Curry, Crawford Star in Loss at New Jersey
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On a night when Eddy Curry proved he is fully healthy and was able to dominate down low, the Knicks struggled to make some key defensive stops and fell to the Nets 110-94 at the Izod Center.
Curry finished the night with a team-leading 23 points and four rebounds. Jamal Crawford chipped in 22 points and six assists, while Zach Randolph added eight points and nine boards.
Despite the loss, Nate Robinson was among several Knicks players who remained upbeat.
"It's preseason, it's early," said Robinson, who played 19 minutes off the bench. "The Cavs went 2-5, and the Mavs went 2-4 (in preseason last year), and those are teams that did pretty well last year and were up there for the championship. We are learning together. We are learning where each other will be and this helps us get better. Of course you don't like to lose, but it's no big deal."
Jared Jeffries agreed that a preseason loss was much easier to handle.
"I think the team played decent tonight," said Jeffries. "Right now, it's a feeling-out process. We are trying to get to know each other and how we can play together."
Before the game, Knicks President, Basketball Operations and Head Coach Isiah Thomas decided to rest starting guard Stephon Marbury in order to evaluate different lineup options available to him this season. A drastically different starting lineup featured Quentin Richardson at the two-guard spot with Crawford manning the point and Jeffries at small forward.
The Knicks opened their scoring on a reverse dunk, alley-oop by Curry off a pass from Jeffries. Randolph followed with a sweet jumper from the outside, establishing an inside-out presence between the two big men.
The Nets received a huge boost as Nenad Krstic returned to the lineup for the first time since tearing his ACL last season against the Lakers. The 7-foot center started out strong, scoring six of the first 11 points for the Nets, who opened the game with a 18-10 run. Krstsic would finish the night with 11 points, all in the first half.
| THE TURNING POINT
After the Knicks had mounted a furious comeback to close out the first half, the Nets began the second half on a 120 run and never looked back. That run would stretch to 16-2 with the score at 63-49, forcing the Knicks to play catch-up the rest of the night. Jefferson and Carter each led the way during the run, hitting back-to-back shots from behind the arc, followed by a Carter pull-up jumper just 59 seconds into the half. Jefferson then hit a free throw after a technical foul on Isiah Thomas, Carter hit another bucket, and the Nets were on their way. |
The Nets continued to dominate on offense, outscoring the Knicks 20-6 during a stretch from the end of the first quarter and beginning of the second, giving them a 44-31 lead.
The run prompted Thomas to call a timeout with 5:05 remaining in the quarter, and the Knicks responded.
After reinserting most of their starters, the Knicks stormed back into the game, taking the ball to the hoop and drawing fouls. Curry, who hit five of six shots as well as one free throw for 11 points in the first half, led a furious Knicks comeback. New York went on a 16-4 run to close out the half, highlighted by a nifty Curry putback off a Randolph miss, followed by a Crawford steal and, in what has become a nightly tradition, a monster one-handed dunk by Chandler.
By halftime, what had been a 44-31 lead had been cut to 48-47 in a matter of minutes
Riding a hot unit, Thomas inserted the quintet of Jones, Crawford, Richardson, Curry and Randolph to start the second half. The Nets however got back-to-back three-pointers from Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson, followed by a Carter jumper, to extend their lead to nine just over a minute into the second half.
The Nets would streak out to a 16-2 run, and with a 63-49 lead, never looked back. Every time the Knicks would mount a mini-run, New Jersey responded, scoring 38 points in the third quarter for an 86-72 lead going into the fourth.
Even though the Knicks struggled in the third, Chandler said it was a beneficial learning experience.
"Playing against good guys like Vince and Jefferson, it was good for me," he said. "We had a good run, and I was learning how to defend against those guys by myself and how to defend against those guys with my teammates."
The rookie obviously learned quickly, as he caught Thomas' eye.
"With Chandler out there, I wanted to see him play against Jefferson and Carter just to see where he really is as a defender and a player," said Thomas. "I was pleasantly surprised with what I saw. He is competitive. To go out and challenge those guys, he had that going for him."
The Knicks never gave up in the fourth quarter, refusing to back away from their game plan of running the ball through Curry. But while the center pounded away successfully on the offensive end, New York struggled to get stops at the defensive end, as the Nets finished the night shooting 56 percent from the field. Thomas emptied his bench with 3:36 remaining, and New Jersey ended the night with a 16-point margin of victory.
BONUS QUOTES
Isiah Thomas
On the Nets' third quarter
In the third quarter, they came out with a smaller lineup. We came out with a big lineup. They hit a couple of threes and everything else.
They had a 38 point quarter.
On the Knicks' lineup on Thursday
I need to get guys some minutes and reps. Trying to match up wasn't as important. I wanted to get Eddy and Zach 30-plus minutes. The things I wanted to see and what I wanted to take a look at, I did.
On individual players
I'm happy with what I see out of Chandler. I like the ball in Jamal's hands. He appeared to be more involved, and I liked the way he and Eddy played together.
Wilson Chandler
On his playing time
I didn't know I was going to play this much, but like Coach says, even if you don't know you are going to play, prepare like you are and be ready. I think I did OK, but I know I can play even better. This is the first time I've played in a game this long, so I had to adjust to it.
On his shot selection
I just run the floor and try to get easy shots. That is how you win games. Getting easy shots instead of hard shots. But I can make the long shots. I can hit the three-pointer. If it's there you gotta take it, and that is what I did tonight. If you have a bad shot, you just don't take it from out there and you pass it out."
Nate Robinson
On playing more point guard Thursday night
It was good. It was how it came in. He called me and said he wanted me to play the point. I just play the position they call me in for.
On the lineup changes
We are all trying to get adjusted. It was good to play with different people, but again, you go out and play where you are told to.
Jared Jeffries
On getting a chance to start
It felt good. Anytime you get a chance to play, it's a good thing. It gives you a good feeling to go out there and compete, especially in the preseason. It gets you into a rhythm. I learned on my way over here I would be in there.
THURSDAY'S KNICKS SUBSTITUTIONS
Starters
F- Jared Jeffries
F- Zach Randolph
C- Eddy Curry
G- Quentin Richardson
G- Jamal Crawford
First Quarter
Wilson Chandler in for Jeffries with 8:02 remaining
David Lee in for Randolph with 4:46 remaining
Second Quarter
Fred Jones, Nate Robinson, Jeffries and Randolph in for Chandler, Curry, Crawford and Richardson at start of quarter
Chandler in for Jeffries with 8:21 remaining
Curry in for Lee with 6:54 remaining
Crawford and Richardson in for Robinson and Chandler with 5:05 remaining
Chandler in for Richardson with 3:16 remaining
Robinson in for Curry with 3.9 seconds remaining
Third Quarter
Chandler in for Curry with 11:01 remaining
Robinson in for Richardson with 10:35 remaining
Lee in for Randolph with 6:50 remaining
Curry in for Crawford with 5:08 remaining
Jeffries in for Jones with 3:01 remaining
Crawford in for at Robinson with 1:31 remaining
Fourth Quarter
Richardson in for Chandler with 12:00 remaining
Randolph in for Lee with 10:00 remaining
Robinson in for Jeffries with 9:04 remaining
Jones in for Robinson with 6:28 remaining
Chandler, Jared Jordan, Randolph Morris and Demetris Nichols in for Randolph, Curry and Crawford with 3:36 remaining
