New Knicks, same result against Kobe, Lakers.
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Charley Rosen: Carmelo Burns LeBron as Knicks Win in Miami
No surprise that the marquee matchup in New York’s 91-86 win in Miami pitted Carmelo Anthony versus LeBron James. Turned out that Melo won both the battle and the war.
Simply put, Anthony shredded LeBron’s paltry attempts to guard him. On several drives hoopwards — whether resorting to straight power-moves or tricky spins — Melo left James in the dust. Indeed, at the time Melo was putting the finishing touches on any given layup, James was beaten so badly that he wasn’t even posterized.
As ever, LeBron’s defensive stance was too upright, and the slightest ball-fake drew him completely off-balance. On one embarrassing sequence, LBJ was so mesmerized by the ball that he was unable to react when Anthony executed a nifty back-door cut, caught a lob pass from Amar’e Stoudemire, and scored on an uncontested dunk.
For sure Carmelo Anthony is the most versatile point-maker in the NBA — beating James from the low-post to wing isos and pull-ups — but the game at hand should finally put the lie to all the hype concerning LBJ’s being a top-notch defender.
Anthony’s numbers: 10-of-22 shooting, two assists, three turnovers, nine rebounds, and 29 points. As is his wont, Melo was most comfortable when put in isolation situations — his 12 iso opportunities led to scoring eight points. In grill-to-grill competition, Anthony scorched LeBron for a total of 20 points.
At the other end of the game, Anthony’s quick-footed, aggressive defense against LBJ was a revelation. In fact, Melo hasn’t played such ornery defense for such long stretches since he locked horns with Kobe Bryant in the fourth game of the 2009 Western Conference finals.
Knicks Outlast Heat With Comeback Win in Miami
MIAMI — The New York Knicks and their plentiful South Florida fans arrived Sunday at the AmericanAirlines Arena to face the Miami Heat in a playoff-like atmosphere. Hours later, they left satisfied, having earned a 91-86 win while erasing the memory of Friday’s embarrassing loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Now, it’s the Heat who must answer the critics after failing yet again to close out a tight game against a quality opponent.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra couldn’t have been pleased with his team, and the look on his face after the game spoke volumes. Nevertheless, he expressed hope that his team will learn from these experiences.
“We will have our breakthrough,” Spoelstra said. “As painful as this is right now, there will be a time that we’ll be able to execute and win a game like this against a quality opponent going down the stretch. What you hope is that the pain of a game like this resonates enough to make a change, and that’s what we need to do.”
New-Look Knicks Make Statement With Comeback Victory in Miami
MIAMI — With the game on the line, LeBron James got past Carmelo Anthony.
Not Amar’e Stoudemire, however.
And just like that, the New York Knicks — with defense, no less — knocked off the Miami Heat.
Chauncey Billups made the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:01 left, Stoudemire blocked James’ layup try with 7 seconds remaining to protect a one-point lead, and the Knicks finished with a 13-2 run to beat the Heat 91-86 on Sunday night.
“The bigger the game, the bigger the stage, the bigger they play,” Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said.
Anthony scored 29 points and Stoudemire added 16 points and 10 rebounds. Billups had 16 points for the Knicks, who rallied from a 15-point, first-half deficit and improved to 2-1 since the megatrade with Denver that dramatically changed their roster.
Heat Look Forward to Facing New Look Knicks in Renewed Rivalry
LeBron James isn’t ready to call it a rivalry. Most of the media have already declared it so, especially once Carmelo Anthony came into the picture. But with only a few teams in the East with realistic chances of making a deep playoff run, the Miami Heat may have no choice but to embrace a reunion between two teams with plenty of shared history.
“We know the Heat and Knicks rivalry is way beyond our years,” said James, who was only 16 the last time these two teams faced each other in the postseason with the likes of Alonzo Mourning, Patrick Ewing, Tim Hardaway and Allan Houston battling it out. “It basically started with the departure of the man upstairs coming down here and leaving New York.”
The path James and that man upstairs, Pat Riley, took to Miami are quite similar in both the abrupt manner they left their former teams and the subsequent firestorm of controversy it set off. While James is aware of the bad blood between the two franchises, he hasn’t forgotten that it’s also been a decade since they faced off in meaningful games.
“First of all, rivalries don’t start until you have a playoff series or two,” said James. “But we’ll welcome it back, we have no problem with bringing that old rivalry back and making it fun like it has been in the past.”
Dwyane Wade arrived in Miami a few years after the Knicks began their decline into perennial lottery team status but has had his fair share of battles with them in the regular season, including a 55 point performance on April 12, 2009. Though the Knicks haven’t won in Miami for almost three years, Wade is excited to see if they are truly a competitive adversary.
Major Roster Upheaval Nothing New for the Miami Heat
Filed under: Heat, Knicks, NBA Transactions
One of the busiest trade deadlines in recent memory resulted in general managers going on a shopping spree like no other with seemingly half the league exchanging players, draft picks and cold hard cash. The Miami Heat already made their big moves during the offseason and while they were indeed poking around for anyone useful in the clearance section, rival teams in the Eastern Conference such as the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics exchanged major players integral to their system deep into the regular season.
