The Knicks undoubtedly played their best defensive game of the year, defeating the 76ers 85-79. Both the Knicks and 76ers came into tonight's game streaking in the right direction. The 76ers were riding a 6-game winning streak while the Knicks were on a 3-game winning streak of their own.
Led by the contagious hounding defense of rookie point guard, Iman Shumpert, the Knicks held the opposition to 39.5% shooting from the field. It is becoming evident that the play of rookies Shumpert and Harrellson is propelling the blue and orange to an overall better defensive team, something they have been longing for.
The rookies are also playing well on the offensive end as well. Harrellson came off the bench early in the game and provided an unexpected spark. He finished the game with 13 points draining 3 out of 5 3-pointers on the night. Shumpert has been decent leading the Knicks at the point but appears sloppy at times. It will get better over time considering he is a rookie.
The Knicks two all-stars continue to both score and rebound effectively. The one thing I would like to see is better shot selection from both of them on the same night. It seems that if one of the all stars shoots well, the other is shooting poorly and vice versa. Melo needs to keep composure during games as well. It seems so often that he is losing his temper, which effects his play. He needs to control his body better as well because he gets called for too many offensive fouls.
Tyson Chandler was pretty much nonexistent tonight on the offensive end, only scoring 3 points, but he did what we paid him to do which is rebound and play defense. He had 13 rebounds (10 def, 3 off) and 1 block in the game.
One thing I continue to hate about the Knicks is their inability to keep a lead. They were winning by 16 at one point in tonight's game and let the 76ers cut it all the way down to 4. The main reason was that they had a whopping 22 turnovers. If it wasn't for the defense stepping up, they would have been in big trouble.
The Knicks are beginning to figure out one of their biggest problems (defense) and as long as they keep moving forward, they should be fine. The next facet they need address is bench scoring and ball movement but the season is still young. This was a great win tonight against the hottest team in the NBA. Their next game is tomorrow in Memphis against the Grizzlies.
