Trey Burke Reminds Knicks They're Doomed and Other NBA Takeaways
Just when it looked like a stroke of good fortune had graced the New York Knicks (2-8), Trey Burke sent a stern reminder: They're still the New York Knicks.
After Carmelo Anthony banked in an improbable game-tying three-pointer with just over two seconds remaining in regulation, Burke sucked the air out of Madison Square Garden with a heroic fallaway jumper from the corner to hand the Utah Jazz a 102-100 win over the Knicks, as seen below.
And it all came on a night when Anthony single-handedly willed the Knicks toward the finish line against a red-hot Gordon Hayward (33 points, six assists), scoring an NBA season-high 46 points on 16-of-26 shooting (13-of-16 from the free-throw line) while pulling down seven rebounds.
As The Wall Street Journal's Chris Herring noted, Anthony did a significant chunk of his damage in the final frame while his teammates stood idly by. Pablo Prigioni was the only other Knick to score in double figures (13 points), as starters not named Anthony shot a combined 7-of-23 from the field en route to compiling 15 points:
Anthony admitted to reporters that losing is staring to take its toll, according to Herring:
Anthony's frustration is understandable, too, when you consider his subpar record when scoring at least 45 points, according to ESPN Stats and Info:
Despite Anthony's tremendous performance, the Knicks have now lost seven games in a row and continue to sputter on both ends in concert with their slide down the Eastern Conference standings.
According to NBA.com, the Knicks entered Friday ranked among the league's 10 worst offensive teams, generating just 100.7 points per 100 possessions in head coach Derek Fisher's triangle scheme. In fact, Friday's loss marked the first time this season the Knicks scored at least 100 points in a single game.
And it was all for naught.
More concerning, though, is that the Knicks have been hemorrhaging points on the defensive end. Specifically, New York surrendered 109 points per 100 possessions in its first nine games, which is just slightly better than the abominable units housed in Los Angeles and Cleveland.
To add injury to insult, the Knicks lost Iman Shumpert to a right hip contusion against the Jazz, which represents a major blow considering how substantial his role has been compared to last season, as Herring noted:
Not only is Shumpert shooting 50.5 percent from the field and 53.3 percent from three, but he also entered Friday with an offensive rating (104.3) consistent with Anthony's team-best mark (104.4), per NBA.com.
While positive vibes emanated from Fisher in a postgame session with reporters, according to Herring, it's hard to draw any silver linings from the team's early performances:
And if Fisher's club can't rip off consecutive wins against the Denver Nuggets, Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves and Philadelphia 76ers over New York's next four games, it will be official: The Knicks are doomed until further notice.
Around the Association
LeBron Pushes Cleveland Past Boston
LeBron James finished with 41 points, seven assists and four rebounds as the Cleveland Cavaliers outscored the Boston Celtics 38-20 in the fourth quarter to capture a thrilling 122-121 victory at TD Garden.
After the Celtics dropped 42 points in the third quarter and finished the frame up by 17, James helped mask Cleveland's many defensive deficiencies with a brilliant fourth-quarter flourish. According to ESPN Stats and Info, the Celtics hadn't entered the fourth quarter with a lead that big and lost in decades:
James also vaulted into 24th place on the NBA's all-time scoring list by passing Robert Parish:
Rajon Rondo had a chance to win it for Boston on the game's final possession, but he failed to get a shot off after foolishly over-dribbling:
Rondo finished with just six points and doled out a season-high 16 assists, while his primary adversary, Kyrie Irving, totaled 27 points and five assists. Kevin Love managed 12 points on 2-of-10 shooting and 15 rebounds.
Duncan Passes 25,000
By scoring nine first-half points, Tim Duncan became the 19th player in league history to score at least 25,000 points for his career, according to the NBA's Twitter feed:
All told, Duncan scored 13 points (6-of-8 shooting) and grabbed 11 rebounds as the San Antonio Spurs trounced the Los Angeles Lakers 93-80.
According to the Spurs' Twitter feed, Duncan joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in an illustrious points-rebounds-blocks club:
Kobe's Historically Bad Night
Kobe Bryant, on the other hand, was tremendously inefficient, scoring nine points on 1-of-14 shooting (7-of-9 from the line) while totaling six assists, four rebounds and two blocks.
According to ESPN Stats and Info, it was the worst shooting performance of Bryant's career when attempting at least 10 shots:
Lakers head coach Byron Scott intimated after the game that Bryant was playing at less than 100 percent, according to the team's official Twitter account:
Without Wade, Heat Fall to Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks captured their fourth straight win with a 114-103 victory over the Miami Heat.
Eight Hawks players—and all five starters—scored in double figures, as Paul Millsap and Al Horford paced Atlanta with 19 points apiece.
Mario Chalmers led Miami with 23 points on 7-of-11 shooting off the bench while Chris Bosh and Shawne Williams scored 20 and 21 points, respectively.
As a team, the Hawks shot a staggering 56 percent from the field and 39.3 percent from three to hand Miami its second straight loss.
Magic Win in Oladipo's Debut
After undergoing surgery to repair a facial fracture, Victor Oladipo was a team-best plus-22 while scoring 13 points off the bench in his season debut, a 101-85 win for the Orlando Magic over the Milwaukee Bucks.
With Oladipo working his way back, Evan Fournier drew another start at shooting guard, scoring 15 points (5-of-13 shooting, 3-of-6 from three) in 36 minutes. Tobias Harris was the star of the show once again, though, totaling 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting to go with 10 rebounds.
Orlando (4-6) has now won consecutive games twice this season, while the Bucks (4-5) dropped a game below .500 with the loss.
Pelicans Smash Timberwolves
The New Orleans Pelicans obliterated the Minnesota Timberwolves, 139-91, en route to setting several new franchise records.
ESPN Stats and Info passed along the details:
New Orleans shot 66.7 percent from the field and 75 percent from three (15-of-20). Jrue Holiday led the way with 24 points and nine assists. He also finished a team-high plus-40 in 28 minutes.
Anthony Davis tallied 22 points and four rebounds on a tidy 9-of-13 shooting, as well, while Austin Rivers and Ryan Anderson scored 17 and 16 points, respectively, off the pine.
Although the accomplishment came in an embarrassing loss, Andrew Wiggins scored a career-high 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting (2-of-2 from three).
Quote of the Night
Brandon Jennings roasted the Oklahoma City Thunder to the tune of 29 points (25 of which came after halftime) as the Detroit Pistons escaped with a 96-89 overtime victory.
And according to Thunder point guard Reggie Jackson, via ESPN's Royce Young and The Oklahoman's Anthony Slater, there was no need to mince words when discussing his opponent's success:
Jackson finished with 20 points and 12 assists, but Jennings' late surge helped Detroit outscore Oklahoma City 14-7 in the extra session.
