Knicks' loss to Cavs disappoints D'Antoni
New York Knicks head coach Mike D'Antoni, left, yells to referee Ken Mauer during the overtime period of the Knicks' 109-102 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. (Dec. 18, 2010) Credit: AP
In the moments after the Knicks' 109-102 overtime loss to the Cavaliers on Saturday night, coach Mike D'Antoni's disappointment was obvious.
"This was a test of character," he said, "and we failed the test."
What if Amar'e Stoudemire's step-back jumper at the regulation buzzer had gone in and the Knicks had won? Would that have meant the Knicks showed tremendous character in handing the host Cavaliers their 11th straight defeat?
The Knicks (16-12) have lost three in a row, but they were two Stoudemire shots away from winning two of those games. The first was the would-be three-pointer he made just after the buzzer against the Celtics on Wednesday.
The Knicks took Sunday off and don't play again until Wednesday against Oklahoma City. Their schedule before the end of 2010 - Thunder, Bulls, at Miami, at Orlando - is tough enough that it's possible they could be ringing in 2011 on a seven-game losing streak.
That's kind of a glass half-empty way of looking at it. But it's possible.
"We've got to look at ourselves in the mirror and make sure that we understand that we have to really execute," said Stoudemire, who had 23 points despite missing most of the third quarter with a "stinger" that left his neck sore and left arm numb down to his fingertips. "The coaching staff put a perfect game plan together and it's up to us to execute."
Stoudemire can use some rest, as can fellow starters Raymond Felton, Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari and Landry Fields, all of whom played at least 39 minutes on a night D'Antoni went to his bench early. He was hoping he could lean on his reserves more, but an unexpectedly close game made that difficult.
It also didn't help that backups Ronny Turiaf and Toney Douglas are banged up. Shawne Williams has shown flashes in some games and has been invisible in others. Those were the only three reserves D'Antoni used Saturday.
"That's the problem," he said. "I want to give [Stoudemire] more rest and not play him as many minutes. Then when you do, we're in this situation."
The Knicks did not have fresh legs against Cleveland. But the Cavaliers also were playing the second night of a back-to-back.
"I thought we were depleted of energy most of the night and so were they," D'Antoni said. "It wasn't a very pretty game. They grinded it out and we didn't. When we had to have a big bucket, we didn't come up with any, and we didn't come up with a big defensive stop, and that was probably the difference."
D'Antoni also has to figure out how to get defenses to lay off Stoudemire a little. The Knicks' leading scorer has been getting hammered pretty good as opponents are daring the other players to beat them.
"Teams are really starting to collapse," Stoudemire said. "Even when I catch the ball on an iso, they still play inside and try to collapse on screen-and-rolls and sag in. They are going to try to take me out of the game. Some nights that opens up the shooting. We just have to be ready to shoot."
