When You Get Knocked Down
When you get knocked down, sometimes you have to struggle and fight to get back up
2007-01-29
When you get knocked down, sometimes you have to struggle and fight to get back up. I was stuck in the midst of a 4 day losing streak, my longest such streak in 2007 and I needed to make a statement.
My favorite NBA team, the New York Knicks found themselves in the same predicament. On Monday, the Knicks traveled to Miami to face the Heat who were playing without Dwayne Wade and Shaquille O'Neal. Without their two star players, you would expect even an average team like the Knicks to have a good chance to win the game.
Well, on Monday, that wasn't the case. Powered by a 27-0 first quarter run, the Heat dismantled the Knicks. Embattled Knicks coach Isaiah Thomas was enraged by his team’s lack of effort and ripped into them but privately and in the newspapers.
I see that the Knicks always put forth a solid effort so something told me they would come to play. The Knicks were getting 4 points, but I took them to win outright, risking 50 to win 115. Risky play, but I just had a feeling about this one.
How would they respond? Two words, Jamal Crawford. This guy was absolutely on fire this game. At one point, he hit 16 straight shots from the field and scored a career-high 52 points. He hit 8 straight 3 pointers and was absolutely unstoppable. Crawford sparked a late first-half run that helped New York take control, then never let Miami get close in third quarter by scoring 23 points. He hit his first eight 3-point attempts.
Crawford scored five quick points to give the Knicks the lead and spark a 23-5 run that he capped with a four-point play with 0.2 seconds remaining to send New York to the locker room with a 65-49 advantage.
Crawford missed his first four shots, and then didn't misfire again until 2:16 remained in the third quarter. The Knicks had a 20-point lead by then and were in cruise control. Crawford finished 20-of-30 from the field and 8-for-10 from 3-point range.
Dwayne Wade scored 37 points for Miami, and Shaq scored 11 in 15 minutes. Stephon Marbury returned from a sore knee and had a season-high 13 assists for the Knicks, but starting center Eddy Curry was sidelined after leaving Wednesday's loss to Phoenix with a strained left calf. Hopefully today's win is the start of something big.
Till tomorrow, may all your picks be winners.
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