Sacramento Kings vs. New York Knicks: Grading the Knicks blowout victory
By Matt Shetler
The New York Knicks made it four victories in a row Saturday night with a 120-81 victory in what wasn’t much of a game for most of the night as the Knicks led by 50 at one time in the fourth quarter.
The funny part is that the Knicks actually trailed 18-6 at one point in the first quarter after starting the game 1-for-13 from the floor. Then came a 46-7 run and that should tell you all you need to know about this blowout win.
February 1, 2013; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks guard Jason Kidd (5) looks to pass against the Milwaukee Bucks during the first quarter of an NBA game at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
The Knicks shot 54.7 percent from the floor and 44.2 percent from behind the arc as they chucked up 43 three’s on the night.
However the most impressive part of the big win was the fact that the Knicks bench outscored the Kings team 82-81.
With that being said, let’s take a look at how the Knicks graded out.
Raymond Felton (7 points, 3-of-8 shooting, 8 assists, 2 rebounds)
Felton dished out at least eight assists for the fourth consecutive game, but because of the blowout, Felton saw only 26 minutes. But he turned the ball over four times and was sloppy with the ball for a change. Grade: C+
Jason Kidd (5 points, 2-of-5 shooting, 6 rebounds, 2 assists)
Kidd saw only 16 minutes Saturday night but was productive, especially on the glass. It appears that Kidd will be limited in terms of minutes in the near future, but he looked much healthier against the Kings. Grade: B
Iman Shumpert (6 points, 2-of-6 shooting, 3 assists, 2 rebounds)
Shump played some solid defense and contributed a little bit, but it appears that he doesn’t have his legs completely back yet, missing a wide open baseline slam early in the game. Grade: C+
Carmelo Anthony (9 points, 4-of-12 shooting, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 steal)
Had you told me the Knicks would beat anyone by 39 points with Anthony having only nine points, I would have laughed at you. But while ‘Melo’s streak of 31 consecutive games with 20 points came to a close; he picked a nice time to do it as he wasn’t needed for a change. He did hand out five assists which was nice. Grade: C+
Tyson Chandler (11 points, 4-of-8 shooting, 20 rebounds)
That’s 20 rebounds in back-to-back games for Chandler, who grabbed eight offensive rebounds for the second consecutive game as well. He dominated the paint once again even though he got off to a slow start defensively. The insane part of his night was that Chandler grabbed 20 boards in only 26 minutes of playing time. Grade: A+
Amar’e Stoudemire (21 points, 10-of-10 shooting, 6 rebounds)
Back-to-back great games from STAT, who appears to be close to all the way back and he was the one who got the Knicks rolling early on. Grade: A+
Kurt Thomas (11 points, 5-of-6 shooting, 2 rebounds)
The elder statesman scored 11 points in only 13 minutes. He was a minus-four on the night, but Thomas took advantage of his playing time to contribute. Grade: A-
Chris Copeland (5 points, 1-of-5 shooting, 2 assists, 1 rebound)
Copeland has become the forgotten man in Mike Woodson’s rotation and didn’t do much to impress in his 10 minutes, missing four of his five attempts. Grade: C
Steve Novak (15 points, 5-of-7 shooting)
That’s more like it for Novak, who finally had some room to get some shots up. When Novak knocks down five triples off the bench, the Knicks are usually going to win. Grade: A+
Pablo Prigioni (3 points, 1-of-1 shooting, 7 assists, 2 steals)
Prigioni dished out seven assists and played his normal tough defense. You can’t ask for much more in 22 minutes. Grade: A
J.R. Smith (25 points, 9-of-16, shooting, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals)
Smith was more efficient at the offensive end than usual and knocked down seven three’s. He took 14 shots from behind the arc in 22 minutes, which if he is making half of them I guess I am fine with that, but Smith filled up the stat sheet in normal fashion and posted a team-high plus-36 rating. Grade: A+
Both Ronnie Brewer and James White played but neither did anything worth mentioning.
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