Kings-Knicks Preview

By JORDAN GARRETSON
Posted Feb 02 2013 1:54AM

The New York Knicks are still one of the NBA's better scoring teams, but they've been leaning a little more heavily on their defense in recent weeks - and the success is hard to argue with.

The Sacramento Kings' already mediocre offense, meanwhile, is mired in a slump with the team's top scorer struggling to get back on track.

New York seeks a fourth straight win and a measure of revenge against the Kings when the teams meet Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.

The Knicks (29-15) rank in the top 10 at 100.7 points per game, but have looked like an improved defensive unit while winning three straight and six of eight.

Carmelo Anthony scored a game-high 25 points in a 96-86 home win against Milwaukee on Friday, but New York won on the strength of its defense tightening up in the second half. The Bucks had 53 points in the first half but were limited to 33 in the final 24 minutes, including 13 in the fourth quarter.

The Knicks have held their last eight opponents to 91.5 ppg.

"Offensively we're going to miss shots, they're going to make shots, but if we can buckle down and do what we've been doing these last couple of weeks, we'll be fine," said Anthony, the league's second-leading scorer at 29.1 per contest.

After starting slow initially after his return, Amare Stoudemire has seemingly found a groove of late. He averaged 9.0 points on 43.5 percent field-goal shooting in his first six games after sitting out New York's first 30 contests recovering from knee surgery. In eight games since, he's averaging 16.0 points while shooting 62.7 percent from the field.

The Knicks received a slight scare Friday when point guard Raymond Felton - who missed 12 games earlier this season with a fractured finger on his right hand - bumped the same hand against a Bucks player and left the game temporarily before returning.

"It was a lot of pain," said Felton, averaging 15.4 points and a team-high 6.4 assists. "I went away when I put some ice on it. I think I'm OK."

Sacramento (17-31) pulled out a 106-105 win over the Knicks on Dec. 28 with James Johnson's 3-pointer at the buzzer proving decisive. New York did, however, erase a 27-point deficit despite playing without Anthony, Stoudemire and Felton, all of whom sat out with injuries.

The Kings have dropped two in a row and six of seven after an 89-80 loss at Philadelphia on Friday - two nights removed from being held to 81 in a defeat at Boston. Sacramento continues to struggle mightily on the road, going 5-18 compared to a 12-12 home record.

Tyreke Evans scored a season-high 29 points against the 76ers, Isaiah Thomas added 24, and DeMarcus Cousins had his 20th double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. But they didn't get much help, with only four other Kings combining for 15 points.

"We've got great talent, we know we can play with anybody," said Evans, scoring 14.9 ppg. "We've just got to be ready every night."

Cousins - one of nine players in the NBA averaging a double-double with 17.3 points and 10.1 rebounds - is putting up 11.5 ppg on just 39.7 percent shooting over his last six games.

The Knicks ended a four-game home losing streak to the Kings with a 100-85 win on Feb. 15.

Stoudemire 10 for 10, Knicks crush Kings 120-81

By BRIAN MAHONEY
Posted Feb 02 2013 11:34PM

NEW YORK (AP) Amare Stoudemire sat through the sluggish start, and had one thought in mind when it was his turn to change it.

"Dominate," he said. "Dominate is the main objective. That's the only thought that I think when I go in the game."

That's exactly what Knicks did. Really, really dominate.

Stoudemire was 10 for 10 from the field for 21 points, and New York unleashed a 38-4 run on Sacramento in the first half and clobbered the Kings 120-81 on Saturday night for its fourth straight victory.

The Knicks actually trailed by 10 when Stoudemire entered in the first quarter, then went on to challenge the franchise-record victory margin of 48 points and kept alive Mike Woodson's chances of coaching the Eastern Conference All-Star team.

It was an awesome display by New York in front of some special guests: 150 children, their families and teachers from Sandy Hook Elementary School. The Knicks didn't even need much from leading scorer Carmelo Anthony, who tied a season low with nine points and had his run of 20-point games snapped at 31, the longest single-season streak in franchise history.

