New York Knicks, Portland Trail Blazers headed in opposite directions entering NBA clash

NEW YORK – Karl-Anthony Towns and the New York Knicks are in a strange position: The more they win in the National Basketball Association (NBA), the more they will be connected to trade rumours involving the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The Knicks will look to remain hot on Jan 30 (Jan 31, Singapore time) when they host the Portland Trail Blazers in the teams’ second and final meeting of the season.

The Knicks were off on Jan 29 after riding a dominant second half to a 119-92 win over the Toronto Raptors on Jan 28. The Trail Blazers were handed their third straight defeat on Jan 27, when they continued a three-game road trip with a 115-111 loss to the Washington Wizards.

New York, on a four-game winning run, are positioned to end January in a much steadier position than seemed possible just a week ago. They lost nine of 11 from Dec 31 through Jan 19, a stretch in which the team endured two four-game losing streaks.

But the Knicks’ last four wins have come by an average of 25 points. While that figure is inflated by a 120-66 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Jan 21 – the most lopsided win in team history – New York have displayed an impressive finishing touch during their last three victories.

They are currently in a tie for second in the Eastern Conference with the Boston Celtics, 5½ games behind the Detroit Pistons.

The Knicks beat the Raptors hours after ESPN reported that the Bucks and two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Antetokounmpo are likely headed for a divorce, either before the February trade deadline or over the summer.

Any deal for Antetokounmpo would likely include Towns, who leads the NBA with 11.6 rebounds per game but is shooting a career-low 46.2 per cent from the field while also struggling on defence.

“We only worry about one thing – that’s winning – so I’ve got no reason to go into depth on anything else,” Towns insisted. “At the end of the day, the conversations revolve around one thing and one thing only every single day, 24 hours a day: winning.”

A three-game losing streak has lessened the margin of error for the Trail Blazers as they try to climb out of the play-in spots in the Western Conference.

Portland, who commit an NBA-high 16.9 turnovers per game and are 23rd in free-throw shooting (77.3 per cent), had 20 turnovers while shooting a season-worst 56.5 per cent (13 of 23) from the line on Jan 27 against the Wizards.

The Trail Blazers know exactly what they must improve on ahead of their clash against the Knicks – they are 5-8 this season when committing at least 20 turnovers.

“I think a big part of the loss is our 20 turnovers,” interim Portland head coach Tiago Splitter said.

Meanwhile in NBA action on Jan 29, Kyshawn George led all scorers with 23 points to help the Wizards claim a 109-99 home victory over the Bucks. Antetokounmpo missed the game with a reported right calf strain.

Anthony Edwards scored 26 points as the Minnesota Timberwolves jumped on the Oklahoma City Thunder early on and rolled to a 123-111 home win.

The loss was the third in the last four games for the Thunder, who still lead the West with an NBA-best 38-11 record.

At the top of the East, Detroit also suffered a defeat.

Dillon Brooks scored a career-high 40 points and made four three-pointers while Grayson Allen had 24 points, as the Phoenix Suns stopped the Pistons 114-96 at home.

Elsewhere, Cooper Flagg scored 49 points – the highest tally by a teenager in a single NBA game – but it was not enough to save the Dallas Mavericks from a 123-121 loss to the Charlotte Hornets.

REUTERS, AFP