After the Knicks lost to the Grizzlies, they finished all their games in February. So far, the Knicks have played 58 games, with a current record of 39 wins and 19 losses, currently ranked third in the Eastern Conference.
Eastern ranking.
1. Cleveland Cavaliers (46 wins and 14 losses).
2. Orlando Magic (40 wins and 20 losses).
3. New York Knicks (39 wins and 19 losses).
4. Atlanta Hawks (37 wins and 21 losses).
5. Boston Celtics (36 wins, 21 losses).
6. Toronto Raptors (31 wins and 27 losses).
7. Chicago Bulls (31 wins and 28 losses).
8. Milwaukee Bucks (30 wins and 29 losses).
The record of 2-5 in the east is very tight, and if you are not careful, you may be caught from behind.
The Celtics have also been secretly working hard recently, as can be seen from the previous game against the Knicks.
The Celtics' record is currently close to that of the Atlanta Hawks. Although there is only one difference between fourth place and fifth place, in the playoffs, it can determine the home and away games of the first two games.
Once the Celtics come to fourth place, they will have the home court advantage of two games first. The blessing of the home atmosphere is likely to make the Eagles make mistakes and directly win the first two games. Back home with a 0:2 deficit, there is no guarantee that there will be no problems with their mentality.
For the old fritters of the Celtics, once they seize the opportunity, it is very likely to complete the sweep.
The cooperation between Carter and Howard on the Magic team is also getting better and better, and the Magic's record in February is also constantly improving.
Like the Knicks, the Hawks are mostly young people, so they are prone to mistakes when playing against some strong teams.
The Knicks played against the Cleveland Cavaliers twice this season and tied 1:1, but the Atlanta Hawks lost directly to the Cleveland Cavaliers twice.
It can be seen that the Eagles' offensive ability still needs to be improved.
The competition in February is over, and the 28th is also the day to select the best of the month in the East and West.
This month's player of the month still has no chance with Lian Dao, and LeBron James once again won the Eastern Conference's player of the month.
The Cavaliers played 11 games in February and got a record of 8 wins and 3 losses. The Knicks also played 11 games and got a record of 7 wins and 4 losses.
The Knicks lost one more game than the Cavaliers.
James' data in February is also very impressive, averaging 32.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 10.5 assists per game in February. It can also be seen from the data that James not only maintained efficient scoring in the February game, but also revitalized the whole team.
The player of the month in the West was Carlos Boozer.
The Jazz had a total of 13 games in February, and they had a record of 10 wins and 3 losses, ranking first in the Western Conference in February.
And Boozer also won the Western Conference Player of the Month in February with 21.2 points, 13.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists.
Al Ellington's excellent performance perfectly made up for the impact of Millsap's departure on the bench.
The Knicks entered March with the most games, and the Knicks will complete 16 games in March, which means that they will face a new round of back-to-back.
Especially in March, the Knicks played against a lot of strong teams in the playoffs, Cavaliers, Spurs, Celtics, Nuggets, Eagles, Pistons...
Many media also believe that March is the real touchstone for the Knicks. As long as the Knicks achieve results in March, the Knicks will basically be able to enter the playoffs.
On March 1, the Knicks played against the Cleveland Cavaliers. This game has attracted a lot of attention. After all, Lian Dao and James shared the AMVP trophy in the All-Star Game not long ago. The media is also concerned about the match between Lian Dao and James after the All-Star Game full of interest.
"Although the Cavaliers are currently the No. 1 record in the Eastern Conference, we will not be afraid. We dare to challenge any strong team. The goal of the Knicks has never been a certain team, but to go further."
In the media interview before the game, Lian Dao also directly expressed his attitude.
Here the Knicks changed the previous lineup, sending Juho Ledi, Wilson Chandler, Lian Dao, Millsap, and Milicic.
D'Antoni let Lian Dao defend James alone, Milicic mainly defends O'Neal, and Millsap assists in defense.
After the start of the game, James was very uncomfortable under Lian Dao's defense, but he also frequently took advantage of the basket to play Willie inside. Although O'Neal scored all 3 offenses at the basket, he consumed a lot of energy.
On the Knicks side, Lian Dao and Holiday frequently used their teammates to pick and roll to get to the basket against O'Neal for a layup. Lian Dao and Holiday each made a foul on O'Neal.
In the first five minutes of the first quarter, O'Neal had already received two fouls.
Moreover, under the constant double-teaming of Millsap and Milicic, O'Neal also consumed a lot of physical energy.
Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown also reluctantly replaced O'Neal and replaced him with Big Z.
But soon James used Varacio's pick-and-roll to open up the situation. Lian Dao lost his position twice under Varacio's pick-and-roll.
Millsap's supplementary defense was not particularly effective for James. Under the impact of James, the two teams were unable to open the score for a while.
The two teams tied 18, 23, and 26 in the first quarter. At the end of the first quarter, the Knicks tied 34:34.
In the second quarter, Lian Dao led the bench team and scored 8 points in a row. At the beginning of the second quarter, he played a wave of 8:2.
But soon O'Neal scored consecutive goals on David Lee's head, and O'Neal directly responded with a wave of 6:2.
