Nash leads Suns past Knicks
Carmelo Anthony looks on in the second half against the Phoenix Suns. (Jan. 18, 2012) Credit: Jim McIsaac
On the surface, the matchup was so obvious and symmetrical. The Knicks, a team without a point guard, up against the Suns' Steve Nash, a point guard without a team. So how did that turn out?
Never underestimate the value of a great point guard.
The Knicks certainly don't, not after another night of stalled offense, of 37.2 percent shooting against a team that had won little more than a fourth of its games. The Knicks won't say it, but they sure could use the likes of Nash, who Monday night at the Garden sent the Knicks to their fourth consecutive low-wattage defeat, 91-88.
Nash basically had the game in his hands all night, scoring more than anyone else (26 points), handing out more assists than anyone else (11) and sinking six free throws in the final 16.9 seconds to keep the Knicks at arm's length.
There was a resurgence of sorts for Nash's former Suns running mate Amar'e Stoudemire, who scored 23 points, but he shot only 7-for-22 from the floor. Carmelo Anthony did score five points in the final 10.7 seconds, but he made only 5 of 22 shots from the field and 1 of 4 from the foul line during his 12-point night. He most likely was affected by the sprained left wrist that has forced him to alter his mechanics.
Mostly, the Knicks (6-8, same as they were after 14 games last season) were done in by the familiar lack of flow and focus with the ball -- the stuff that a point guard brings.
"It's easy to say, 'Ah, they need a point guard,' but I think there are a lot of factors that are slowing down them finding that confident rhythm," Nash said. "But I'm sure they'll find it."
Knicks fans are sure they could find it if they sign Nash to the mid-level exception contract when he becomes a free agent this summer. The soon-to-be 38-year-old (next month) does love New York. He has an apartment in Manhattan.
"Of course, it's not a secret. This is the basketball capital of the world. I live here in the summer, I have a lot of friends here. I have my former coach and teammate play here. It's a homecoming in some ways for me. It's always fun to play here," Nash said, referring to Stoudemire and Mike D'Antoni.
Plus, he believes he has a couple more good years left in him. "I physically feel as good as I ever have," he said.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves. "As boring as this may be, I'm really not thinking about it. I'm still with the Suns, I'm happy with the Suns. I'm putting everything I have into trying to turn this thing around and see what we can do to get ourselves back into contention," he said of his 5-9 team, which lost to the Bulls without Derrick Rose Tuesday. "I put all my focus into preparing to play every day."
If only the Knicks had his focus. They still had a shot at the end -- Iman Shumpert, the rookie point guard by default, missed a desperation three at the buzzer. Nash admitted that he had fouled Shumpert (20 points) before the shot, but the referees didn't see it. That was the least of the Knicks' problems.
"He's a great player, he had a great game," D'Antoni said of Nash. "But I'm not sitting there looking at them, I'm looking at us and not understanding how we can score only 88 points. That's almost a good night for us now."
