Knicks lose another heartbreaker, blow 17 point lead
For the fourth time this season the Knicks lost by a single point after DeMar Derozan buried a shot over Derrick Rose with 1.9 seconds remaining to beat the Knicks 92-91. The Knicks had a shot to win it themselves on an open look from three for Carmelo Anthony but he couldn't get it to go. An exhilarating fourth quarter had both teams exchanging buckets back and forth before Derozan's dagger kept the Knicks from winning their second game in a row for the first time since December 22.
The Knicks certainly played hard enough to win showing some of the best effort we've seen from the team all season, but they once again couldn't hold a double digit lead. The Knicks jumped out to 17 point lead in the second quarter and led by 13 at the half thanks to some terrific defense and high percentage shooting on offense. However, in the third quarter they came out flat and the lead was quickly cut to single digits as the Raptors inched closer. The Knicks took advantage of Raptor team without all-star Kyle Lowry for most of the night, but they couldn't make the big stop with the game on the line.
Courtney Lee put the Knicks up 91-90 with a huge three pointer with 10 seconds left which led to a Raptor's time out to draw up a play for Derozan. In the Knick huddle Jeff Hornacek made it known to his players loud and clear that they had a foul to give if they could commit one before a shot was taken. On the inbound the Knicks immediately switched of a pick leaving Derrick Rose to cover Derozan instead of Lance Thomas. Even with Derozan taking over five seconds to make his move Rose opted not to give the foul and the Raptor's star hit a step back jumper over the shorter Rose to put them up for good.
The way this season has gone in close games you knew the Knicks were in trouble once Rose switched on to Derozan. Watching the game live I couldn't bear to watch as Derozan took his sweet old time before the inevitable happened with Rose guarding him. It was only fitting that Rose's failure to foul cost the team the game and led to another gut wrenching loss. That's the way things have gone for this team since Christmas Day and last night's finish came as no shock to all the suffering Knick fans.
Other notes:
Before last night's game the team waived PG Brandon Jennings and re-signed Chasson Randle to be one of the team's backup point guards for the rest of the season. Jennings was never expected to be apart of the team's future and with his desire to play for a contender the Knicks made a smart move by cutting ties with him and bringing back Randle. The Knicks liked what they saw from Randle in the preseason, but an injury kept him from making the roster out of camp. He'll get a good look in these final 22 games along with Ron Baker.
Kristaps Porzingis missed his second straight with a sprained ankle, but he'll be back in the lineup tomorrow night against Orlando.
Despite the roster move it was sad things didn't work out with Jennings who had such high hopes for this season with the Knicks. I can't remember many players who wanted to play in New York as much as Jennings and it's a shame the team hasn't lived up to expectations. Jennings had some nice moments in New York and proved to be solid leader of the second unit, but struggled defensively and could never find consistency with his shot. Jennings was one of the few guys on this roster who brought it 100% every time he took the floor and he hated losing. Jennings played with the passion Knick fans love to see and for that he will be remembered.
