Duhon Leads Knicks to First Road Win

BOXSCORE

I was very happy with tonight's win, end to end. The ball moved crisply around the perimeter and for the first time in a long time, the Knicks looked focused on a game plan for the entire 48 minutes. As a team the Knicks dished out 36 assists which led to 46 made field goals.

“I just thought the ball is moving better now,” Coach Mike D’Antoni said. “We have guys with individual talents, which we have a lot -- Jamal, Zach, Nate and Wilson -- and their talents come out.”

Tonight marked the first start of the season for the up and coming forward Wilson Chandler, he debuted with 17 points and 4 rebounds.

“We passed up good shots for great shots,” Crawford said.

Tonight, Chris Duhon ran the team the way Mike D'Antoni wants him to. He pushed the ball on every possession and found his teammates in spots they like to operate in. He was the facilitator that D'Antoni's offense requires. Duhon had 12 assists and zero turnovers along with 7 boards. His 7 rebounds were especially important because when a guard crashed the boards it allows the ball to be pushed up the court much quicker. This was what made Jason Kidd so prolific in his prime. Jamal Crawford took some curious shots tonight but he led all scorers with 23. I thought he was more aggressive tonight then he had been in recent games. David Lee still looks a step slower than the competition but he scored 13 points and sadly had 1 rebound. Zach Randolph was extremely efficient and powerful on the glass. He had yet another 22 and 13 double double. As a team the Knicks were awful from the free throw line and that kept the Wizards in the game longer. They shot 47% (9-19) from the line and against better team, that will not get the job done. Other than that tonight was very positive. When the Knicks briefly lost the lead and went down by 1, Chris Duhon made a huge three to put the Knicks back up by 2, after this they never looked back. Nate Robinson was the usual spark plug of the bench, as he scored 17 and dished out 6 assists. The Knicks ball control tonight was their best of the season only turning it over 10 times while forcing the Wizards into 12.

“We knew they were going to come out and play a good game because they were desperate for a win tonight,” David Lee said. “We knew this was going to be a tough one from the start and we were able to go out and get a victory tonight and that’s important."

Caron Bulter was a problem tonight for the Knicks, he dropped 30. The Knicks move to 3-2 and will practice tomorrow and gear up for the Utah Jazz, Sunday afternoon at the Garden. The Knicks announced Friday that Allan Houston has been named Assistant to the President for Basketball Operations. … Lee scored 13 off the bench. He was replaced by Chandler in the starting lineup for defensive purposes, but D’Antoni said Lee will likely start against Utah’s front line of Boozer and Okur on Sunday.
Knicks recap