newspaper article request
sup yall...
sorry to bother but damn I need to read bout my knicks and how they whooped @$$ last night on Magic...
can someone please spare 2 minutes and paste the post and daily news articles here for me to read?
Im at work and the server people blocked those newspaper articles online
NY Post
KNICKS BEGIN TO MAKE MOVE
Jamal Crawford should watch and learn.
Ball movement. The Knicks haven't always done it well this season. Until last night.
Midway through the fourth quarter on their season's best offensive night, the Knicks whipped the ball around the horn, punctuated with Allan Houston bypassing a semi-open look on the right wing, swinging the ball to Kurt Thomas on the right baseline.
Thomas was a little more open and he drilled the 14-footer, putting the Knicks up 107-95 with 6:49 remaining. It was the illustrative play to their selflessness — an example that sharing the ball can lead to great success.
Crawford has been a fine, exciting addition but he could surely learn something watching this spectacle from the bench as the Knicks pounded the Magic 119-111 at TD Waterhouse Centre.
Was it only coincidence the Knicks scored their season high for points with Crawford out of the lineup? Too many times the ball gets to Crawford and it becomes a black hole.
The Knicks (15-13) moved to 2-0 without Crawford as they posted a fantastic victory. Stephon Marbury led four Knick starters in double figures with 34 points — just in time to face old friend Latrell Sprewell and the Wolves tomorrow at the Garden.
"We were smart with the offense, especially when we were patient and moving the ball," Lenny Wilkens said. "I feel when we play that way, our chances are good against anybody but we got to remember that."
Four of the Knicks' five starters hit for at least 14 points. Tim Thomas, who had a vicious dunk on Tony Battie's head, and Houston (6 of 9) each collected 15 points. Kurt Thomas hit for a cool 14 points and made the key defensive play down the stretch when the Magic made their big run, drawing a charge on Grant Hill.
But the well-oiled offensive machine was the story. The Knicks made 53.5 percent of their shots, had 46 field goals and a whopping 29 assists.
"We did a good job of mixing up our offense," Houston said. "We used Tim in the post. Catch-and-shoot, pick-and-roll. That's one of the things in order for us to get to the next level as a team we have to use everybody's strength. In the past, we haven't been looking at all the different options. We did that tonight. We looked at a lot of different ways to put pressure on the defense."
It's unclear if Houston was aiming his message at Crawford, who's out at least three weeks with turf toe. But it's a message he must embrace as he climbs the ladder to potential stardom. On the play mentioned above when Houston gave it up, there's little doubt Crawford would've cranked it. And Tim Thomas, too, has played too selfishly this season and not moved the ball.
But again, the Knick defense started to cave in the fourth before making a couple of critical stops. With 2:41 left, Orlando had the ball with a chance to cut the deficit to four.
That's when Thomas drew a charge on a Hill drive, busting Orlando's momentum. Thomas has been the Knicks' only consistent defender this season and Isiah Thomas would be crazy to trade him — for Wally Szczerbiak or Antoine Walker.
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Isiah And Steph Share Tough Love
After last week's defensive debacle, after those two consecutive losses when the Knicks gave up 123 points and 114 points to Dallas and Boston, respectively, Isiah Thomas chewed out Stephon Marbury, telling him to step up his defense.
Marbury and Thomas have an open relationship where brutal conversations take place often. And this one hit home.
"He watches the game from afar but very close," Marbury said after the Knicks won their second straight in beating Orlando 119-111 last night. "He told me I wasn't playing any defense. I was one of the worst defensive guards."
Marbury was laughing as he retold the story. "That's usually how our conversations go," Marbury said. "When he praises you, he praises you to the highest. But I felt I needed to hear that. I kind of felt I wasn't playing the way I can defensivly. I'm a way better defensive guard than what I was showing."
Marbury gave a better showing the past two games and outplayed Steve Francis last night.
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Jamal Crawford could be back sooner than Penny Hardaway, who has been out since Dec. 4 with a partial tear of the right hamstring.
Hardaway suffered a big setback on Christmas Day when he attempted to run fullcourt and felt too much pain. Knick doctors have shut Hardaway down for the time being, erasing any chance of him suiting up next week.
Hardaway still doesn't know when he'll be allowed to run again, much less be back in the lineup. On Christmas Eve, he returned to practice and did halfcourt drills with the team.
"The next day I tried to run fullcourt and I couldn't, so I had to back off," he said. "The halfcourt I didn't have to open up, jogging through some offenses. I felt OK. Once I had to speed up, I couldn't do it. The doctors wanted me to back off a little."
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NY Daily News
Steph Has Magic Touch
The rivalry between Stephon Marbury and Steve Francis goes back to when the two point guards were newborns. Birth certificates prove that Marbury recorded the first victory, arriving the day before Francis was born in 1977.
Recently, though, Francis always seemed to be one step ahead of Marbury. Eleven months ago, Francis spoiled Marbury's first game as a Knick at Madison Square Garden and earlier this month, Francis beat his old friend when Marbury missed two last-minute free throws.
"I didn't forget that," Marbury said. "That stuck with me."
Weeks of frustration, not to mention a stern lecture from Isiah Thomas, gnawed at Marbury and last night against the Orlando Magic it triggered a stellar performance in the Knicks' 119-111 win.
Marbury finished with 34 points in 43 minutes as the Knicks won their second straight game and improved their Atlantic Division-leading record to 15-13. Marbury scored 21 in the first half and overall shot 13-for-21 with seven assists and only two turnovers.
It's not like Francis didn't see it coming; one hour before tip-off he sensed that Marbury was ready for a breakout game. "Steph's going to go off," Francis said. "He's going to be up for this game."
For the previous 24 hours, Marbury was beating himself up for being passive in Sunday's win over Charlotte. His critique came days after Isiah Thomas gave him a less than glowing report on his defense.
"He told me I wasn't playing any defense," Marbury said of his telephone conversation with the Knicks' president. "He said I was one of the worst guards defensively."
Marbury seemed to accept Thomas' criticism as constructive. During the Olympics in Athens, Thomas phoned his struggling point guard and informed Marbury that he was "playing like crap." The following game, Marbury set the USA scoring record in a win over Spain.
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Jamal: Shoes Not To Blame
It's gotta be the shoes, right? Well, according to Jamal Crawford, part-time sneakers pitchman for Reebok, his new-model shoes are not to blame for the turf toe injury that could keep him sidelined for as long as six weeks.
"No," Crawford said, smiling. "It was a freak accident. The sneakers are comfortable."
Crawford, who suffered the injury to his big right toe during Wednesday's loss to the Celtics, wears a shoe designed by entertainer Jay-Z for Reebok.
"He has the lower ones, I have the high-tops," Crawford said.
Crawford reported yesterday that the swelling in his toe has gone down and that by the weekend he'll have a better idea of how long he'll be out. The Knicks placed Crawford on the injured list on Sunday but are cautiously optimistic their shooting guard will return within three weeks.
"We're pretty aggressive with the treatment," said Crawford, who missed his second game yesterday. "It's still early. I don't know (when I'll be back) but it's getting better every day, I can tell you that."
Crawford said he would not rush back just to play his former team, the Chicago Bulls. The Knicks face the Bulls home and away on Jan. 15 and 17.
"I'm sure I'll have an opportunity to play against them at some point," he said. "I won't push the envelope for that one."
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