A MEDIOCRE BUNCH
KNICKS FALL TO .500 in UGLY LOSS TO PELICANS
NEW ORLEANS — Carmelo Anthony went from ejection in Atlanta to dejection in the Big Easy as his underwhelming shotmaking contributed to a sickening 104-92 Knicks loss to the suddenly hot Pelicans at New Orleans Arena.
Don’t look now but the Knicks are the definition of mediocre, falling to .500 at 16-16. Afterward, Jeff Hornacek complained about an offense that “got stagnated,” and Derrick Rose ripped the defensive effort that is putting the Knicks into a deep hole early.
“We have to evaluate where we are at as a team — different schemes we’re seeing against us, we have to adjust to that,” Anthony said. “We have to play better and start being more consistent. Winning two games, losing two games, going forward, going backward. I don’t think we were ready for what they did — the switching.”
The Knicks could morph into a losing team Saturday entering the new year as they finish their Southeastern journey Saturday in Houston against a Mike D’Antoni squad that blew them out in the preseason opener and again at the Garden in November.
Anthony, tossed in Atlanta in the second quarter for a forearm to Thabo Sefolosha’s head, called the Pelicans game “something we have to go get,” but the Pelicans baffled them with their switching defensive scheme and led the almost the entire night.
Anthony and Hornacek thought the Knicks weren’t taking advantage of mismatches, but Derrick Rose alleged it’s all about the ‘D.’
“Offense? I don’t even want to talk about offense,” Rose said. “If we stop people, it will be a lot easier for us to score. I’m tired of being down 10 after the quarter. It comes down to defense. I don’t know when we’re going to get tired of it.”
The Knicks trailed by 10 after one quarter, 31-21, and fell behind by 12 points early in the second. Rose said that could be a reason the Knicks resorted to more one- on-one play and the club shot an anemic 37.6 percent.
“Down 10 so quick, you try to do things to not let the game slip away,” Rose said. “All of it stems from defense. We’re giving them everything — 3-point line, pullups, whatever they want. We got to catch ourselves from slipping.
We look good some games, some games we don’t. We have to find an in-between having a hard time scoring and it’s not clicking. They can’t come down and score easily.”
Though Anthony finished 9of-10 from the line, he shot just 8of-22, finishing with 26 points, 10 rebounds and four turnovers. He played a lot of isolation ball that broke the offense’s rhythm. Interestingly, Anthony dribbled out the final 15 seconds rather than take another shot and looked frustrated across the night.
The Knicks also showed little margin for error regarding injuries, losing their second straight without starting shooting guard Courtney Lee (wrist).
Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek also got nothing from starting center Joakim Noah, benching him early in the third quarter after 15 scoreless minutes as he went a terrible 0-for-3.
In contrast, Pelicans center Anthony Davis racked up 23 points and 17 rebounds, but the Pelicans’ 3-point shooting was key. Ex-Knick Langston Galloway drilled a dagger 3-pointer with 7:30 left for a 91-75 lead as the Pelicans shot 12-of-29 from the 3point stripe.
“Anthony Davis didn’t kill us tonight — other guys did,” Hornacek said.
Kristaps Porzingis shot just 8of-20 but still managed 21 points with 12 rebounds. He was also posterized on a dunk by Pelicans point guard Jrue Holiday.
Hornacek said the 7-foot-3 Porzingis needs to drive the ball more against a shorter player instead of “taking fadeaway jumpers.”
“I feel a lot of it was just me not being able to use those mismatches to my advantage and missing shots,” Porzingis said.
Told of Hornacek’s criticism, Porzingis replied: “Maybe he’s right. Maybe I have to get to the basket more and that way I could get fouled more. It’s something I have to learn, focus on and get better on. It’s a great game for me to learn.”