The Knicks came into this one needing a W, and that’s exactly what they got. Trailing the 76ers by three games going into this one, the Knicks needed this game badly to keep pace with Philly for the all important 6^th seed in the East. The 76ers won last night, as did many of the teams trailing the Knicks, heightening the pressure for tonight’s matchup against New Jersey at the Garden.

Having played a game last night, the Nets looked tired down the stretch, and their performance as a team suffered accordingly. They began turning the ball over (nine in the first 14 minutes of the second half), missing shots, and forgetting how to play defence. The Nets were also slow getting back in transition at times, and their offence became a bit stagnant.

However, even with all these problems, this game remained a back and forth affair until the end. The reason? A young chap by the name of Deron Williams.

Williams took control down the stretch, creating shots for himself and driving to the basket nearly at will. The Knicks are not exactly renowned as a great defensive team, and their defence (or lack thereof) against Williams was a prime example. Luckily, D’Antoni’s crew did pick it up late in the ball game, salvaging the win for the Knicks.   

Speaking of the Knicks, Carmelo Anthony played a fantastic game for New York. Melo finished with 39 points, including 20 in the Knick-controlled third quarter. Even more impressive, Anthony finished over 50 percent from the floor, including 75 percent from beyond the arc and perfect from the foul line. Anthony Morrow also finished with 30 for the Nets.

In the second half, the Knicks converted some bad Nets’ possessions into easy transition buckets, including a great bounce pass from Anthony Carter to set up a three on the fast break.

Both teams went cold in the last two and a half minutes though, with the game tied at 114. Both teams missed open shots, including two bone headed plays from Jersey’s Travis Outlaw. Outlaw took a contested fade away over Melo, and followed it up with a travel off a fast break from Williams.

The cold streak finally ended with 1:08 left though, with cold blooded Carmelo Anthony draining a pull up J to give the Knicks a 116-114 lead. After a Nets miss, Toney Douglas picked up a huge offensive board on the next New York possession. The Knicks were in the bonus, and Douglas stepped up to the line and calmly knocked his two freebies down.

Nothing’s ever easy with the Boys from Broadway though. After a Kris Humphries tip in and an Anthony miss, the Nets had one last chance to tie or win the game, down by two with eight seconds left. Luckily for the Knicks, Deron Williams missed his open 17 footer, and Billups picked up the board. Billups knocked in his two free throws as expected, and the Knicks went home winners.

With Billups’ two clutch free throws, and a good push down the stretch, The Knicks were able to take this all important game. Melo had arguably his best game as a Knick, both offensively and defensively, Billups and Carter shared the point effectively, and the Knicks played huge in the second half. If they can play the rest of their games like they played in those last 24 minutes, New York will be just fine. This team could potentially be a huge threat in the postseason, and won’t be the type of team that any of the favourites would like to face in April.

I didn’t catch the entire Knicks-Celts game tonight, but from what I saw, this one was not for the faint at heart. This game was reminiscent of those extremely competitive, if a bit bloody, playoff series’ between the Knicks and Heat in the 90’s.

Troy Murphy left with a bloody nose, Big Baby Davis got caught with a Carmelo Anthony elbow to the head, and Ray Allen was forced to briefly leave the game in the third quarter with a bleeding head. Carmelo Anthony also took five stitches above his left eye, but New York still took the bout with a unanimous decision.

However, although the Knicks would’ve definitely taken this game in the ring, on the court it was another story. The real scoreboard, the one that matters in the NBA, showed 96-86 Celtics.

The Knicks started off strong in this one, and were up three after the first. The Beasts of Broadway really turned it on in the second quarter also, and entered the locker room with a 51-37 lead at the half.

Sadly for the Knicks however, this was as good as it got. The Celtics outscored the Knicks 59-35 the rest of the way, and showed them why they are still the reigning Easten Conference Champions.

Early in the fourth, the Knicks were still up 82-73, but then Boston took it to a new level, going on a13-0 run to turn that Celtic deficit into a lead. The Knicks never recovered, and the Celts finished the game on a 23-4 run to give New York its third straight loss.  

Boston’s big three (although I think they should now be called a big four, with the emergence of Rondo) combined for 60 points, while the Knicks slightly smaller three (Amare, Melo and Billups) combined for 59. Amare only put up 16 in this game, and if the Knicks hope to go anywhere this postseason, he will need to be more involved then that.

Another player who the Knicks need in these types of games is Landry Fields. Fields shot 1-6 from the floor and put up a goose egg from the three point line. In a game like this, where the star players even out, depth and leadership become even more important. It’s role players like Fields, as well as clutch play down the stretch, that ultimately decide playoff style games like these.

When the Carmelo Anthony mega-deal was finally completed on February 21^st, New York was ready to party. The Knicks had their own “Big Three” in Amare, Melo, and Chauncey Billups, and they were ready to take the East by storm.

The problem is though, this hasn’t been the case. The Knicks have been a model of inconsistency since Melo’s arrival in the Big Apple. They’ve played .500 ball, with a 7-7 record that has included both a three game winning streak and a three game losing streak. They suffered a humbling loss to the woeful Cavs in their second game of the Melo era, only to come back and beat the vaunted Heat two days later in Miami. As I said, inconsistent.

The Knicks haven’t necessarily gotten any worse since Melo came over from Denver; the problem is that they haven’t really gotten any better. They still score at the same high rate, and excluding their 92-79 win over the Hawks, they still can’t really defend. They still rank 28^th in the league in points allowed, and are 22^nd in defensive efficiency. As much as Melo may have brought flash and publicity to New York, he hasn’t exactly brought much in the way of defence.

Another problem with the Melo experiment thus far has been the difficult task of incorporating him into the offence without taking away from the rest of the team. It’s clear D’Antoni is trying extremely hard to run sets that maximize both of his stars talents, but so far, the results haven’t been great. Amare has said that he wants the Knicks to return to their “up tempo” offence, and that the Knicks have become too “predictable” in their half court sets.

These comments might be considered a bit selfish on the part of Amare, but keep in mind that this was Amare’s team first. Amare was the guy who initially came here when no one else wanted to, and it is rightfully his team. If anything, Melo should be option number two, and Amare should remain the alpha dog.

Some people may think that this is exactly what Amare wants. I think it’s actually the opposite though. I think Amare realizes that he’s no longer the only star on Broadway now. Amare knows that in order for this team to reach its true potential, he and Melo need to play together. He knows that they won’t go anywhere without working together, and in addressing the Knicks need to get back to what was working pre-Melo, Amare has underlined an ever growing problem within the Knicks offence.

Just like Lebron and Wade have had and are still having some problems learning to play off each other, Melo and Amare are going to go through the same transition period. If both of these guys start passing the rock around and playing together within the system, the Knicks can become nearly impossible to stop offensively. If D’Antoni and his two stars can’t find a way to play together though, then this team will continue to toil in mediocrity.

Amare and Melo have a choice. They can either be two “me-first” guys on an average team, or two co-existing stars on a championship contender. Seems like a no-brainer to me.