Knicks-Kings Preview

By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN
Posted Dec 27 2012 8:03PM

While missing Carmelo Anthony and Raymond Felton did not hurt the New York Knicks their last time out, not having DeMarcus Cousins and Tyreke Evans certainly had a negative effect on the Sacramento Kings.

It's unclear who will be on the court for either team heading into Friday night's matchup in Sacramento.

New York (21-8) won 99-97 at Phoenix on Wednesday as Anthony and Felton sat out. Anthony, who leads the Eastern Conference with 28.5 points per game, hyperextended his knee in Tuesday's 100-94 defeat to the Lakers and Felton fractured a finger.

While Anthony's status for Friday is uncertain though his injury is not believed to be serious, Felton is expected to miss at least a month but won't need surgery. Replacing them in the lineup Wednesday were Ronnie Brewer - he came off the bench Tuesday after starting the previous 27 games - and James White, who got his first start of the season.

"Key guys get banged up here and there and we have enough guys on our team that guys just got to step up and play until guys get back," coach Mike Woodson said. "That's how it's got to be."

Sacramento (9-19) was without Cousins and Evans in Wednesday's 109-91 loss at Portland.

Cousins did not play despite having been reinstated after a one-game suspension for "unprofessional behavior and conduct detrimental to the team." Evans, averaging 15.1 points, missed his fifth straight game with a sore left knee and is listed as day to day.

The volatile Cousins, suspended twice earlier this season by the NBA, leads the Kings with 16.6 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. James Johnson has totaled 14 points and seven boards starting the last two games in his place.

"We just gotta roll with the punches," said guard Isaiah Thomas, who has scored in double figures in four straight games. "We know how to play without those two guys, we've been short-handed all year, I mean somebody's been out but we've got enough players who play well even without them - they're our two best players - we still have to bring it every night."

The Knicks let a 14-point, second-half lead slip away Wednesday before getting clutch play from J.R. Smith, who hit a jumper to tie the game with 10.6 seconds left before his winning 21-footer at the buzzer.

"I don't know whatever words you want to use but he loves that moment," teammate Jason Kidd said of Smith, who scored a season-best 27 points and is averaging 24.3 over the past four games.

Kidd set a season high with 23 points and matched another with eight assists as he shouldered more of the load minus Felton, who is second on the team with 15.8 points per game.

"He nearly had a triple-double tonight," Woodson said about Kidd. "Here he is almost 40 years old still playing like that. It's incredible.

The Knicks are averaging a league-low 10.8 turnovers. They are second in the East in points per game (102.2) and 3-point shooting percentage (39.4).

The Kings are allowing an average of 101.9 points for one of the league's worst marks.

Both teams seem to favor 1-on-1 play since New York's 19.9 assists per game is the NBA's fourth-worst average while Sacramento's 19.3 is second-worst.

New York swept two meetings with Sacramento last season by an average of 18.5 points, with Anthony missing one of them. Tyson Chandler helped limit a foul-plagued Cousins to an average of 12.0 points on 9-of-28 shooting.

The Kings have won six of nine at home.

Johnson makes 3 at Buzzer, Kings beat Knicks

Posted Dec 29 2012 2:09AM

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) James Johnson picked quite a dramatic moment to make his first 3-pointer of the season.

Johnson had missed his first 11 3s this season, but his 12th attempt won the game at the buzzer on Friday night, lifting the Kings to a 106-105 victory over the New York Knicks after blowing an early 27-point lead.

With time running out, John Salmons was trapped in the corner and found Johnson above the top of the key. Johnson's shot left his had just ahead of the final buzzer. The shot helped the Kings avoid a collapse after building a big lead in the first half.

"Isaiah (Thomas) hit John, but he couldn't take the shot, he was crowded," explained Johnson, who had a season-high 17 points that included seven in the fourth. "He looked at Francisco (Garcia) as his first option and I was his second read. There was no thinking after that - I had to shoot it. I knew it was good as soon as it left my hand."