The Heat can attest to the difficulties of trying to mesh players in a short amount of time under the spotlight. Before facing the new-look New York Knicks on Sunday, the team encountered a Washington Wizards team that has been in constant change each time they’ve played against them with Gilbert Arenas, Rashard Lewis, Mike Bibby, Kirk Hinrich and others shuffled in and out of the roster.
“These are the challenges in this league,” said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, who’s had to face plenty of criticism this season while trying to manage a new team with big personalities as one of the youngest coaches in the NBA. “We have ultimate respect for every opponent. Even the Wizards coming in here, they’ve been through a lot of injuries and a lot of change but now you can see what they’re building around. They have a lot of interesting young talent.”
For the Knicks, the goal of adding superstar talent after disciplining themselves to refrain from wildly spending has paid off in surprisingly quick fashion after losing out to LeBron James, their No. 1 target last summer, to the Heat. Nevertheless, the acquisition of Carmelo Anthony came at a huge cost and the glacial pace in which trade talks progressed so late into the season has robbed the team of precious time to jell together. With two All-Stars who must now learn to share the spotlight in New York, Dwyane Wade had the benefit of already having gone through the experience after Shaquille O’Neal was brought in early into his career. Even still, growing pains are still evident as he continues to get accustomed to playing with LeBron James and Chris Bosh.
On Legends Night, Carmelo Anthony Starts to Build His Knicks Legacy
NEW YORK — With the trade becoming official Tuesday and all physicals passed in the nick of time on Wednesday, it was a complete coincidence that the New York Knicks introduced Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups on the team’s third annual legends night.
But if sometime during the 15th or 20th or 32nd annual legends night they introduce Anthony and/or Billups along with Amar’e Stoudemire as the definitive players of this decade, that would be more than acceptable with the Knicks and their fans.
As a matter of fact, that’s what those fans believe they deserve. This is New York City and it is not without its great — and at times, unreasonable — expectations. With Stoudemire, Anthony and Billups — two All-Stars and and a Finals MVP in the fold — the demands have grown larger. The Knicks now have what fans have wanted for a better part of a decade: a team full of stars that has at least a plausible chance of contending for a title.
Carmelo Anthony Delivers in NY Debut as Knicks Edge Bucks
NEW YORK (AP) — Carmelo Anthony‘s debut on the big stage was a huge hit.
Anthony had 27 points and 10 rebounds, hitting a pair of clutch buckets down the stretch as New York beat the Milwaukee Bucks 114-108 on Wednesday night in his Knicks debut.
Anthony made only 10 of 25 shots but was at his best in the closing minutes, helping New York hold on after fellow superstar Amar’e Stoudemire fouled out. He matched the third-highest scoring game in a Knicks debut since 1964, just two points shy of Keith Van Horn’s 29 on Oct. 29, 2003.
Chauncey Billups, who came with Anthony from Denver in Tuesday’s blockbuster trade, finished with 21 points and eight assists as the Knicks won their third straight. Toney Douglas scored 23 points and Stoudemire had 19.
John Salmons scored 27 points for the Bucks.
LeBron James, Dwyane Wade React to Carmelo Anthony Deal
Filed under: Heat, Knicks, Nuggets
MIAMI — With the trade of Carmelo Anthony to the New York Knicks, the Miami Heat‘s longstanding rivalry with them now has some serious star power. This year has marked a resurgence for the East, and the two old foes have benefited the most by adding two superstars each to their rosters since last season.
LeBron James pointed out after their latest loss to the Boston Celtics that rivalries are made in the playoffs and not the regular season. With the Knicks no longer a perennial lottery team, both teams could be headed to another memorable playoff series that would be a must-see event. For now, James was cordial when asked about the blockbuster trade before the Heat dismantled the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night.
“I know he’s happy about it. I’m glad that it’s over with for himself and it’s always good when a friend of yours can just focus on the game,” said James. “I think it’s great for the NBA. The fact that the Knicks are back, the Celtics have been back for the last few years and all the other teams are trying to compete. I think it’s great.”
With a revamped roster also featuring veteran Chauncey Billups at the helm of an offensive attack led by an impressive frontcourt of Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire, Heat guard Dwyane Wade sounded like he’d prefer to avoid the Knicks altogether in the first round of the playoffs by finishing in the top two in the East.
The Works: Carmelo Anthony and His Consequences
Filed under: Knicks, Nuggets, NBA Transactions, The Works, NBA Business
Today in The Works: Carmelo is a Knick. Now what?After The Rain
Carmelo Anthony hasn’t played a game for the Knicks yet, but already, the course of history, and of the Knicks’ history, has been altered forever. Come on board and join the fun.
Eric Freeman
The Knicks’ offense will get better. Yes, I know, big surprise — Carmelo Anthony has never scored fewer than 20 ppg in a season and currently averages 25 ppg. But his style is also deliberate and perhaps a poor fit for the talents of Amar’e Stoudemire, who also likes to have the ball as much as possible. The reason this will work isn’t just that two great scorers are now on the same team — it’s that Mike D’Antoni is something of an offensive savant who’s proven himself capable of adjusting his system before for Shaq and Amar’e in Phoenix, a combo that wasn’t as ineffective as it’s remembered. Furthermore, Melo and Stoudemire know what’s on the line here. They’ll make it work because their long-term prospects and legacies depend on it.
