New York Knicks aim to rebound in NBA against short-handed Miami Heat
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New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson will be looking to help his team bounce back from their 116-107 NBA loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Dec 19 at Madison Square Garden.
PHOTO: AFP
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NEW YORK CITY – There will be no NBA Cup banner hanging at Madison Square Garden in honour of the New York Knicks’ tournament title.
But there has been an NBA Cup hangover for the Knicks, who will look to further shake off the cobwebs on Dec 21 (Dec 22, Singapore time) when they host the Miami Heat in a battle of long-time rivals.
Both teams were off on Dec 20 after sustaining defeats in the National Basketball Association (NBA) on Dec 19, when the Knicks fell 116-107 to the Philadelphia 76ers at home, while the Heat lost at the Boston Celtics, 129-116.
The loss ended a seven-game winning streak for the Knicks, whose 124-113 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Cup championship game
The wear and tear from a chaotic travel schedule and the intensity of the NBA Cup began catching up to the Knicks on Dec 18.
The Indiana Pacers, who have the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference, led New York by as many as 16 points before Jalen Brunson capped the Knicks’ comeback with a game-winning three-pointer with 5.6 seconds left in a 114-113 victory.
The Knicks, who have not won an NBA title since 1973, returned home for the first time since Dec 7 on Dec 19 and commemorated the NBA Cup victory with a brief video before fading in the fourth quarter.
The 76ers, who sit fourth in the East, outscored the Knicks 28-20 in the final quarter. New York shot just 34.6 per cent from the field and one of eight from three-point land in the fourth.
“We’ve got to hold each other to a higher standard – I’ve got to hold myself to a higher standard,” said Brunson, who finished with 22 points but was zero-for-five from the field while missing his only free-throw attempt in the fourth.
“It’s not like we got blown out tonight. It was very winnable.”
The Heat were also in no mood to offer excuses after an undermanned roster ran out of gas in the fourth quarter.
Miami were outscored 37-27 in the last period – during which the Celtics shot 61.9 per cent from the field (13 of 21), including 66.7 per cent (10 of 15) from three-point range – as they lost for the sixth time in seven games.
The Heat played on Dec 19 without starters Davion Mitchell (left ankle), Andrew Wiggins (back) and Tyler Herro (right toe). Reserves Nikola Jovic (right elbow) and Pelle Larsson (left ankle) also missed out and did not travel with Miami on their three-game road trip that ends on Dec 22.
Rookie Kasparas Jakucionis and second-year player Kel’el Ware thrived with additional playing time on Dec 19, as they combined for 41 points while shooting a robust 73.3 per cent (11 of 15) from three-point land.
Jakucionis was given his first start of the season, while Ware’s six threes equalled his total over his previous nine games combined.
But the rest of the Heat shot just 23.5 per cent (eight of 34) from long distance.
“This is the definition of Miami Heat basketball,” Wiggins said. “Whoever you put out there, it’s going to be a game.”
Meanwhile, in NBA action on Dec 20, Kawhi Leonard scored 32 points with 12 rebounds, as the Los Angeles Clippers snapped an eight-game home losing streak with a 103-88 win over the injury-hit Los Angeles Lakers in Inglewood.
The Lakers not only opened the game without three starters in Deandre Ayton (elbow), Rui Hachimura (groin) and Austin Reaves (calf), but also had Luka Doncic ruled out after half-time with a left leg bruise.
“I saw him hobbling towards the end of the first half, he came to me at half-time and said he couldn’t go,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said after the game.
James Harden collected 21 points with 10 assists and John Collins added 17 points with 12 rebounds for the Clippers, who also ended a four-game losing streak against their crosstown rivals. The Clippers, who lost centre Ivica Zubac to a left ankle injury in the first quarter, won a home game for the first time since Oct 31.
LeBron James scored a season-high 36 points, while Doncic had 12 points in 20 minutes before departing and Jake LaRavia had 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers, who are 4-4 in December after closing November on a seven-game winning streak.
“The worst thing about sports is injuries,” James told ESPN. “And not just basketball, but sports in general. You control the controllables, but what we have out there, whoever is in uniform, we have to go out and execute at the utmost pace that we can and on the other end, we got to defend on a string and help each other out.” REUTERS
