Day: November 14, 2015

[New York Daily News] Knicks’ Seraphin, has home in Paris, in shock over attacks (Sat, 14 Nov 2015 05:37:10 GMT)

Sixty minutes before tipoff between the Knicks and Cavaliers, backup Knicks forward Kevin Seraphin said he started getting texts.

[New York Daily News] LeBron dominates in fourth as Knicks fall to Cavs 90-84 (Sat, 14 Nov 2015 03:27:21 GMT)

While Carmelo Anthony slowly disappeared in the second half, LeBron James kept getting stronger and eventually dominated the fourth quarter.

[New York Daily News] LeBron James arrives in New York on a mission (Sat, 14 Nov 2015 00:54:26 GMT)

It’s good to be the King. Especially when the only motivation you need to try and win another NBA title is putting on a uniform.

[ESPN.com – New York Knicks] Knicks' Derek Fisher: 'I have to do a better job' (Sat, 14 Nov 2015 02:24:06 EST)

Knicks' Derek Fisher: 'I have to do a better job'

[New York Times] Butler, Bulls Beat Hornets 102-97 (Sat, 14 Nov 2015 06:01:03 GMT)

With a new coach and a new starting five, Pau Gasol and the Bulls are still trying to find their identity.

[New York Times] Westbrook Records Triple-Double in Thunder Win Over Sixers (Sat, 14 Nov 2015 06:00:27 GMT)

Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook overcame an ankle issue in the first quarter to score a triple double in a 102-85 victory over the winless Philadelphia 76ers on Friday.

[New York Times] Cousins Scores 40, Kings Defeat Nets 111-109 (Sat, 14 Nov 2015 05:58:16 GMT)

DeMarcus Cousins had 30 of his season-high 40 points in the second half and added 13 rebounds, Rajon Rondo had a triple-double and the Sacramento Kings beat the struggling Brooklyn Nets 111-109 on Friday night.

[New York Times] Sports Briefing | Pro Basketball: Raptors Top the Pelicans (Sat, 14 Nov 2015 05:09:45 GMT)

Jonas Valanciunas had 20 points and 10 rebounds, DeMar DeRozan added 15 points and 11 assists, and the Raptors pulled away in the second half for a 100-81 win over the New Orleans Pelicans in Toronto.

[New York Times] Sports Briefing | Pro Basketball: Thunder Keep Sixers Winless (Sat, 14 Nov 2015 05:07:01 GMT)

Russell Westbrook had his second straight triple-double, and the Thunder beat the winless Philadelphia 76ers, 102-85, in Oklahoma City.

[New York Times] Sports Briefing | College Basketball: No. 1 and No. 2 Triumph (Sat, 14 Nov 2015 05:06:35 GMT)

Kennedy Meeks had 25 points and 11 rebounds to help No. 1 North Carolina start its season with a 91-67 win over Temple at the Veterans Classic in Annapolis, Md.

[New York Times] Gallinari’s Scores 27 Points, Nuggets Top Rockets 107-98 (Sat, 14 Nov 2015 04:58:00 GMT)

Danilo Gallinari had 27 points, Will Barton scored a career-high 26 points and the Denver Nuggets beat the Houston Rockets 107-98 on Friday night to spoil the return of Ty Lawson.

[New York Times] James, Williams Lead Cavs Over Knicks for 8th in a Row (Sat, 14 Nov 2015 04:40:42 GMT)

With LeBron James spending so much energy shutting Carmelo Anthony down in the second half, it was good to have Mo Williams with him to finish the game offensively.

[New York Times] Pachulia’s Double-Double Lifts Mavericks Over Lakers 90-82 (Sat, 14 Nov 2015 04:25:04 GMT)

Zaza Pachulia notched his sixth double-double in nine games and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Lakers 90-82 on Friday night for Los Angeles’ fourth straight loss.

[New York Times] Randolph’s Putback Sends Grizzlies Past Portland 101-100 (Sat, 14 Nov 2015 04:22:05 GMT)

Zach Randolph’s put-back basket with less than a second left and a season-high 31 points from Marc Gasol led the Memphis Grizzlies to a 101-100 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night.

[New York Times] Cavaliers 90, Knicks 84: LeBron James Springs to Life and Forces Knicks to Relive a Collapse (Sat, 14 Nov 2015 04:01:31 GMT)

The Knicks let their lead slip from their grasp, as the Cavaliers came back once again to win, 90-84, on Friday at Madison Square Garden.

[New York Times] Westbrook’s Triple-Double Leads Thunder Past 76ers 102-85 (Sat, 14 Nov 2015 03:46:13 GMT)

Russell Westbrook had his second straight triple-double and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Philadelphia 76ers 102-85 on Friday night.

