Pain not stopping Enes
IT WAS ONLY Game 25, but Enes Kanter said he was already physically sacrificing for a playoff push. Kanter arrived at MSG on Sunday on crutches, the result of a hip injury he sustained by getting kneed in that area a day prior in the loss to Chicago.
Although he said that walking and standing was a problem, Kanter anticipated that adrenaline would push him through Sunday’s game against the Hawks.
“If we’re going to make the playoffs it makes sense to sacrifice,” Kanter said before the game.
He started and played 18 minutes, scoring eight points on 4-of-9 shooting and grabbing five rebounds.
Kanter is right about this: if the Knicks have any hopes of making the postseason, they need to beat teams like the talent-starved Hawks.
A little more than two weeks ago, they blew a large lead in Atlanta while Kanter was inactive with back spasms. After that game, the center said he was “crying like a baby” watching the defeat.
On Sunday, he wanted to play like a grownup.
“I woke up this morning and went to the therapist and he said it’s going to be fine. And I am fine,” he said.
tHat’s aMaR’E
Amar’e Stoudemire’s Judaism is bringing him back to the Garden.
As part of the Garden’s first Hanukkah Night on Tuesday, Stoudemire will light a ceremonial menorah during the Knicks’ game against the Lakers. It will kick off the first night of the holiday.
“Lighting the menorah on the first night of Hanukkah is a privilege in any location but having the opportunity to do it at Madison Square Garden and with the Knicks during their first ever Hanukkah Night is special,” Stoudemire said in a statement.
DREaMs coMing tRUE
Brooklyn native Rikky Degale, a former high school basketball player who had to relearn how to speak and walk after suffering a massive stroke, served as one of the Knicks honorary coaches Sunday night.
Along with 15-year-old Kevin Thompson, Degale, 19, participated in the coach’s press conference, the team warmups and player introductions. It was all part of the annual Garden of Dreams Foundation, which works to fulfill the wishes of children facing obstacles.