CHICAGO — If you laid the Knicks' top six big men from end to end, you would get 41 feet 4 inches of pain, and enough sore necks, feet, knees and ankles to fill a modest orthopedic ward.
The Knicks stepped onto the United Center court on Thursday without any of them, arriving without the services of Amar'e Stoudemire's right knee, Kenyon Martin's left ankle, Tyson Chandler's neck, Kurt Thomas's right foot or the left feet belonging to Marcus Camby and Rasheed Wallace.
They put nine players in uniform, started the 6-foot-8 Chris Copeland at center and put their 13-game winning streak on the line against the feisty, physical, streak-stopping Chicago Bulls.
After all the fretting over injured giants, the game was decided by the smallest player on the court.
Nate Robinson, the sprightly 5-9 guard, exploded for 35 points, including 8 in overtime, sending the Knicks to a 118-111 defeat, their first loss since March 17.
The third-longest winning streak in Knicks history is over, and the Bulls — who snapped the Miami Heat's 27-game winning streak two weeks ago — reign as the N.B.A.'s premier streak busters.
Carmelo Anthony scored 36 points, his sixth straight game with at least 35, breaking Bernard King's franchise record. Anthony also grabbed six rebounds, helping offset the absences of, well, everybody.
J. R. Smith added 28 points off the bench. But the Knicks made just 3 of 11 shots in overtime and were outscored by Robinson alone, as the Bulls swept the season series, 4-0. They are the only Eastern Conference team the Knicks did not beat this season.
"They can have it," Anthony said of the sweep. "They can have this regular-season wins. They did a great job at beating us four times. We're not worrying about them at this point. We're concerned about ourselves."
The Knicks (51-27) retain a two-game lead on the Indiana Pacers (49-29) for the second seed in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls (43-35) moved a half-game ahead of the Atlanta Hawks for the fifth seed.
The Bulls erased a 15-point deficit in the second half, then surged ahead by 7 points in the fourth quarter, with Robinson providing a nifty reverse layup and two 3-pointers, celebrating the second one by co-opting Steve Novak's "discount double-check" belt gesture.
Chicago led by 101-94 with 3 minutes 21 seconds to play, but the Knicks rallied and Anthony tied the score at 105-105 with 14.5 seconds left. Anthony missed a 21-footer at the buzzer that would have won the game.
"We were trying to get the ball to J. R. because I thought they were going to switch off and double-team me," Anthony said. "Then I saw that I had a clear shot to the rim. I really thought the ball was going in, to be honest with you."
The Knicks' revival has been built on brilliant shooting, so it is only appropriate that this season will be immortalized with the N.B.A. record for 3-pointers. The Knicks hit 10 more, pushing their total to 847, breaking the mark set by the 2009-10 Orlando Magic, who had 841.
This season has also been defined by the Knicks' move to small-ball, a tact they took to new extremes Thursday, out of sheer necessity. With all of their big men sidelined, the Knicks installed Copeland as their center, making him the shortest player to start at the position since Buck Williams, also 6-8, on April 18, 1998.
The Knicks could have listed the 6-8 Anthony at center, but Coach Mike Woodson dismissed the suggestion with a gentle laugh.
"Cope's the center," he said. "I can't call Carmelo the center. If I do, he'll jump on me for that."
Copeland scored 14 points in 29 minutes, and the Knicks battled the Bulls to a virtual draw in rebounds, never looking any worse off for their lack of big bodies.
Chandler, the All-Star center, was left in New York to rehabilitate a bulging disk in his neck. Martin, his most recent fill-in, also stayed home to rest a sprained ankle. They will both miss Friday's game in Cleveland.
As it happened, the Knicks picked a good night to be undersized, with the Bulls also suffering from an injury-plagued frontcourt rotation. Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson were both out, leaving the 6-9 Carlos Boozer to jump center against Copeland.
Boozer finished with 13 points and 15 rebounds. Jimmy Butler had 22 points and 14 rebounds. Luol Deng returned from a hip injury to finish with 16 points.
The Knicks not only had failed to beat the Bulls in three previous tries, they had failed to even take a lead in the second two games. But the Knicks raced to a 17-point lead in the first quarter. The Bulls rallied with a 10-0 run, and cut the deficit to 4 points before Smith hit another 3-pointer, which pushed the Knicks past the Magic for the single-season record.
Robinson, a former Knick, scored 14 points in the second quarter as the Bulls kept up the pressure and the physical play. Typical of the series between these teams, emotions soon boiled over.
Anthony was called for a technical while jawing with Butler. Moments later, Robinson was hit with a technical for jawing in the vicinity of the referee Joey Crawford. A few minutes after that, Deng earned a technical for complaining about a foul.
"It's over with," Woodson said after the game as he discussed the winning streak. "You cant win 'em all. I mean, it'd have been nice to — Melo knocks down that shot, we walk out of here with a win."
REBOUNDS
The Knicks are working to sign James Singleton, a 31-year-old forward, to bolster their depleted frontcourt. They intend to waive the injured Kurt Thomas to make room. Singleton, a 6-8, 216-pound forward, has been in and out of the N.B.A. since 2005. He spent this season in China after being cut by the Washington Wizards. Singleton would not solve the Knicks' problems at center, but he could provide some depth in the frontcourt until Tyson Chandler and Kenyon Martin return.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Bulls 118, Knicks 111 (OT): Nate Robinson Helps Bulls End Knicks’ Winning Streak
Dengan url
http://homepageglobal.blogspot.com/2013/04/bulls-118-knicks-111-ot-nate-robinson.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Bulls 118, Knicks 111 (OT): Nate Robinson Helps Bulls End Knicks’ Winning Streak
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Bulls 118, Knicks 111 (OT): Nate Robinson Helps Bulls End Knicks’ Winning Streak
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar