Posted Dec 30 2011 7:26PM

Following years of rebuilding, the New York Knicks think they are finally ready to contend in their first full season with Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire. A struggling offense and an injury to Stoudemire have put an early damper on those lofty expectations.

With Stoudemire questionable due to a sprained left ankle, the Knicks look to get their offense on track and avoid their third straight loss Saturday night when they visit the Sacramento Kings.

New York (1-2) finished with a winning record for the first time in a decade last season, and a season-opening win over rival Boston seemed to bode well for a return to prominence.

However, the Knicks have struggled mightily on the first two stops of a three-game California road trip, falling 92-78 to Golden State on Wednesday and 99-82 to the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday. Their point total against the Warriors was their lowest in any game since Feb. 22, 2010, and their 31.3 field-goal percentage against the Lakers was their worst since Nov. 29, 2007.

"The Lakers are good, and we're awful," Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni said. "We didn't play well. We can't make shots."

Anthony says the Knicks aren't panicking, just seeing the effects of an abbreviated training camp.

"This game is about acting, and right now, we're reacting," said Anthony, the lone bright spot against Los Angeles with 27 points, seven rebounds, five assists and 8-for-14 shooting. "We just need to get out there and play ball. … We're good. Not too much to worry about three games into the season. We will get better."

Immediate improvement may be tough if Stoudemire can't play Friday. The All-Star forward, New York's leading rebounder and second-leading scorer, sprained his left ankle late in Thursday's loss.

Even without Stoudemire, the Knicks could take advantage of a Kings team that has given up 104.5 points per game in back-to-back losses. Sacramento (1-2) gave up 33 fast-break points and let Chicago shoot 53.8 percent in a 108-98 defeat Thursday.

"We defended them pretty well, but we can't defend breakaway layups," Kings coach Paul Westphal said. "We have guys crashing the boards, where we have no business doing, and we had guys not rotating back and trying to get steals in the backcourt. The Bulls can run, everybody knew that. If you want to win games, don't give them layups. Make them run their offense."

That's also good advice for facing the Knicks, whose halfcourt offense has had trouble with execution in the last two games.

"Everything is just difficult for us right now," center Tyson Chandler said. "We've just got to make things easier than they've been."

The Kings have won four of five against the Knicks, but New York prevailed 113-106 in Sacramento last season. Stoudemire led the Knicks with 27 points and 10 rebounds, while Tyreke Evans had 23 points, five rebounds and five assists for the Kings.

Kings second-year center DeMarcus Cousins averaged 15.5 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.5 blocks in two games against the Knicks as a rookie despite shooting only 34.3 percent (12 for 35) from the field. Cousins has also struggled with his shot early in 2011-12, hitting on 34.9 percent of his attempts through three games.

Anthony's teams have gone 3-10 during his career when visiting Sacramento, where he's averaged 30.7 points and 6.3 rebounds in his last three games but has lost each time.

Anthony, Chandler lead Knicks over Kings 114-92

Posted Jan 01 2012 1:06AM

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) Learning at a morning shootaround that he would be making his first NBA start because teammate Amare Stoudemire was injured, New York Knicks rookie Josh Harrellson didn't have a lot of time to be nervous.

And the rookie from Kentucky didn't show it, either.

Carmelo Anthony scored 23 points and the Knicks got an unexpected 14 points and 12 rebounds from Harrellson in controlling the game early and cruising past the Sacramento Kings, 114-92 on Saturday night.

The Knicks didn't miss starting forward Stoudemire, their leading rebounder and second-leading scorer, who sat out with a sprained left ankle. All five starters had 14 points or more for New York, which took a 14-point lead into halftime and the lead never dipped below double digits in the second half as the Knicks snapped a two-game losing streak.

Tyson Chandler had 22 points and seven rebounds, and Landry Fields scored 21 points for the Knicks, who had struggled offensively in losing their previous two games, but had a season-high point total against the Kings. Toney Douglas had 17 points and eight assists, and Bill Walker added 11 points.

"When the ball is moving like that, you can see how successful we can be offensively," said Fields, discussing the Knicks' season-high 26 assists. "It's a very nice win. Hopefully it brings us momentum going into our next game (Monday at home against Toronto)."

Harrellson connected on his first shot, a wide-open 3-pointer two minutes into the game. He added three more 3-pointers and clearly outplayed Kings center DeMarcus Cousins, his teammate for one season at Kentucky.

"I guarded him all season at practice, so I felt like I know DeMarcus' game," Harrelson said. "I thought I did a good job on my former teammate. I was trying to get him out of whack, get him out of his rhythm."

There had been no rhythm offensively in the first three games for Harrellson, who had a combined three points and five rebounds in 29 minutes.

"It was very important for me to make that first shot and get my confidence going," Harrellson said. "They had to come out and guard me and that opened things up and left other people open."

New York (2-2) used a 15-0 run in the opening quarter to take a 35-20 lead. Douglas scored nine points and had three of the Knicks' six 3-pointers.

"They were hitting big threes and executing and jumped on us and we were never able to crawl back in the game," Kings coach Paul Westphal said.

Marcus Thornton had 14 points for the struggling Kings (1-3), who have lost three straight after defeating the Lakers at home to start the season. Both Jason Thompson and Tyreke Evans had 13 points. The Kings shot 35 percent from the field and made only 26 of 41 free throws.

