The Fast Break: Will Mike Woodson survive another job-threatening loss?
Every coach of a disappointing team playing well below expectations experiences games that cause observers to ask whether that was the loss that brings said coach to the end of his rope. For Mike Woodson this season with the Knicks, there have been plenty of those losses, and Monday night's defeat at the hands of the lowly Bucks is just the latest one.
A three-point road loss on a near last second shot doesn't seem as damning as a 41-point home loss to the rebuilding Celtics or a 23-point home loss to the rival Nets in a nationally televised game, but losing to a team that entered action Monday 8-39 overall is about as bad as it gets for a Knicks team that's supposed to be scratching and clawing their way back to respectability after a disastrous start to the season.
Woodson isn't the problem, but he also hasn't been anything near a solution this season, and losses like this one have become too commonplace for a 2013-14 Knicks team that seems to take two steps back for every step they take forward.
New York remains in 10th-place in the Eastern Conference, now at 19-29 overall and 11-16 at MSG, 1.5 games out of a playoff spot and seven games behind Atlantic Division leading Toronto. Patience and an expectation that the team will eventually pull itself together in such a weak East have saved Woodson's job so far this year, but with February now in full swing and the finish line coming into sight with the Knicks still out out of the playoff picture, one of these losses is finally going to be the one that puts the veteran coach out of his misery and convinces the Knicks brass that this inconsistent, uninspiring, sad sack of a team is exactly what they appear to be.
About last night...
Pacers 98, Magic 79 - Is anyone else wondering if the Pacers can clinch a playoff spot before the end of February?
Wizards 100, Trail Blazers 90 - It took eight tries this season, but the Wizards are finally above .500 for the first time since 2009.
Heat 102, Pistons 96 - Dwyane Wade and LeBron James combined for 54 points, 18 rebounds and 16 assists.
Nets 108, 76ers 102 - Paul Pierce had a game-high 25 points on just nine field goal attempts, thanks to a 14-for-14 night from the free throw line.
Spurs 102, Pelicans 95 - Tony Parker had 32 points and nine assists in the win.
Bucks 101, Knicks 98 - Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith combined for 66 points, while no other Knick scored more than seven.
Thunder 86, Grizzlies 77 - Kevin Durant had 31 points, eight rebounds and eight assists to help OKC beat Memphis in a Western Conference semifinals rematch.
Mavericks 124, Cavaliers 107 - Dallas posted a 50-40-90 shooting night as a team.
Nuggets 116, Clippers 115 - So Randy Foye did this:
How great are those celebratory slides by J.J. Hickson and Kenneth Faried?
Raptors 94, Jazz 79 - The Raptors have now surpassed their entire road win total from last season, improving to 14-12 away from home.
Kings 99, Bulls 70 - Joakim Noah had one message for all three officials after being ejected in the third quarter:
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Line of the night: Blake Griffin - 36 Pts (13/21 FG, 10/16 FT), 11 Reb, 4 Ast, 1 Stl in 38 mins.
Play of the night:
Misplay of the night:
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On tap tonight: There are four games on the schedule tonight, featuring an Eastern Conference battle of 1st vs. 3rd between the Pacers and Hawks, the Lakers taking on the Timberwolves in Minnesota, the Bulls heading to Phoenix on the second night of a back-to-back and the Bobcats taking their stingy defense to Oracle Arena for a date with the Warriors.