The Pistons dominated the first half of this game for the most part. The Knicks dominated the third quarter. The fourth quarter was back and forth, and then the Knicks really choked down the stretch. They had numerous chances to win this game, and made some poor decisions trying to close the game out.
That ending was difficult to watch as they couldn't even get a shot off. Lee tried to play hero ball, and turned it over twice. He has got to find Porzingis there or the open man, and he failed both times. That's an inexcusable final two possessions for the Knicks.
It was nice to see Porzingis rebound from a career bad game last night, and score 39. He had some questionable shot selections, but he should have had the ball those last couple of possessions. Also, why is Michael Beasley not in the game on those final possessions? That's horrible coaching from Jeff Hornacek. No other way to slice it. Beasley drops 32 points last night, and only sees the floor 13 minutes tonight. There is no reason on two offensive possessions when you need a bucket that he isn't on the floor. Hornacek has done a bad job at times making adjustments in games, and had some questionable moves once again tonight.
The saga continues. The Knicks are now 2-10 on the road. They can't find a way to win games away from MSG, and it's going to continue to haunt them. They had a chance tonight to get into the top five in the standings in the East. Instead, they continue to prove they can only win at home. Six of the next eight Knicks games are on the road, so this stretch coming up is a pivotal point of the season. If they continue losing on the road, they'll be a sub-.500 team.
Something has got to give.
-theknicksblog