(35-35)
March 23rd 2011
8:00p.m. EST
New York,New York
World's Most inFamous Arena
Music For 2day
Jameer Nelson Jason Richardson Hedo Turkoglu Brandon Bass Dwight Howard
Chauncey Billups
Landry Fields Carmelo Anthony Amare Stoudemire Ronny Turiaf
Game Preview: Although the [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] have clinched a playoff berth and are in good position to secure one of the top four seeds in the Eastern Conference, the hard-to-please Stan Van Gundy is annoyed that his team doesn’t always play at a consistently high level. The coach with high expectations can probably take solace in the fact he is not in charge of the scuffling [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]. Van Gundy’s Magic look to send the Knicks to a seventh loss in eight games Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden. Orlando (45-26) is 3 1/2 games back of third-place Miami in the East and owns a comfortable lead over fifth-place Atlanta, but Van Gundy believes his team has lots of room for improvement. The Magic defeated Cleveland 97-86 on Monday for a third straight victory, but Van Gundy was irritated that his club turned the ball over 20 times and failed to put away a lesser opponent earlier. “You only play 82 games a year,” Van Gundy said. “It shouldn’t be hard to go out and play hard and well all the time. We’ve seen ebbs and flows, but I don’t have an excuse for it.” Despite Van Gundy’s criticism, Orlando appears primed for a playoff run. The same can’t be said of New York (35-35). The acquisition of [Only registered and activated users can see links. ][Only registered and activated users can see links. ] and [Only registered and activated users can see links. ][Only registered and activated users can see links. ] was expected to help the Knicks join the ranks of the conference’s elite, but they’re 7-9 since the trade. New York seemed to have a good chance to break out of its funk against Boston on Monday, leading 51-37 at halftime, but experienced another second-half collapse and lost 96-86. The Celtics scored 23 of the game’s final 27 points - including the last 10. “We just got to a point there, I thought we just panicked,” coach Mike D’Antoni said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do.” Anthony had 22 points Monday but was again not a factor down the stretch. He has totaled 11 points on 2-of-12 shooting in the fourth quarter during New York’s three-game skid. The Knicks’ second-half defense has suffered since they acquired Anthony, as they are giving up a league-worst 53.1 points after halftime with their new star. They were 23rd in the NBA in second-half points allowed prior to the trade at 50.2. New York allowed Orlando to put up an opponent season-high 69 points in the second half and erase an 11-point halftime deficit in a 116-110 road loss March 1. [Only registered and activated users can see links. ][Only registered and activated users can see links. ] had 30 points and 16 rebounds, while [Only registered and activated users can see links. ][Only registered and activated users can see links. ] scored 23 of his 26 points in the second half as the Magic won their fifth straight in the series. Orlando struggled a bit defensively, allowing [Only registered and activated users can see links. ][Only registered and activated users can see links. ] and Billups to each score 30 and Anthony to add 25, but it buckled down late. The Magic limited the Knicks to 1-of-5 shooting while forcing two turnovers in the final three minutes. New York has shown flashes of excellence offensively since the trade, but it’s averaging 92.0 points during the skid. The Knicks are 6-19 when they fail to reach 100. The Magic, fifth in the league in scoring defense at 94.2 points, have held their last five opponents to double digits, allowing an average of 88.4 points.
Player 2 Watch
PG-Mr.BigShot Last time we played them he got injured. if he doesn't let Jameer go off like he did in the 4th then were cool. But who knows
Check This Out: The Knicks fell to the .500 mark (35-35) for the first time since Feb. 11, when the team was 26-26 after a loss to the Lakers. That was 11 days before the trade for Carmelo Anthony. The Knicks play the Orlando Magic on Wednesday at Madison Square Garden and will look to avoid falling under the .500 mark for the first time since Nov. 27, when they were 8-9 after a loss to the Atlanta Hawks. Their magic number to clinch a playoff spot remains at seven with 12 games left in the season.
Prediction:
Knick Quote Of The Night: "I couldn't see nothing at that time. Blood was coming out of my eye, so I couldn't really see. I don't even know what was going on." —Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony on his collision with Rajon Rondo late in the loss to the Celtics.
Funny Pic Of The Day:
Watch Game Here: [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
ESPN
or MSG!!!!
FLorida. Thank god for the NBA league pass & MSG network.
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Thnx for making the gameday thread & I also pray we win tonight. I wanna see this team head into the playoffs 8 games above .500. Falling 1 game below .500 just doesn't sound good. We need this game.
I wanna see Billups have another MIA type of game tonight. I wanna see more of Douglas during the 2nd half because of his defensive ability, potential of containing Nelson from going off, as well as his spark on offense off the bench... I hope to see a big game from Douglas.
I catch the Magic games once in a while & root for them to lose every game (unless an ORL W helps us) & honestly... Yes they have 3 point shooters but Dwight is their entire team & Nelson isto Dwight as Felton was to Amare. Contain Howard to 31/14 & your gonna win. But when he starts to go for 38/19... Thats when they become tough to beat.
I hope this game proves why I laugh when I see people rather playing MIA, BOS or CHI before the Magic. Crazy. Just a little better than ATL. ORL is who I want the most. Without Dwight BEASTING their done
Well D'Antoni didn't play Turiaf in the 4th last game after he was our best defensive player so you never know.
I hope we don't start Jeffries. He's the biggest goofball klutz in the NBA. If we start Ronny and get his confidence up early I think he can have another big game.
(watching tv)
Just my luck Bernard King is at the Home game RIGHT before the one im
Going to on my Bday!
I hope we don't start Jeffries. He's the biggest goofball klutz in the NBA. If we start Ronny and get his confidence up early I think he can have another big game.
(watching tv)
Just my luck Bernard King is at the Home game RIGHT before the one im
Going to on my Bday!
Look on the bright side, he might encourage them to win
I swear ESPN just regurgitates the same dumbass stats over and over and act like they did something amazing or told me something Idk. They jus had Jon Barry at a touch screen to tap it and tell me Denver got better in 5 categories since Melo and Chauncey are gone. Why is it everytime they bring something up it's always "they are 7-9". Just like they did the Heat, they're 0-5 in crunch time games, they're 9-8, the Coach will be fired because LeBron bumped him
-__-.
Defense(we wasn't good to begin with. and even though our #'s aren't really better since the trade, we do have alot better moments)
Assists Per Game(obviously Denver has more because they have to they have no choice)
Intangibles(wtf you cant measure that. ask the Lakers about Fisher)
Depth(like we didn't know that)
Pct. of Isos(obviously when you already have Amar'e then you throw in Melo. also the chucked shots D'ant encourages)
Need a big game from Landry tonight! defiantly going to need him crashing the boards as he does to help out against dwight.... we cant let orlando get to many offensive boards tonight
Knicks @ Magic 3-23-11 Please God
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