With Carmelo Anthony making his ninth All-Star bid, he and the New York Knicks (22-22) take on the Los Angeles Clippers (27-15) at Madison Square Garden.
Knicks Come Off Overtime Thriller With Jazz
The Knicks are on a seven-game home winning streak and are coming off an overtime thriller versus the Utah Jazz. The 118-111 win over Utah showed that the Knicks are growing, but they still have room to grow. A foul on the last play of regulation proved to be a costly mistake by rookie Kristaps Porzingis, but he will be looking to redeem himself tonight against Los Angeles.
Porzingis ranks third among rookies with 14.0 points per game and first with nearly 2.0 blocks per contest. He finished the game with 16 points on Wednesday despite being questionable with a foot injury. Anthony had a stellar performance with 30 points, nine assists and seven rebounds versus Utah, and will be looking to capitalize on that momentum.
Derrick Williams also had a great game off the bench against Utah, with 18 points on 6-of-13 shooting. Williams' outstanding performance has played a big role in the Knicks' winning ways of late, as he is averaging over 16 points per game in the past five games.
Clippers Come Off Tough Loss Against Cavaliers
The Clippers come in on the second night of a back-to-back after losing 115-102 to the defending Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers, despite a 30 point, nine assist game by Chris Paul. The Clippers are playing good basketball without Griffin, going 10-2 over the first 12 games without him.
In addition to Griffin being out for tonight's game, the Clippers will also be without forward Josh Smith who was traded to the Houston Rockets Friday morning.
With players moving and Griffin’s absence, role players have been called to perform, and they have delivered. Last night, although in a losing effort, guard J.J. Redick scored 17 points and ex-Knick Jamal Crawford added 16 off the bench.
Range Of Emotions For Garden Crowd
Long time Knick fans will remember Crawford as one of the few bright spots during the 2000s for the Knicks. He was always a crowd favorite, and will likely get a warm reception from the Garden crowd.
His homecoming will be overshadowed by the presence of ex-Knick, turned Head Coach Doc Rivers and his Boston Celtic companion Paul Pierce. Although he’s having a sub-par season, only averaging 5.6 points, you can be sure Pierce will be looking to disappoint the Garden crowd one last time. Pierce is coming off a game where he went 0-for-5 from the field for zero total points, and you can expect that he'll be looking to get back in rhythm in an arena where he has been comfortable over the course of his career.
It is also a homecoming of sorts for small forward Lance Stephenson. A Brooklyn native and graduate of Brooklyn's Lincoln High School, Stephenson will definitely be looking to put on a show in front of his hometown crowd.
Battle Of Big Men
Tonight’s game will also feature two big men who were coveted this offseason in Robin Lopez and DeAndre Jordan. All the news people remember about this past July was Jordan deciding to join the Dallas Mavericks, and then infamously changing his mind in favor of the Clippers. However, Jordan had met with the Knicks’ front office and even considered signing before eventually joining the Clippers. The Knicks ended up with Lopez, and although his numbers aren’t that exciting, he has played a big part in the defense snatching 6.0 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game.
Jordan is shooting 41 percent from the free throw line, and last night the Cavs used the “hack-a-Jordan” strategy with success. In the second half, coach David Blatt sent players to intentionally foul Jordan and he finished the night 6-of-15 from the charity stripe. It will be interesting to see if Knicks Head Coach Derek Fisher decides to employ the “hack-a-Jordan” strategy with Jordan’s poor free throw shooting.
The Knicks currently sit a half game out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the East. So you have to think they will be looking to win every game. While Anthony and Paul are very good friends off court, you know they will be looking to defeat each other. With homecomings left and right, and two very hungry teams, this should be a fun Friday night matchup in the Mecca that is Madison Square Garden.