40 • December 16, 2021 - December 22, 2021
THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS
Sports The Knicks continue to tumble as COVID adds to their troubles (Bill Moore photo)
By JAIME C. HARRIS AmNews Sports Editor On a night at Madison Square Garden when the basketball world celebrated Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry setting the NBA’s new all-time 3-pointers made mark, it was a somber occasion for the Knicks. The 105-96 defeat on Tuesday night was the Knicks’ fourth in a row and seventh in their last eight, dropping them to 12-16, 5-10 at home and in the 12th spot in the 15team Eastern Conference. Right now they are a shell of the team that went 41-31 last season and were the Knicks Forward Obi Toppin remained in the No. 4 seed in the conferNBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols ence. Weakened as many when his team lost by 105-96 to the Golden teams across the league State Warriors at MSG on Tuesday have been by players being placed in COVID-19 health and safety protocols, the Knicks to the Milwaukee Bucks. were without guard RJ Barrett, forward The Knicks ended their loss to Golden Obi Toppin and rookie guard Quentin State with NBA rankings of 25th in Grimes, who scored a career- and team- points per game (105.5), 16th in oppohigh 27 points on Sunday at MSG in his nents points per game (107.3) and a first regular season start in a 112-97 loss telling 28th out of league’s 30 teams in
assists per game (21.4). Their last victory (121-109) came 10 days ago in San Antonio versus the Spurs and they are back in Texas tonight to face the Houston Rockets. Rotation changes and schematic alterations by head coach Tom Thibodeau have yielded positive outcomes. A reasonable summation suggests the Knicks lack enough high impact players to reverse their current trajectory. The one glaring deficiency of the team that has been problematic for the better part of the past decade is a top-tier, two-way lead guard. The Knicks failed to successfully address the position this past off-season and it has manifested in the offense being stagnant and the defense left vulnerable at opponents’ point of attack. Team president Leon Rose hoped to squeeze a good year out of Kemba Walker and signed the 31-year-old Bronx native to a two-year, $17.9 million deal in August. But Walker was removed from the starting lineup and rotation by Thibodeau due to minimal production at the end of November, and apparently will be anchored to the bench as long as he is a Knick. If they have any intent on competing for a playoff spot, the Knicks’ decision makers, namely Rose, must strongly consider a trade to acquire a difference-
making point guard long before the Feb. 10, 2022 NBA trade deadline. The Sacramento Kings De’Aaron Fox is a player long-rumored to be a primary target of the Knicks. As for Curry’s historic night at the Garden, the irony was inescapable. The Knicks were set to draft the transformative point-guard with the eighth overall pick in 2009 but instead he was scooped up by the Warriors at No. 7. Twelve years into his career, the remarkable 33-year-old babyfaced basketball assassin has reshaped how the game is played. The three-time NBA champion and two-time league MVP has made the 3-point shot the most dangerous weapon in the game. Dropping five of 14 attempts against the Knicks on Tuesday, Curry broke the all-time record at 7:33 of the first quarter when he netted a 28-footer. It was his 2,974th, surpassing Ray Allen who was in attendance. Reggie Miller, who held the record before Allen, was also in the building as part of the TNT broadcast team. “I had great support here,” said Curry during an interview with TNT after the game. “This arena, I can’t express how much of an honor that was for the reaction here on the road and the appreciation for this milestone…a very, very, very special night.”
The Nets stay on a winning track despite health and safety obstacles By VINCENT DAVIS Special to the AmNews
(Bill Moore photo)
league’s leading MVP candidate, bounds off the bench. Undrafted who is dealing with right ankle rookie rookie guard David Duke Jr., soreness, to carry With games versus the Dallas them as he has all Mavericks, Houston Rockets, At- season. Durant lanta Hawks, Detroit Pistons on the had 34 points, road from Dec. 7-12, taking three 13 rebounds and out of four, the only loss (114- 11 assists versus AM NEWS AM NEWS 01414 104) coming against the Rockets, the Raptors, this AM NEWS 10/07/21 12/02/21 the Nets returned to the Barclays coming off a 5110/07/21 0 7 74470 22784 Center this week for a five-game point performance homestand. against the Pistons It began Tuesday night with a in a 116-204 win on 131-129 overtime win over the To- Sunday. Durant’s ronto Raptors, improving their teammates stepped record to 20-8, the best in the East- up to give him solid ern Conference. The victory was support in holding AM NEWS AM NEWS 01424 the Nets’ third in a row and sixth off the Raptors. AM NEWS 12/09/21 in their previous eight games.10/14/21 It Guard Patty Mills 10/14/21 0 7 74470 22784 was an impressive example of the had 30 points and Nets overcoming adversity as they rookie forward had seven players, including star Kessler Edwards, guard James Harden, in health and a second round safety protocols due to COVID-19. pick (No. 44 overIn addition to Harden, LaMarcus all) out of PepperAM NEWS AM NEWS Aldridge, DeAndre’ Bembry, James dine by the Nets 01434 Nets guard Patty Mills has been a mainstay of the AM NEWS Johnson, Jevon Carter, Bruce in last summer’s 10/21/21 12/16/21 team’s rotation this season, having appeared in all 28 10/21/21 0 7 Brown and Paul Millsap were also draft, contribut74470 22784 games heading into last night’s matchup in Brooklyn unavailable. ed an important 17 versus the Philadelphia 76ers But they had Kevin Durant, the points and 10 re-
a product of Providence College, had 10 points and 13 rebounds in a starting role. “It was a team effort in everything we did tonight,” said Durant, who played 48 minutes. Put into a starting role due to the absences of the usual first unit players, center Nic 01494 Claxton added 16 points and AM forNE ward Blake Griffin 13. Kessler, who 12/02/ 0 7 22784 is on a74470 two way contract, splitting his time between the Nets and the G-League, said head coach Steve Nash encouraged him to “trust yourself and have fun with it.” After taking on the Philadelphia 76ers tonight in Brooklyn, the Nets 01504 will host the Orlando MagicAMon NE Saturday, the Denver on 0 7 Nuggets12/09/ 74470 22784 Sunday and the Washington Wizards next Tuesday before a Christmas Day matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers on the road.
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