Sacramento plays a home game against New Orleans on New Year's night.

"This is a very disappointing loss because we had a very good practice (Friday), probably our best practice of the year," Kings forward Chuck Hayes said. "But we came out like we don't know how to carry it over. It's discouraging."

With the Knicks getting contributions from many different players, Anthony was quiet early in the game and his first basket didn't come until he made a driving layup midway through the second quarter.

Yet he still had 17 at halftime and the Knicks had a 14-point lead. A rested Anthony finished with seven rebounds and five assists in 33 minutes, including just a two-plus minute stint in the fourth with the win secured.

"Our team is starting to pick up things in the offense that if we continue to do it, we can be successful," Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni said. "When you have a Carmelo with an Amare, it tends to open the floor even more. When the ball moves, our younger guys can get more involved."

With the Knicks ahead by 13 points entering the fourth quarter, Chandler scored eight points in the opening three minutes, including two three-point plays. Chandler's second one put New York ahead 88-70. The lead was 20 points or more for much of the fourth quarter.

Chandler was in foul trouble and barely a factor in the first half, playing four minutes. However, the veteran center made all six free throws and had eight points in the third quarter in helping the Knicks take a 78-65 lead into the fourth.

"From the beginning of the game until the end, we just looked lost," Evans said. "We just play off our natural talent and that's how we get our points. It's terrible right now and we've just got to figure something out."

Anthony scored 15 points and Harrellson had 11 in the opening half, when the Knicks led 56-42. The Kings shot 33 percent as their offensive problems continued.

Notes: Knicks reserve forward Jared Jeffries missed his third straight game with a sore right calf. . The Chicago Bulls also had a 15-0 first-quarter run against the Kings in Thursday's game. . Free throws continue to be a problem for Evans, who has made 13 of 27 this season. . Knicks rookie center Jerome Jordan committed four fouls in his first seven minutes.

Notebook: Knicks 114, Kings 92

By James Ham, for NBA.com
Posted Saturday December 31, 2011 11:29PM

THE FACTS: The Sacramento Kings got their New Years hangover started early, as they allowed the visiting New York Knicks to walk into Power Balance Pavilion and dominate them by a score of 114-92.

Rookie Josh Harrellson set the tone early for the Knicks, warming up the offense before handing it over to Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler, who finished the Kings off before the fourth quarter began.

QUOTABLE: "Coach D'Antoni is comfortable with me shooting the ball. He gives me the green light. He puts me in positions to be successful and he's a great coach for that."
-- Harrellson following the victory.

THE STAT: Tyson Chandler entered the game averaging 7.3 points per contest on just two field-goal attempts. Tonight against the Kings, Chandler scored 22 points, shooting 6-for-8 from the floor and knocking down all 10 of his free throws in 24 minutes of action.

TURNING POINT: The turning point in this game happened on a plane ride over Bakersfield, when Knicks star power forward Amar'e Stoudemire had his left ankle swell up. Rookie Josh Harrellson, starting his first NBA game, could do no wrong in Stoudemire's place. The Kentucky product smoked the Kings, scoring 14 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in 38 minutes of play.

HOT: Josh Harrellson scored a career-high 14 points on 5-for-11 shooting, while hitting 4-of-8 3-pointer shots.

NOT: DeMarcus Cousins continued his early season struggles, shooting 2-for-10 from the field and lowering his season field goal percentage to just 32 percent.

QUOTABLE II: "Being able to get a little pay-back on DeMarcus, that means a lot, because he used to whip me everyday at practice when I was at Kentucky."
-- Josh Harrellson

QUOTABLE III: "I think we're pretty down and we have a game tomorrow."
-- Coach Paul Westphal on his mental state after three consecutive loses.

GOOD MOVE: Coach mike D'Antoni had a few options to fill the empty void in his line-up left by Stoudemire's injury. D'Antoni chose Harrelson because, "Chuck Hayes will be a tough match up. He can pound it in there and I'd rather have Josh in there getting pounded." Harrellson did a lot more than get pounded by Chuck Hayes; he made D'Antoni look like a genius.

BAD MOVE: Coming into the game, Coach Westphal complimented Josh Harrelleson on his ability to shoot: "He's John Brockman with a long shot," said Westphal. Clearly his team was not listening to the scouting report, as they consistently left the rookie wide open on the perimeter.

NOTABLE: Rookie Tyler Honeycutt saw his first NBA action tonight, getting the call for the games final 3:51. Honeycutt finished with two points and a rebound, scoring on a pair of free throws.

UP NEXT: For the Knicks, Monday vs. Raptors, Wednesday vs. Bobcats, Friday @ Washington. For the Kings, Sunday vs. Hornets, Tuesday @ Memphis, Wednesday @ Denver.

• Knicks: Davis, Jeffries, Shumpert
• Kings: Whiteside

• Knicks: --
• Kings: Thompson

• Lead Changes: 4
• Times Tied: 2

• Arena: Power Balance Pavilion, Sacramento, CA
• Officials: #49 Tom Washington, #45 Brian Forte, #30 John Goble
• Attendance: 16175
• Duration: 2:20