Johnson was a starting forward when the season began, but his erratic outside shooting relegated him to the bench. However, he has worked before and after practice to gain confidence in his shot and it's showed of late. He's made 49 percent over the last six games and is average 8.7 points.

Johnson, who came to the Kings in an offseason trade with Toronto, converted 8 of 14 shots against the Knicks, most of them on drives to the basket.

"It was a broken play and we made something out of it," said Thomas of the game's hectic final 16 seconds. "J.J. made a huge shot. We knew it was his first (3). I've been clowning with him about it. I knew he hadn't made one yet."

Marcus Thornton scored 18 points and Cousins had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Kings, who led by 21 points at intermission. Jimmer Fredette also had 15 points and Thomas had 11 points and nine assists for Sacramento, which made a season-high 15 of 30 3-pointers.

"We gambled a bit when the ball came out of the deep corner for the steal," Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. "But we came up empty and Johnson was able to get a free catch and shoot it."

The Knicks played their second straight game without an injured Carmelo Anthony, who leads all Eastern Conference scorers, averaging 28.5 points per game. Anthony has a hyperextended left knee and his hoping to return Jan. 1 when the Knicks play Portland at home.

J.R. Smith scored a season-high 28 points for the Knicks, who outplayed the Kings throughout most of the second half. Rookie Chris Copeland had 23 points and Tyson Chandler had 21 points and 18 rebounds.

Knicks point guard Jason Kidd had 16 points, five assists and seven rebounds. But he also committed a turnover on New York's final possession.

"We got stagnant out there in the second half," Kings coach Keith Smart said. "We played great early on, but the game changed quickly in the second half."

After Garcia cut the Knicks lead to a point, Chandler made a free throw and Copeland hit a jumper to put New York ahead 105-101 with 2:51 left. Two free throws by Thomas pulled the Kings to 105-103 with 33 seconds remaining.

With a chance to pad its two-point lead, New York had a costly turnover instead. Kidd's lob pass inside to Chandler was picked off by an alert Cousins, who made a quick outlet pass to Thomas.

"I had Tyson wide open, it was an easy pass but I just turned it over and they came back and capitalized on it," Kidd said.

New York was also without starting point guard Raymond Felton, who has a broken left pinkie finger and is expected to miss at least a month.

Cousins was back in the starting lineup after missing the previous two games after Sacramento suspended him for unprofessional behavior and conduct detrimental to the team after a verbal confrontation with Smart during a game Dec. 21 against the Clippers.

"I wanted to get this thing behind us, get it over and move on," said Smart, explaining his decision to put Cousins back in the starting lineup. "He was rusty, yes. But he made some big plays down the stretch."

Chandler dunked on an alley-oop pass from Kidd midway through the third quarter. The next time down the court, Kidd stepped back for a 3-pointer, giving the Knicks a 97-95 lead, their first lead since the opening minutes.

Smith scored 11 points in the third quarter when the Knicks used a hustling defensive effort to outscore the Kings 31-16 and pull to 87-81 heading into the fourth.

Following a lethargic first half, the Knicks showed much more energy in cutting into Sacramento's 21-point halftime lead. Back-to-back three-point plays by Smith and Chandler trimmed the Kings lead to 85-77 with 2:17 left in the third.

Thornton scored 11 first-quarter points to help the Kings take an 11-point lead into the second. Fredette took over the offensive load in the second quarter, making three 3-pointers and scoring 15 points, helping the Kings to a 71-50 lead at the half.

"We buried ourselves in the first two quarters, then we decided to defend in the third and fourth quarter," Woodson said. "We got back in it and had control at the end. They made a great shot."

Copeland and Smith had 13 points in the first half for the Knicks, who trailed 68-41 late in the second quarter.

