After the sensational emergence of point guard Jeremy Lin energized the Knicks and their tough-to-please supporters last month, New York is again floundering. Their loss to the Sixers was their fifth straight defeat.
The Knicks, trailing just 51-49 at halftime, gave up a whopping 38 points in the third quarter – which Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni acknowledged “doomed us”.
“We hit a snag and we seemed to wither, and for whatever reason we haven’t overcome any kind of obstacles,” D’Antoni said. “We were down two and the world was caving in.”
Knicks star Carmelo Anthony started the game strong with 12 first-quarter points.
He finished with 22 but ended the game on the bench with Amare Stoudemire as Lin, Tyson Chandler and Landry Fields completed the contest with reserves Steve Novak and J.R. Smith.
Lin finished with 14 points for the Knicks but shot just 5-of-18 from the floor and his seven assists were countered by six turnovers.
“Third quarter, I guess, they hit a lot of shots, we were a step slow on defence and I didn’t take care of the ball,” Lin said.
source: Agence France-Presse
