Carmelo Anthony tried — he took over the game in the third quarter, put up 42 points for the game and lifted the Knicks to the lead.
But the Clippers took control of the game again when their bench returned to start the fourth — Los Angeles got 48 points from their bench on the game, led by 27 from Jamal Crawford, compared to the Knicks 15 from the bench.
Throw in Chris Paul looking like his old self and controlling the game down the stretch and you get the Clippers with a comfortable 102-88 win in Madison Square Garden Sunday.
For the Clippers, this was the kind of win they needed after a tough stretch — this game showed exactly how much Paul means to them. He finished with 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting with 7 assists, but that line doesn’t do justice to what a floor general he is and how he controls a game. Down the stretch of this game he was the best player on the court.
But he had the advantage of a lead thanks to that Clippers bench.
In the first half it was the Clippers bench that sparked a 13-0 late in the first quarter into the second that gave the Clippers a lead they held through the break. The Clippers bench was aggressive on defense, forced turnovers and turned those into easy baskets going the other way. The Knicks also started the game 3-of-13 from three, leading to long rebounds and transition chances for the Clippers, where they finish as well as anyone in the league.
Eric Bledsoe had a monster game off the Clippers’ bench — he had a trade showcase kind of game on national television. Back in his comfortable role off the bench he had 13 points on 6-of-6 shooting with four assists and three blocks (including one of Amar’e Stoudemire at the rim.
The Knicks got back in it because Carmelo Anthony owned the third quarter. In the quarter he shot 7-for-10 for 18 points, knocking down threes and abusing everyone who guarded him. From right side of floor he was killing it shooting 8-of-10 in first three quarters. The Clippers didn’t have any answers.
At the start of the fourth they had two — the bench again, which came in and once again stretched out that lead.
They also had Grant Hill take over guarding Carmelo Anthony and he did a good job of denying the ball and forcing the Knicks to look at other options. ‘Melo had four points on 1-of-2 shooting in the fourth quarter and with him out nobody else really stepped up. Raymond Felton had 20 points but needed 18 shots to get them, no other Knick scored in double digits.
Meanwhile, the Clippers had their groove back and a double-digit lead. You knew it was the Clippers night when Griffin hit back-to-back 17-foot jumpers.
The game meant a lot more for the Clippers — who have struggled with Paul out — than for the Knicks. For New York, it’s just another one of those games that leaves you asking how good this team really is as we start to think about the playoffs.
