Clippers 116 - 88 Knicks
Final
  for this game

Clippers-Knicks Preview

Jan 22, 2016 - 6:06 AM The New York Knicks have given their fans more than their money's worth so far on this homestand.

The Knicks are enjoying their longest home win streak in three seasons and will try to make it seven in a row at Madison Square Garden on Friday night when they face a Los Angeles Clippers team playing without Blake Griffin.

New York (22-22) can cap a three-game homestand by continuing its longest run at the Garden since winning its last 10 there in 2012-13. The Knicks have given their fans plenty of drama, winning 119-113 in double overtime over Philadelphia on Monday and needing one extra session to win 118-111 over Utah on Wednesday.

''I thought a level of grit and mental toughness is required to persevere in those situations,'' coach Derek Fisher said. ''I thought our guys, kind of regardless of what happened, kept playing and found ways to make the necessary plays to win.''

Carmelo Anthony had 30 points, nine assists and seven rebounds against the Jazz.

The superstar passed Larry Bird on the all-time scoring list and needs 21 points Friday to move into 30th place ahead of Gary Payton.

"It's an honor just to be on that list and to know the great work that Larry Bird put in throughout his career," Anthony said. "I'm still going, I'm having fun with this game of basketball, I've got a long way to go and I feel like the team is helping me, I'm helping them, I feel like we've got something good going for us."

New York seeks to end a six-game slide against Los Angeles, which will once again be without Griffin as he recovers from a partially torn left quadriceps tendon.

Los Angeles (27-15) fell to 10-2 without him by losing 115-102 at Cleveland on Thursday. Its six-game road win streak ended despite Chris Paul's 30 points and nine assists.

The Clippers allowed opponents to shoot 42.8 percent and average 98.0 points in winning their first nine games without Griffin. They have lost two of three since, with foes shooting 49.4 percent and averaging 119.0 points.

"We're not being solid, we're not being disciplined, we're not doing our principles," Paul said. "The good thing about it is that we know the right things to do. I think we just gotta work on our communication and start talking more."

DeAndre Jordan, who has an NBA-best 71.3 field-goal percentage, posted a 10th straight double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.

Looking forward to this contest is a Knicks player who hails from the Los Angeles area in reserve Derrick Williams, who scored 18 on Wednesday. He's averaging 16.8 points in his last five games.

"Chris Paul runs the show, so it's going to be big on our guards and obviously DeAndre rolling down the lane, he's going to try to dunk everything that's in his way so this is going to be a big team game," Williams said.

New York's Kristaps Porzingis ranks third among rookies with 14.0 points per game and first with nearly 2.0 blocks per contest. He scored 16 on Wednesday despite being questionable with a foot injury.

The Clippers' J.J. Redick is shooting an NBA-best 49.5 percent on 3-pointers and averaging 20.7 points in his last 10 games.






Related News