Knicks 101 – Grizzlies 92
MEMPHIS – The Knicks visited this delta city where the blues were born and, for one night, at least, escaped their own fourth-quarter blues.
The Grizzlies, playing the role usually reserved by the Knicks, squandered a double-digit lead the final seven minutes as Allan Houston and Latrell Sprewell carried the Knicks to a 101-92 victory at The Pyramid last night.
Knick coach Don Chaney dusted off point guard Charlie Ward late in the third and called him the “catalyst” to the win.
Ward had 13 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals. Sprewell punched in 23 after shooting just 4 of 14 after three quarters, and Houston finished with a game-high 26. They combined for 22 points in the fourth quarter.
“That’s very nice to see,” Chaney said. “That’s what they get paid to do, and that’s why we put the ball in their hands.”
A 17-0 run across a three-minute span midway through the fourth quarter wiped out a 10-point Knick deficit. Of course, all this is too little too late for this lost season, and only served to potentially steal away some Knick ping-pong balls in the lottery drum.
The Knicks scored on seven straight possessions after falling behind 85-75 following a 70-foot pass from Lorenzen White to Stromile Swift for the dunk with 7:20 left.
Early on, the Knicks (26-40) looked lifeless.
Sprewell said before the game he felt he had “a couple of cups of coffee,” feeling more energized than his Cleveland sleepwalk Sunday. But he didn’t come on until the fourth as did the rest of the crew.
Houston began the surge with a 3-pointer, and their momentum gained steam after Jason Williams threw up a pathetic airball on a running shot from 15 feet out. That led to a fastbreak dunk for Sprewell ahead of the field to make it 85-80.
“They’re not a bad team,” Chaney said of the Grizzlies. “They’re young. That’s their biggest problem.”
And that youth killed them in the final quarter. Houston hit a left-corner jump shot to make it 85-84, then Sprewell gave the Knicks the lead for good with a right-wing trey with 4:46 left to make it 87-85. Sprewell’s three-point play on a runner in the lane capped the run with 3:47 left as the Knicks went up 92-85.
Memphis’ 10-0 run midway through the third quarter appeared to break open the game, as the Grizzlies went up 61-52.
Kurt Thomas continued his All-Star play of late with 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting, with eight rebounds as the Knicks took a 46-45 lead at halftime. Thomas finished with 18 points and 16 boards.
There were six lead changes and eight ties in the half. Williams had 12 points to lead Memphis but also threw a wild, behind-the-back pass out of bounds on a fastbreak. Memphis scored most of its points inside, scoring 26 in the paint on drives.
The Knicks shot out to a 9-2 lead after Sprewell banged in a right-wing trey with 8:26 left in the first. But Memphis settled in, and Williams hit a 3-pointer to tie the score at 12 midway through the second.
Mark Jackson hit a pull-up 3-pointer at the first-quarter buzzer to give the Knicks a 31-29 lead after one.
