Knicks end streak of 8 straight losses to Heat, 98-90

After the game, Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich was asked about the Spurs’ advantage in the paint, and he said it’s something the team wants to keep emphasizing. We’re still a long way from that point, friends, and also still a good ways away from 37 – or 54, their total in 2012-13, when the Knicks last made the playoffs. “It’s something that we want to continue”. A 9-0 run later and we had ourselves a game again. As a Knicks fan and writer, I think it’s only fair to start with the most depressing of those three. I’m looking forward to see how the Heat take on the Bulls, as the Bulls don’t really have a solid identity right now.

“In the last second, Melo [Anthony] saw me in the corner and I had a good look at the shot”, Calderon said.

Friday’s game, however, will be the first since leaving the Suns in free-agency for Heat sixth man Gerald Green, whose defense had been derided by the Suns’ coaching staff. Outside of the Golden State Warriors, the Spurs have been the best team in terms of record as they have silently beaten opponents and established their dominance in the league. It is the fifth time in his career he has scored at least 30 and the second time in 3 games against the Cavaliers, who selected him with the first pick in the 2014 National Basketball Association entry draft.

The top performer for Washington was Otto Porter, who scored 16 points with five rebounds and three assists while Ramon Sessions got 14 points.

In New York, Victor Oladipo and Nikola Vucevic each scored 20 points to lead Orlandoto a win over Brooklyn, which has lost nine straight home games. Below were the findings.

Brook Lopez scored 17 points but shot 6 of 15 for the Nets, whose home losing streak reached nine games.

“These three games, we are showing something”, Anthony said of the Knicks’ winning streak.

This season, though, Anthony seems more willing to pass – as Wade alluded to – and the result is a more balanced NY attack. Tony and Manu Ginobili began to turn it on late in the quarter. Last week, Green said Aldridge calls Diaw “Tea-Time” because of how calmly Diaw plays, like he’s having a cup of tea while heading toward the rim.

Only scheduled to meet twice in the regular season, the Spurs and Knicks have already battled once, with the Spurs winning 94-84.

In ATS trends, the Knicks are 7-1 ATS in their last eight games against a team above. He’s now shooting 66.7% in the restricted area and 51.1% in the non-restricted area, per NBA.com.

“Did I make the right play?” A team that is contending for a title this year and the Knicks hung in tough even though they could have folded up, down double-figures in the fourth quarter.

Anthony had the ball in the waning seconds, but with the Spurs suffocating him, he didn’t feel he could get a good look, so he passed to Calderon.

“I was making shots and they were giving me the ball”, Porzingis said. “We get stops. If we’re not doing that then we’re probably not going to win like tonight”. “So, it was good, it was good”.

“They are a team that always is driving, dropping off”, Porzingis said.

“We grew up a lot as a team this last week”, said Calderon, the most dejected player in the Knicks’ locker room.

“So when you’re road, as much as we’re going to be on the road, you’re going to be uncomfortable”.

There was an exact example of that sequence Friday, when Diaw found himself with a mismatch with a smaller guard (Langston Galloway).

Miami beat Phoenix for the 11th straight time, with Dwyane Wade scoring 27 points in a 103-95 victory.