[New York Times] Isaiah Thomas Scores 23, Celtics Beat Hawks 106-93 (Sat, 14 Nov 2015 03:25:29 GMT)

Isaiah Thomas scored 17 of his 23 points in the second half and added 10 assists as the Boston Celtics recovered from early shooting troubles to beat the Atlanta Hawks 106-93 on Friday night.

[New York Times] George Scores 29, Pacers Beat Wolves for 6th Win in 7 Games (Sat, 14 Nov 2015 03:22:45 GMT)

Paul George scored 29 points, Monta Ellis added 24 points in his best game this season and the Indiana Pacers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 107-103 on Friday night for their sixth win in seven games.

[New York Times] Valanciunas Leads Raptors Over Pelicans 100-81 (Sat, 14 Nov 2015 03:07:47 GMT)

Jonas Valanciunas had 20 points and 10 rebounds, DeMar DeRozan added 15 points and 11 assists and the Toronto Raptors pulled away in the second half for a 100-81 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night.

[New York Times] Fournier Scores 21, Magic Runs to 102-93 Win Over Jazz (Sat, 14 Nov 2015 03:01:33 GMT)

Evan Fournier scored 21 points and the Orlando Magic raced out to a big early lead to defeat the Utah Jazz 102-93 on Friday night.

[New York Post] Upset Knick reflects on Paris attacks: ‘Scared it will start to be often’ (Sat, 14 Nov 2015 00:41:23 -0500)

Knicks big man Kevin Seraphin, who was schooled in Paris and lives there in the offseason, was left stunned and scared by the terrorist attacks that rocked his hometown on Friday. France has declared a national state of emergency and has closed its borders after more than 158 people were killed in gun and bomb…

Sorry for the lack of a game thread tonight, folks. I had left my apartment around 5:00 PM, and I thought that was too early to presume no one else was handling the game thread. In the future, I’ll just schedule a game thread before I go to go up about a half hour before the game and if someone else wants to do a more in-depth one, they can just replace mine before it posts (and as I said in the comments, I checked on my phone during intermission at a musical and I saw the Knicks were up so I didn’t want to jinx them by starting a game thread then. I see that that did not matter in the end).

Now that I’ve watched the replay of the game, it was an interesting game. Probably the biggest thing I will take from the game is the same thing that I was going to say before the game, which is that the Knicks are now at a point where they can hang with pretty much any team. They’re not really good enough to win a lot, but they’re hanging in there and hanging in there is a sign of a team who is good enough to be around the fringes of the playoffs (the 2013-14 team that won 37 games was a perfect example of that sort of fringe team who could hang with good teams – just not typically win the games in the end) and that is A. a lot more fun to watch than a team that has no chance against any half-decent team but more importantly, B. it is great experience for Zinger, who is really the main reason to watch this team this year, to see how far he can go and to continue to be impressed by how far he has already come in his short NBA career (think about it, the dude is specifically reversing what he did in Europe! Who does that? Who takes his weaknesses as a pre-NBA player and makes them his strengths as an NBA player in year one?! That’s ludicrous! That’s outstanding!).

I’ve said before that Lance Thomas is sort of oddly the bellwether of this team, in that if he has a good game, the Knicks can beat good teams. When he doesn’t, like tonight, well, the Knicks just don’t have enough guys. You can credit the Cavaliers defense in the fourth quarter, and there is something to be said for that, but the fourth quarter offensive collapse seemed to be more about poor execution by the Knicks than great defense by the Cavaliers. Lebron James scored 12 points in the fourth. That’s impressive. But it’s more impressive when you know that the entire Knicks team scored…12 points in the fourth. Dang.

Carmelo Anthony was electric through three quarters, probably playing his best game of the season, but for whatever reason, it wasn’t working in the fourth (again, Lebron’s strong defense was a help). Zinger had a decent game, as did Arron Afflalo.

Langston Galloway sadly had perhaps his worst game of the season. 3-9 from the field and some weak defense.

I never quite got the Kevin Seraphim signing and now it looks like the Knicks are even shrugging their shoulders with him. “Eh, we gave him a shot and now he’s done.”

The Knicks get the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday and Anthony Davis continues to be day-to-day with a sore hip. The Pelicans are playing so poorly that the game should be a winnable one whether he plays or not. They host Charlotte on Tuesday in the hopes of getting revenge on them before embarking on a really tough stretch of games for the rest of November (two games against Houston, two against Miami and one against OKC, sandwiched around one against the surprisingly not that bad Orlando Magic – heck, right now, Orlando is outperforming Houston). So it’d be nice to get to .500 before that stretch of games to close out the month.