"Tonight it was just one of those games where (we) tried to find it elsewhere," Anthony said. "You know, scoring there, we didn't need my scoring tonight. Everybody contributed from that aspect of it."

J.R. Smith scored 25 points and Steve Novak added 15 as the Knicks made 19 3-pointers. Tyson Chandler had 11 points and 20 rebounds, becoming the first Knicks player with consecutive 20-board games since Marcus Camby on Dec. 8 and 11, 2001.

"We had a slow start and then it's like as soon as a couple of guys started hitting shots, it's contagious," Novak said. "I think it was just crazy how quickly it turned once we started making shots."

But the story was Stoudemire, a former All-Star who missed the first 30 games after knee surgery and has served as a reserve since his return. He changed the game with his energy and scoring after the Knicks sleepwalked through the start, and finished one basket shy of tying the team record for field goals without a miss, held by Johnny Newman and Bernard King.

Feeling back to 100 percent and showing off some of his old explosiveness, Stoudemire could feel the game change when he went in.

"It feels great to provide a certain amount of energy to get us over the hump," he said.

DeMarcus Cousins had 25 points and nine rebounds for the Kings, who were horrible from all areas of the court, missing shots right at the rim on offense and often not even getting anywhere near the Knicks' 3-point shooters on defense.

"It's crazy. I don't know what happened, man," said guard Tyreke Evans, who shot 3 of 10 for seven points. "We missed a lot of layups. I missed a lot of layups. One of those nights. I think it was the worst game I ever played in the NBA. I can't explain it."

The Knicks were down 13-3 and in the midst of a 1-for-13 shooting start when Stoudemire checked in. The Kings got the lead to 18-6, but then Stoudemire had a dunk and three-point play on consecutive possessions, scoring seven points in a 19-4 burst to end the quarter that gave the Knicks a 25-22 lead.

Stoudemire then made the first basket of the second quarter, kicking off a 19-0 run. Novak's third 3-pointer of the period made it 44-22 with 7:06 remaining, about 40 seconds after Stoudemire exited to a loud ovation.

Marcus Thornton ended Sacramento's drought, but Novak hit another 3 to start a run of eight straight points as the Knicks extended it to 52-25.

Stoudemire was 6 for 6 for 13 points in the half as the Knicks led 56-33. He was 9 of 9 after three, when the Knicks led by 45, and made a jumper in the fourth before leaving for good to more cheers.

He struggled with injuries last season and critics continue to insist he, Anthony and Chandler can't play well together. Yet Stoudemire remains very popular with fans, who remember that he was the big star willing to take on the rebuilding project in the summer of 2010 and has been willing to come off the bench now.

Anthony passed 17,000 points for his career but took only 12 shots, yet the Knicks still led by as much as 50. Sacramento coach Keith Smart didn't think the Knicks were trying to embarrass his team.

"I don't feel that way. Those guys are pros," he said. "Sometimes guys that don't get the opportunity to play, they get on the floor, they're going to play. You can't tell them to run the shot clock down and feel sorry for that team over there. These are pros."

Woodson said he already has plans to be someplace warm during All-Star weekend, but those plans may have to be altered. The coaches whose teams have the best winning percentage through Sunday's games earn the All-Star nods, and the Knicks would be a half-game ahead of Miami if the Heat lose in Toronto on Sunday afternoon.

"If it's meant to be, it's going to happen," Woodson said.

At 30-15, the Knicks have 30 wins before the break for the first time since the 1996-97 season, when they were 32-13 after 45 games.

"We felt like we had a great team, a team with a lot of possibilities in training camp and we have to stick by it," Chandler said. "It's a long journey for us but we have the potential to be special."

NOTES: Children from the Newtown, Conn. choir sang the national anthem before the game as the Knicks welcomed the big group from Sandy Hook Elementary School. The Knicks organization on Tuesday visited Newtown, where 20 children and six adults were shot and killed at the school in December. The team hosted the "Knicks Family Fun Day" for 400 children and their families at Newtown Youth Academy. "They got hit hard and they're still trying to recover from it. So to be able to go down and touch those kids and talk to parents, and them being able to come up here and watch us play, I think it's pretty special," Woodson said. "I don't care what community you live in or where you go and visit, man, you hate to see a community going through something like that, especially when you're dealing with young kids. A lot of those kids never had a chance."

