New York Knicks' Danilo Gallinari (8), of Italy, shoots the ball over Phoenix Suns' Jason Richardson (23) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2009 in New York. Gallinari had 27 points and 10 rebounds as the Knicks won the game 126-99. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Mike D'Antoni must have read this and this because his team seemed fairly motivated to win their game against the Suns Tuesday night.
In a game that transpired in reverse of expectations, the Knicks throttled the Suns throughout and cruised to a 126-99 win.
Call it a trap game (the Suns visit Lebron, Shaq and the Cavs on Wednesday night), call it Manhattan hangover, call it whatever you want; the bottom line is the Suns are a superior team who was outplayed by a conglomerate of has-beens, could've-beens and never-weres.
The Knicks played like a team who wanted to vindicate their coach in front of his old team while the Suns looked utterly disinterested in proving their better off without D'Antoni.
The starting backcourt of Steve Nash and Jason Richardson were the only Suns able to get going offensively, compiling 20 and 14 points respectively. Their performances, however, were eclipsed by the outstanding play of rookie Danilo Gallinari, whose sharpshooting prowess was on full display.
Gallinari dropped six 3-pointers and ended up with 27 points in a game that featured a porous Phoenix defense. David Lee added 24 points of his own and Al Harrington poured on 22 off the bench.
To add insult to injury, the Suns failed to reach 100 points for the first time this season; and this against the 28th worst defense in the league.
The only positive to Tuesday's loss was the opportunity for the starters to sit out most of the fourth quarter in preparation for what will undoubtedly be a battle in Cleveland Wednesday.
FREE THROWS:
- Amar'e Stoudemire is honorably mentioned on a list of the NBA's best prep-to-pro players in history.
- Coach Alvin Gentry was named the Western Conference's coach of the month for November.
- Amar'e Stoudemire was featured in a Q&A session with NBA.com.
Comments