NO DEFENSE FOR DERRICK
After ripping Knicks’ ‘D,’ Rose lets his man hit game-winning bucket
Derrick Rose wanted Jeff Hornacek to get tougher about defense, but with the game on line it was the point guard who lost his man and didn’t hustle to recover.
After hitting two clutch runners in the final minutes Monday afternoon, Rose was caught in the wrong position when Atlanta point guard Dennis Schroder buried the game winner and the Knicks in another heartbreaking defeat, 108-107, at the Garden.
Rose, who three days earlier had implored Hornacek to “beat defense in our heads,” acknowledged that he misplayed Schroder before the shot with 22 seconds left, and the coach took it a step further by saying the Knicks needed a “game-on-the-line closeout” that wasn’t there.
As a whole, Rose played well offensively but was roasted on the other end by Schroder, who finished with 28 points on 13-for-16 shooting.
“Just a little bit harder closeout. He was almost there, but with the game on the line, just like any play in the game, a good challenge of the shot isn’t as good as not letting him shoot it,” Hornacek said. “So just a little harder closeout.” Schroder’s 3-pointer gave Atlanta its first lead in over five minutes, but New York had two golden opportunities to snatch it back on the final possession. But Rose was blocked at the rim on a drive by Paul Millsap, and Carmelo Anthony missed a gimme’ after grabbing the offensive rebound with 3.9 seconds remaining.
For the reeling and malfunctioning Knicks (18-24), it was their 11th loss in their last 13 games and fourth straight in games decided by two points or less. Anthony missed game-winner Monday overshadowed an otherwise strong game for the forward, who dropped 30 points on 10-of-16 from the field.
“When things are not going your way, sometimes they go all the way left,” Anthony said. “That’s a shot that I think I can hit in my sleep. That’s something I work on. It’s something I believe I can make that shot. I just missed it. I missed it today.”
It’s been an unusually dysfunctional week for the Knicks, even by their standards. Rose went AWOL last Monday. They lost a buzzer-beater the Sixers on Wednesday, transitioning to a post-game tirade in the locker room from Anthony. On Sunday, Anthony says he’s willing to talk to Phil Jackson about waiving his no-trade clause. Then on MLK Day, Hornacek decided to shakeup the
lineup by inserting undrafted rookie Ron Baker at shooting guard over Courtney Lee, who was Jackson’s $50 million signing over the summer.
The move injected some life into the Knicks, or so it seemed, who were playing without Kristaps Porzingis (sore Achilles) and led for most of the first half. There were signs of hustle and fight, as well. Mindagaus Kuzminskas caught an inadvertent shot to the face and played most of the game with a scratched cheek and black eye, scoring 13 points in the first start of his career. New York held the Hawks to just 20 points in the fourth quarter. Unlike Sunday’s embarrassing defeat to the Raptors, Hornacek’s squad could at least claim competitiveness. But the Knicks being the Knicks, they couldn’t get a stop when it really mattered.
Atlanta (24-17), playing without Dwight Howard (rest), scored on five of their final six possessions, including the Shcroder 3-pointer where Rose was caught in the paint before shuffling out to the line.
“Yeah, of course (I could have gotten out there quicker),” Rose said. “And at the same time, I didn’t think he was going to shoot that shot. I thought he was going to pump fake and drive. He hit a tough shot. He was hitting tough shots the entire game. People were there. Tonight was his night.”
No surprise once again, it wasn’t the Knicks’ night.