Evans, Martin get Kings by Knicks in OT
February 10, 2010
NEW YORK (AP)—The New York crowd that adored Omri Casspi(notes) definitely left withan appreciation of Tyreke Evans(notes).
Evans led a thrilling fourth-quarter comeback, Kevin Martin(notes) scored nine ofhis 17 points in overtime, and the Sacramento Kings beat the Knicks 118-114 onTuesday night to end a six-game losing streak.
Evans finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, scoring 12points in the final 7 minutes of regulation after the Knicks had built a15-point lead, repeatedly finding his way into the lane.
Sacramento Kings' Jason Th… AP – Feb 9, 10:52 pm EST Sacramento Kings' Jason Th… AP – Feb 9, 10:51 pm EST
Sacramento Kings' Donte Gr… AP – Feb 9, 10:39 pm EST
Sacramento Kings' Tyreke E… AP – Feb 9, 10:39 pm EST
Sacramento Kings' Beno Udr… AP – Feb 9, 9:11 pm EST
Sacramento Kings' Andres N… AP – Feb 9, 9:05 pm EST
New York Knicks' Nate Robi… AP – Feb 9, 9:04 pm EST
New York Knicks' Jared Jef… AP – Feb 9, 9:03 pm EST
New York Knicks' Wilson Ch… AP – Feb 9, 9:03 pm EST
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“I think the people in New York got a little idea of why we like Tyreke somuch,” Kings coach Paul Westphal said. “The Garden got kind of quiet when hedid that little two-step slippery thing he does. It’s something you don’t seevery often.”
Donte Greene(notes) added 24 points and Casspi, cheered throughout by a largeJewish contingent, finished with 18, just two after halftime.
Wilson Chandler(notes) scored a career-high 35 points for the Knicks, who have lostthree straight and six of seven to bring a 19-32 record into the All-Star break.David Lee(notes) finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds.
Though not as impressive as the Kings’ 35-point comeback to beat Chicagoearlier this season, this one was also unlikely because they showed no signs ofstopping the Knicks until midway through the fourth quarter.
New York opened a 98-83 lead with 7:36 to play.
Then Evans and Greene combined for Sacramento’s next 20 points as the Kingscut it to 105-103 on Evans’ basket with 56 seconds remaining. Evans then grabbedthe rebound of a Knicks miss, drove into the lane and fed Jason Thompson(notes) for adunk that tied it at 105 with 25 seconds left.
“It went from 15 to 7 in about 30 seconds and then we got tight and didn’tplay well and they beat us,” Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said. “Somehow ourspirit is all messed up.”
New York was just 7 of 23 in the fourth quarter against a team that hasgiven up 112 or more points in five straight games.
“We just kept on believing and we knew it was just a matter of time,”Martin said. “The Knicks keep on attacking the basket and they let you back inthe game, and that’s what our game plan was in the last six minutes of the gameand overtime.”
Martin, coming off the bench as he plays his way back into form aftermissing 32 games with a broken left wrist, hit a pair of jumpers early inovertime. He then sank two free throws to give the Kings the lead for good with3:07 remaining and followed that with a 3-pointer after Evans found him intransition for a 114-110 lead with 2:44 left.
“They just weren’t doing a good job of getting back,” Evans said. “Everytime I got the rebound I pushed it and, when I saw an open lane, I attacked itor kicked it out to an open guy.”
New York finally forced him to miss a jumper in the final seconds, but hegrabbed his own rebound and made two clinching free throws with 4.9 secondsremaining.
Thompson finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Al Harrington(notes) scored 17 for New York, Jeffries had 13 points and 10 reboundsfor his first double-double of the season, and Nate Robinson(notes) had 11 points on4-of-15 shooting, also leaving the game at one point after having the windknocked out of him.
An otherwise forgettable game between non-contenders drew some extraattention in New York, which has a larger Jewish population than Israel, becauseof Casspi, the first Israeli to play in the NBA. The Knicks called it “JewishHeritage Night” and Casspi heard loud cheers and chants during the game whilekeeping Sacramento close in the first half.
“This is not a regular game for me and it was important for me to startstrong … show the coach and everybody that I am here to play and focus onbasketball,” Casspi said. “In the second half, we did great stuff.”
The break comes at a good time for the banged-up Knicks. New York playedwithout guard Larry Hughes(notes) (sprained left big toe), and Jeffries left in thefirst quarter with a lower back contusion but was back in the second.
Robinson has been dealing with hamstring and groin injuries, and forwardDanilo Gallinari(notes), New York’s best shooter, injured his right forearm in athird-quarter fall. He threw up an airball on his first free throw afterward,then shot the second left-handed and missed before leaving the game for good.
Robinson is scheduled to defend his title in the All-Star slam dunk contest,while Gallinari is in the rookie challenge and the 3-point contest.
NOTES: Greene botched the final seconds of the first quarter, throwing aninbounds pass that hit the sideline to give the ball back to the Knicks with 3.5seconds left, then bumping Robinson as he was dribbling nowhere near the basket.Robinson hit two free throws with 1.2 seconds remaining. … Curly Neal and MooMoo Evans of the Harlem Globetrotters, whose tour is in New York, were at thegame.