Notebook: Knicks 120, Kings 81

Adam Zagoria, for NBA.com
Posted Sat Feb 02, 2013 10:29 PM - Updated Sat Feb 02, 2013 10:29 PM

THE FACTS: J.R. Smith tallied 25 points off the bench, Amar'e Stoudemire scored a season-high 21 and Tyson Chandler posted 11 points and 20 rebounds points as the Knicks blew out the Sacramento Kings 120-81 at Madison Square Garden.

The Knicks (30-15) are 15 games over .500 for the first time since April 13, 2001. They have now won four straight and five of six to move within a half game of the Miami Heat for the Eastern Conference's best record.

If the Heat lose Sunday at Toronto, Knicks coach Mike Woodson will coach the East in the All-Star Game. Carmelo Anthony and Chandler are both on the East squad, with Anthony named a starter.

DeMarcus Cousins had 25 points and nine rebounds for the Kings (17-32), who have lost three straight and seven of eight.

New York avenged a buzzer-beating 106-105 loss at Sacramento Dec. 28.

QUOTABLE: "You gotta have the mindset that you want to come in and dominate...You want to be a spark off the bench and that's what I came in to do tonight."
-- Stoudemire on MSG.

THE STAT: The Knicks tied their season-high by going 19-of-43 from beyond the arc, while the Kings made 6-of-21. For the Knicks, Smith went 7-of-14 from deep and Steve Novak was 5-of-7. Half of New York's 86 shot attempts were 3's.

THE STAT II: Led by Smith, Stoudemire, Novak and Kurt Thomas (season-high 11 points), the Knicks' bench outscored the Kings' reserves, 82-38.

TURNING POINT: The Knicks trailed by as many as 12 points in the first quarter but then rattled off a 50-15 sustained spurt to take the first half, 56-33. In the second quarter alone, New York outscored Sacramento, 31-11, and made 7-of-11 from beyond the arc. Novak was a perfect 4-of-4 from deep for 12 points in the second period. The Knicks then punished the Kings, 41-19, in the third period and led by as many as 50 points.

QUOTABLE II: "I'm not sitting here holding my breath thinking about coaching the All-Star team. I'm looking at the big picture and the big picture is trying to get this team to the Finals and try to win an NBA championship."
-- Woodson.

WHO'S HOT: Stoudemire went 10-of-10 from the field, the most field goals without a miss this season by an NBA player and one shy of the Knicks' record for made field goals without a miss. In his last three games, he's gone 22-of-27. Entering this game, he was averaging 16 points and 5.6 rebounds in his last eight games.

WHO'S NOT: The Kings' backcourt of Tyreke Evans and Isaiah Thomas went a combined 6-of-23 for 15 points and 10 assists.

QUOTABLE III: "He's playing at a high level. He goes 10-for-10 and he's doing it inside and outside now. He's been great."
-- Woodson on Stoudemire.

NOTABLE: Anthony's franchise-record of 31 straight 20-point games came to an end as he finished with nine points on 4-of-12 shooting.

NOTABLE II: Chandler notched back-to-back 20-rebound games.

QUOTABLE IV: "There's not a team we can't beat in this league if we come committed to play for 48 minutes."
-- Woodson.

INSIDE THE ARENA: Twenty-some children from the Newtown (Conn.) Choir sang the national anthem.

UP NEXT: For the Knicks, Monday vs. Detroit, Wednesday @ Washington, Friday @ Minnesota. For the Kings, Monday @ Utah, Saturday vs. Utah, Sunday vs. Houston.

• Kings: Honeycutt
• Knicks: Camby, Wallace

• Kings: --
• Knicks: --

• Lead Changes: 1
• Times Tied: 0

• Arena: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
• Officials: #49 Tom Washington, #26 Pat Fraher, #77 Karl Lane
• Attendance: 19033
• Duration: 2:05