One for Fiz
Knicks rise for coach, one year after Grizzlies fire him
MEMPHIS — Soaked from a celebratory water dumping, with tears in his eyes, David Fizdale had his revenge and, more importantly, the obvious appreciation from his players.
His return to Memphis on Sunday was emotional, almost exactly a year removed from being fired – some would say prematurely – by the organization.
So even though he told the Knicks not to worry about his side story, they huddled up before the game and expressed their motivation.
“I know I took it personal,” Emmanuel Mudiay said. “Actually all of us took it personal. We wanted to come out here and get a win for him.”
The Knicks were indeed victorious Sunday in Fizdale’s first game back at FedEx Forum, 103-98, and then drenched their coach in ice water. The locker room was still covered in ice when the media was allowed inside, the aftermath of Fizdale’s serenade.
The Knicks (7-14), believe it or not, have won three consecutive games – all against teams with a .500 record or better.
“My suit is ruined,” Fizdale said about his unexpected ice bath. “Emmanuel came up to me, him and Tim (Hardaway Jr.) both, were just hugging me and telling me it was for me. And then they all came in and I lost it (crying).”
Mudiay, in the midst of a career resurgence, was the catalyst again, unleashing a marvelous dunk down the stretch. It was a one-handed soar over Memphis’ Garrett Temple – coupled with a foul — to give the Knicks a 97-93 advantage with 1:35 remaining.
Until that point, it appeared the Knicks might suffer another late collapse. They were up by nine early in the fourth quarter, but then trailed the Grizzlies (12-7) with two minutes left.
Mudiay’s dunk arrived off a turnover, and it absolutely deflated Memphis’ comeback.
“It was ferocious. It was the stamp on it, the exclamation point,” Fizdale said. “He just wanted to bring it home so bad. Just a big-time basketball play.”
Until this mini winning streak, Fizdale tinkered incessantly with his rotation and lineup. He may have finally found something with the latest group, with Enes Kanter at center dominating the paint and Mudiay as the team’s best distributor at point guard.
On Sunday, Kanter feasted on Marc Gasol and Jaren Jackson, grabbing 26 boards with 21 points. Tim Hardaway Jr. added 22 points on 6-for-16 shooting.
“The thing I’m most happy with is the way that we’re taking punches and we keep coming and we’re figuring out ways to win games now. Whether it’s getting stops. A timely executed play. Big shot from somebody,” Fizdale said. “This young team is starting to figure a couple things out.”
The irony with the postgame Knicks celebration Sunday – and the idea that they rallied behind their coach — was Fizdale being fired by Memphis because he didn’t get along with Gasol. But the Knicks players, the youngest collection in the NBA this season, obviously view him differently.
The locals didn’t seem to care much about Fizdale’s first return to FedEx Forum, with only about half the arena filled. But the Knicks put on a show for their coach.
“Fiz has a father-figure-type of presence,” Hardaway said. “And he’s someone you can always talk to, and that makes it easier to go out there and play for him.”
Fizdale was appreciative. It was his best moment as coach of the Knicks.
“You’re getting me emotional. I can’t put it into words,” he said. “I really didn’t want this game to be about me at all because they just started playing some good basketball and I didn’t want to take the focus off that with us chopping our tree. The effort that they put for me and what they said to me after the game was – I love these kids.”