The Cavaliers quickly narrowed the gap to 2 points.
But immediately afterwards, the Knicks continued to fire from the outside. First, Lian Dao made a three-pointer against Jamalio Moon's defense.
Immediately afterwards, Lian Dao gave Gallinari a pick-and-roll and assisted Gallinari to hit a three-pointer from the outside.
And then Lian Dao went to the inside again and caused O'Neill to foul.
Two free throws were made and the score came to 45:38.
The Knicks led by 7 points.
James returned to the court without resting for a few minutes in the second quarter. After playing, he used his teammates' pick-and-rolls to hit a small climax of 8:3.
Once again, it helped the Cavaliers close the score gap to 2 points.
With the last two minutes left in the second quarter, the score was tied again at 53:53.
After that, the scores of the two sides continued to rise anxiously. In the last attack of the Knicks in the second quarter, Lian Dao went to the basket through a pick-and-roll and turned around to avoid a foul by Varacho.
The lower bar at the basket avoided O'Neal's block, but under the guidance of Lian Dao, O'Neal's hand still hit his arm.
Relying on his last instinct, Lian Dao made a layup posture, threw the ball towards the hoop, the basketball hit the backboard, bounced off the hoop, and then stumbled into the hoop.
2+1.
O'Neal received his fourth foul of the game.
At 63:60, the Knicks ended the first half with a three-point lead.
O'Neal's foul crisis is very beneficial to the Knicks in the fourth quarter.
In the third quarter, Mike Brown put the big Z on the field again.
The Knicks officially entered the "run and gun" mode in the third quarter.
Lian Dao stepped up his offense in the third quarter. After receiving a pass from Holiday from the outside line, he used Millsap's pick-and-roll and made an emergency stop from the outside line.
Lian Dao steals the pass from James, resists Varacho's defense from outside, and makes a strong three-pointer.
Immediately afterwards, Lian Dao assisted Millsap and made another three-pointer from the outside.
The Knicks played a 9-5 offense during this stretch.
In one fell swoop, the lead was extended to 7 points.
Mike Brown urgently called a timeout.
Mike Brown once again replaced the exhausted Big Z with O'Neill.
Back on the court again, Lian Dao was taken care of by James and Anthony Parker.
The frequent double-teaming of the Cavaliers also caused Lian Dao's shooting rate to continue to decline.
And James also used this time to score frequently.
At the end of the third quarter, the Cavaliers tied the score again.
92:92.
Entering the fourth quarter, the physical fitness of both teams is in crisis.
But here D'Antoni made a decision to let Lian Dao and Wilson Chandler double-team James.
On the Cavaliers side, James and Anthony Parker double-team Lian Dao.
As soon as the fourth quarter came up, the players on both sides were fighting for a while, and the decline in physical fitness would inevitably lead to a decrease in shooting percentage.
At this time, it depends on which team can take the lead in regaining the touch.
Originally, the Cavaliers had the best chance. In previous games, they had O'Neal inside, and their offensive efficiency at the basket was always higher than outside.
But near the end of the third quarter, O'Neal had already received his fifth foul.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, he was fouled by David Lee's jumper and left the field with 6 fouls.
Without O'Neill, the internal strength of the two sides is finally at the same level. Although Big Z's strength is still very good, but Big Z is destined not to be a strong man in internal combat. His physical fitness and physical fitness are his shortcomings~www.mtlnovel .com~Under the key care of Millsap, it is very difficult for Big Z to attack every time.
Finally, Wilson Chandler of the Knicks took the lead to stand up, and after receiving a pass from Lian Dao, he opened fire from the outside line one after another.
He scored three three-pointers in one breath, and a wave of 9:2 instantly helped the Knicks establish an advantage.
But on the Cavaliers side, Anthony Parker, the Cavaliers' three-point shooter, misfired in the fourth quarter.
He made 0 of 3 three-pointers.
The Knicks took advantage of this opportunity. On the defensive end, Millsap stole the big Z, and the whole team quickly counterattacked.
Lian Dao made an emergency stop outside the three-point line and shot a three-pointer.
"brush!"
10 point advantage.
Lian Dao's three-pointer directly established the Knicks' victory in this game.
Although at the end of the game, Anthony Parker regained his touch and hit three-pointers one after another, once closing the score gap to 5 points.
However, after the Cavaliers gave up double-teaming Lian Dao, Lian Dao was always able to respond through his teammates' pick-and-rolls.
With 30 seconds left before the end of the fourth quarter, the Knicks still maintained a 7-point lead.
The Cavaliers James made a three-pointer and chased the score to 4 points.
Immediately afterwards, James suddenly gambled to steal Holiday's dribble, but because Lian Dao made up the defense in time, he did not give James a fast break opportunity.
James made another three-pointer from the outside, but this time he missed. With Millsap stuck on the big Z, David Lee overwhelmed Valacho and grabbed a key defensive rebound.
Then it was thrown to the Cavaliers basket by David Lee Gao Gao.
The basketball raced through the air to run out the last minutes.
At 125:121, the Knicks got off to a good start in March with a four-point advantage.