Knicks struggles continues and Nets split back to back
The Knicks continue to struggle with their latest loss coming at home to the Orlando Magic. New York has lost four of their last six games.
The Knicks were up on the Magic 96-94 with 1:54 left in the fourth quarter. A 10-2 surge from the Magic put the game away with Orlando coming away with their second road win of the season, both coming at Madison Square Garden.
“You have to play for 48 minutes. You can’t let your guard down,” Said Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau. “Unfortunately, we beat ourselves tonight. Our turnovers hurt us. We’re capable of playing a lot better than we did.”
RJ Barrett led the way for the Knicks in scoring with 17 points.
Mitchell Robinson had a great game with 13 points and 11 rebounds but it was not enough. Julius Randle had a tough night shooting 4 of 10 from the three and only scoring 13 points.
The season still is young but the Knicks are clearly not who they were from last season. Nor are they living up to the promise they showed in the opening games of season.
At least not yet.
They need more consistent play from Kemba Walker and Evan Fouriner who both only scored in single digits last game. Taking care of the ball is another area they need to improve. Against the Magic they had 18 turnovers. The Knicks will look to get back on track as they host the Houston Rockets Saturday.
Meanwhile, down in Brooklyn, the Nets split a back-to-back, losing to the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, and winning against the Cleveland Cavilers on Wednesday.
Stephen Curry came in and had an amazing night. Hitting nine threes, grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out five assists. On the other side Kevin Durant had a season low 19 points. James Harden ended with 24 but it was nowhere close to what they needed.
After the loss coach Steve Nash acknowledged the Nets are not in the category with some of the NBA’s elite teams. “We’ve got a lot of work to do. We’re trying to improve as a group, get better and hopefully we can find a way to overcome some of our deficiencies by the end of the year.”
The Nets were able to bounce back with a 109-99 win over the Cavilers the next night. Harden led scorers with 27 points, Durant had 23, and LaMarcus Aldridge had 24. The Cavaliers were able to cut down on the big deficit in the second half as they got the game to within seven points in the fourth but the Nets were able to hold them off.
The Nets will be without Kevin Durant Friday when they host the Magic.
