Knicks Win Despite Melo Injury; Nets Fall, Islanders and Rangers Win

LongIsland.com

Brooklyn was the only New York team to lose last night, but the Knicks lost Anthony and Felton to injury.

Print Email

Knicks Beat Magic, Despite Injuries to Melo & Felton
The Knicks had six players score in double digits as they edged out the Magic last night. After falling behind 16-9 early on, Carmelo Anthony knocked in a pair of threes to help his team get back in the game; JR Smith launched a three of his own to continue the rally and put the Knicks ahead 20-19. New York was up by two at the end of the first quarter.

After Orlando retied the score early in the second, Smith and Tim Hardaway Jr. combined to give the Knicks an 11-point advantage, going up 43-32 on a Smith three. The momentum carried forward from there, and the Knicks had a 65-41 lead at the half.

New York was still up by 18 when Carmelo Anthony left the game with an injury, which would later be determined to be a sprained left ankle. The injury makes Melo’s availability for his team’s Christmas day match questionable, and had the more immediate impact of allowing the Magic to get back into the game. After New York had outscored Orlando 36-14 in the second quarter, Orlando went on to outperform New York 35-19 in the third, sending them into the fourth with the Knicks leading by just 8 points, 84-76.

The Magic had closed within a point before the Knicks were able to score their first of the final quarter, which came on an Andrea Bargnani jumper. Iman Shumpert landed a three to give New York a little breathing room, but the spread remained tight for the rest of the night. The Knicks suffered another setback when Raymond Felton exited the game with just over 3 minutes to play, suffering a strained groin. The Knicks hung on, with Beno Udrih scoring their last 6 points on free throws en route to a 103-98 win.

Despite leaving early, Anthony led the team in scoring with 19 points. Smith posted a double-double on 18 shooting and 10 rebounds, as did Tyson Chandler with 10 points and 13 boards. Bargnani and Felton both scored 13, and Udrih put up 10 points.

The Knicks will host the Thunder next, at 2:30 PM tomorrow afternoon.

Nets Blown Out by Pacers
The Nets hosted the Pacers last night and, despite being without Brook Lopez who will sit out the rest of the season after breaking his foot in their last game, lead for much of the first quarter. Brooklyn got out to an early 8-2 lead and was still ahead 16-10 in the final five minutes of the period, but Indiana went on a 9-1 run to close out the quarter up by 2.

Brooklyn fought back, taking a one-point lead after an Alan Anderson three-pointer, and stayed close to the lead for much of the second. Unfortunately, the Pacers pulled away toward the end of the quarter once again, and took a 45-39 lead into the half.

Indiana jumped out to a 10-point lead after the break, and the spread only grew from there. Outshooting the nets 30-19, the Pacers were up 75-58 before the fourth quarter. The Nets were unable to make a dent in the deficit, and lost by a final of 103-86.

Joe Johnson led the team in scoring with 17 points, followed by Kevin Garnett with 12; Andray Blatche and Jason Terry both shot for 11. The Nets as a whole shot just 38% from the field and 23% from beyond the arc.

Brooklyn will try to move forward when they play the Bulls tomorrow at noon.

Rangers Win in OT
The Rangers had trouble getting their offense going last night, but fortunately for them the Maple Leafs fared no better. The first goal of the night did not come until 7:04 into the third period when JT Miller snapped in a Ranger goal with an assist from Chris Kreider and Benoit Pouliot. That solitary goal looked as though it might hold up until, with just 1:24 left to play, Nazem Kadri got past Cam Talbot to tie the score at 1 apiece.

Neither team was able to score in overtime, but Mats Zuccarello and Derek Stepan combined to give New York a 2-1 shootout win, putting the team at 3-6 over its 9-game home stand. Cam Talbot stopped 25 of 26 shots over 65 minutes of play.

The Rangers will now hit the road for a five game stretch, starting in Washington at 7:00 PM Friday night.

Islanders Shutout Detroit
The Islanders gave their fans an early Christmas present in Detroit with their second win in three games on Monday. Kyle Okposo knocked in the first goal of the night midway through the first period on an assist from John Tavares and Thomas Vanek, and Michael Grabner found the back of the net just over four minutes later. Casey Cizikas made it 3-0 on a wrist shot with 3:05 to go in the frame.

New York did not score again after that point, but the Red Wings did not score at all. Evgeni Nabokov shut Detroit out, blocking all 23 shots that came his way and helping his team to a 3-0 victory.

The Islanders will host the Devils next, at 7:00 PM on Saturday.