PHILADELPHIA – Mike D’Antoni often has lamented that the Knicks do not have a star to pull close games out down the stretch. Last night was the perfect example when their three-game winning streak died in Philly in a 116-110 loss to the Sixers at the Wachovia Center.
There has been talk about forward David Lee getting an All-Star nod when the coaches vote on the reserves this week. For all the gaudy numbers Lee puts up, he doesn’t make enough late offensive plays to seal wins.
Last night, Lee made a play that actually sealed a loss. On a night the Knicks were living on a diet of 3-point shots, keeping them in the game, Lee called for the ball on the low post with 1:10 left and the Knicks down 110-106.
But as he accepted the pass and dribbled, Thaddeus Young rushed over to steal it, igniting a fastbreak that ended with an alley-oop pass from Andre Iguodala to Samuel Dalembert for the slam dunk and cushy six-point lead.
Playing without prized rookie Danilo Gallinari, who is being held out of the back ends of back-to-backs, the Knicks couldn’t stop the red-hot Sixers’ break and couldn’t score unless they were jacking 3-pointers (15 of 32).
The loss dropped them to 18-25, 3 1/2 games behind the seventh-place Sixers and 1 1/2 games behind the eighth-place Bucks.
The Knicks, who rallied from a 15-point late first-quarter deficit, made it a game because of their 3-point prowess, hitting 10 of 20 in the first half.
“We played well enough to win but made crucial mistakes and turned it over when we didn’t need to,” D’Antoni said.
The Sixers have won all three of their Knick meetings.
“I don’t know if there’s a better fast-breaking team in the league than those guys,” said Lee, who notched another massive double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds. “It’s a tough matchup for us.”
The Sixers (21-21) do have a star in Andre Iguodala and the Knicks don’t have a way to stop him. Iguodala racked up 24 points, constantly driving to the basket. “That’s why his name is Iguodala, he’s good,” D’Antoni said.
The Knicks don’t have enough of a low-post game now that Eddy Curry looks done again, and their one-dimensional act will lead to lots of losses like these.
“We wanted to go inside, we didn’t have the right spacing. I probably should’ve been more patient,” Lee said.
On the bright side, last year’s team would’ve folded their tents after getting down 29-14 early.
“They give everything that’s asked of them,” said D’Antoni, whose club has played .500 ball in the past 12 games since beating Boston Jan. 4.
The Knicks’ bench was lights out again. Nate Robinson scored a team-high 26 points, but spent too much time talking to courtsider Donovan McNabb and also committing a horrible foul with 0.7 seconds left in the third quarter on a fight for a rebound, leading to free throws for Philly. Tim Thomas picked up the slack for Gallinari by dumping in 24.
“We got down early,” Thomas said. “We did a great job fighting back and getting into it, but trying to catch up was a little too much.”
Starter Wilson Chandler’s slump has become alarming enough that D’Antoni pulled him for Al Harrington to start the second half. D’Antoni indicated he was mulling that as a permanent move.
“Maybe the combo’s not right,” D’Antoni said. “We can’t go down 15 points every game. That’s a big problem the last three games.”
Chandler was scoreless, 0 for 3 from the field with three turnovers in 18:43. In the last four games, he’s been averaging 4 points, shooting 8 of 25 with nine turnovers.
Still, the Knicks were there, up 98-95 with 5:25 left before the Sixers went on a 9-0 run, mostly on free throws. The Sixers barreled to the basket and earned 10 more free-throw attempts than the Knicks (32-22).
Sixers 116 Knicks 110