The Knicks poor perimeter defense in the opening half cost them repeatedly with the Kings making 10-of-15 attempts and producing a season high for points in one half. Sacramento shot nearly 60 percent overall and had 19 assists, another season-high for a half.

NOTES: In the first quarter, the Kings connected on four straight 3s in four possessions, building their lead to 26-14. ... Woodson was a starting guard for the inaugural Sacramento team that relocated from Kansas City for the 1985-86 season. ... Kings starting guard Tyreke Evans has missed six straight games and 11 of the last 15 due to an injured left knee. He may try to play Sunday against Boston. ... Knicks reserve forward Rasheed Wallace was out with a sore left foot. ... The Knicks are hoping injured forward Amar'e Stoudemire will return sometime next week. A knee injury has kept Stoudemire inactive all season.

Notebook: Kings 106, Knicks 105

James Ham, for NBA.com
Posted Sat Dec 29, 2012 1:14 AM - Updated Sat Dec 29, 2012 1:14 AM

THE FACTS: After leading by as many as 27 points in front of their home crowd, the Sacramento Kings fell apart in the second half, only to come back and beat the New York Knicks 106-105 on an incredible buzzer-beater by James Johnson.

Marcus Thornton led the Kings with18 points on 5-for-12 shooting. DeMarcus Cousins returned to the starting lineup after missing the previous two games due to suspension. The Kings big man notched another solid 15-point, 10-rebound double-double, but the hero was Johnson, who finished with 17 points and one huge 3-pointer.

J.R. Smith led the way for the Knicks with 28 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Tyson Chandler anchored the post with a huge 21-point, 18-rebound performance and Chris Copeland gave coach Mike Woodson a solid 23 points off the bench on 8-for-16 shooting.

QUOTABLE: "We tease him all the time about his shooting, but for him to have the confidence to shoot it and shoot it the right way and make it, that's big for him. Hopefully that game-winner can carry over into other games and his shot can really get going."
-- DeMarcus Cousins on Johnson's big shot

THE STAT: Before hitting the game winning 3-pointer against the Knicks, James Johnson had gone 0-for-11 from behind the arc on the season.

TURNING POINT: The turning point in this game came in the final second as the ball left Johnson's hand and found the bottom of the net for the win.

QUOTABLE II: "Scrap what ever my percent is now, I'm 1-for-1 baby!"
-- James Johnson

HOT: Just about every player coach Keith Smart sent into the game in the first half lit up the Knicks, but no one more than Jimmer Fredette. The reserve guard scored 15 points on 6-for-7 shooting and added four assists in his first 12 minutes of play in the first half.

NOT: After shooting 59.5 percent and scoring 71 points in the first half, the Kings shot only 35 percent and got outscored 31-16 in their big third-quarter collapse.

GOOD MOVE: Woodson went to J.R. Smith early in the second half and the veteran scorer responded with 15 points after the intermission. He finished with a game-high 28 points on 11-for-25 shooting.

BAD MOVE: The Kings second unit was incredible in the first half, but Smart waited way too long to go back to them in the second half. The result was almost disastrous as the Kings were outscored 54-35 after intermission. That would be the story line if Johnson hadn't buried the buzzer-beater.

NOTABLE: The Kings had seven players take and make a 3-point shot against the Knicks. The team finished 15-for-30 from behind the arc, including the game winner.

UP NEXT: For the Knicks, Tuesday vs. Portland, Thursday vs. San Antonio, Saturday @ Orlando. For the Kings, Sunday vs. Boston, Tuesday @ Detroit, Wednesday @ Cleveland.

• Knicks: Shumpert, Stoudemire
• Kings: Evans

• Knicks: --
• Kings: --

• Lead Changes: 5
• Times Tied: 2

• Arena: Sleep Train Arena, Sacramento, CA
• Officials: #43 Dan Crawford, #26 Pat Fraher, #56 Mark Ayotte
• Attendance: 16407
• Duration: 2:10