Knicks give up 82 points in first half, lose to Clippers in rout
Knicks forward Henry Ellenson, right, tries to shoot as Los Angeles Clippers guard Garrett Temple defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, March 3, 2019, in Los Angeles. Credit: AP/Mark J. Terrill
LOS ANGELES — Suppose you are Kevin Durant or Kawhi Leonard and you are considering your options this summer as free agents. You are weighing a pair of teams in the biggest markets, the Knicks and Clippers. And suppose you turned on the television to check the meeting between the two teams Sunday afternoon.
While both teams have traded away star players and cleared the cap space for two max contracts this summer, there is a far different mood in place between them. It isn’t just that one city was covered with snow Sunday while the other endured a slightly overcast sky. And it isn’t even the effervescent owner, Steve Ballmer, cheering from the front row.
While both teams have an eye on next season, only one threw in the towel on this season and definitely this game. The Knicks allowed 82 points in the first half and trailed by as many as 38 points in a 128-107 loss to the Clippers. They fell to 13-50, the fifth straight season in which they have lost at least 50 games.
“They weren’t ready to play,” Knicks coach David Fizdale said. “For whatever reason, these early games, I don’t know if we’re getting the rest or we’re mentally preparing. We weren’t ready to play in the first half.”
“Yeah, we started out real sluggish,” said Dennis Smith Jr., who scored eight points and shot 3-for-11 from the field. “It’s an early game. Inexcusable. They had to play early as well. But definitely started slow.”
The only bright spot for the Knicks was the play of Mitchell Robinson off the bench. He scored 16 points, shot 7-for-8, grabbled 13 rebounds and blocked four shots in his 23 minutes. It marked his third double-double with at least four blocks in the last four games.
Although the Clippers traded All-Star Tobias Harris at the deadline last month, they have not given in. Despite starting a pair of rookies, they have won seven of their last 11 games and moved into seventh place in the Western Conference playoff race.
Landry Shamet, one of those rookies, shot 7-for-11 from three-point range and scored 21 points in 26 minutes, including 18 in the first quarter. Danilo Gallinari added 20 points in 23 minutes. The Clippers shot 19-for-35 from three-point range overall.
“Overall, it’s been very few games that I’ve been mad at their effort,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. “They play hard. They play together. They know that’s the only way we can play. I think that’s the key to this team. They kind of bought into that before the year started. They understand that that’s part of who we have to be to win. We don’t have the luxury to not play that way and win. We’re just not that good. but we are good when we play that way.”
The Knicks hope they can sell free agents on a team with a young core and the addition of a top pick in the upcoming draft. But in games like this one, it’s hard to sell a future based on youth. Their 2018 lottery pick, Kevin Knox, shot 1-for-6, making him 7-for-34 in the last three games.
Rivers was asked if he was surprised that the Knicks traded away their own All-Star, Kristaps Porzingis.
“Listen, I don’t know,” he said. “I think they know what they’re doing. Who knows why? But I got a feeling they do know what they’re doing. Porzingis said he didn’t want to be there. I get that. Like if you want to be with your team, if you don’t, listen, I thought Steve [Mills] and the group, Scott [Perry], they handled it very well.”
The future may prove him right on that count. But it was hard to tell on this afternoon.
It began with Gallinari scoring nine quick points before Shamet took over, shooting 6-for-7 from three-point range in the first quarter. The two got to sit most of the way after that. As the names changed, the result was a constant barrage, with the Clippers scoring 44 points in the second quarter for an 82-46 halftime lead — only two points short of the most points the Knicks have ever surrendered in a first half.
The Knicks had hoped to get DeAndre Jordan back for this game after he practiced Saturday, but the longtime Clippers star sat out his fourth straight game with a sprained left ankle. His only action came when famed L.A. fan Clipper Darrell shouted across the court to Jordan, who was in a suit on the bench, “You’ll always be a Clipper!” and he patted his heart in response.
He might have preferred that on this day.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
