Nate Rallies Knicks, But New York Comes Up Short
Knicks head coach Mike D’Antoni wanted Nate Robinson to continue playing like himself after moving the 5-foot-9 guard into the starting lineup prior to this weekend’s back-to-back games.
And there was no doubt that Nate was just being Nate on Saturday night in his second straight start at point guard, away from his usual off-guard position off the bench.
Robinson played under control and remained aggressive as he recorded 23 of his 26 points in the second half to rally the Knicks back from a 24-point deficit before falling just short in a 113-106 loss to the Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena. He also had six assists with only one turnover.
Robinson did all he could to get the Knicks back into the game after watching LeBron James explode for 35 of his game-high 47 points in the first half, including a stretch of 24 consecutive points for the Cavaliers. Despite being a starter, Robinson was still able to provide a big spark for the Knicks in the second half to take the league’s best team down to the wire.
“They didn’t get rattled, kept it there and weathered the storm a little bit,” D’Antoni said after the Knicks lost for the fifth time in six games “And then Nate caught fire and we had a shot at it, but didn’t get it done.”
After making just one of his five shots in the opening half, Robinson ended the night shooting 9-for-18, including 5-for-7 from beyond the arc. His biggest bucket of the game came on a layup off an offensive rebound to cut the deficit to 107-104 with less than four minutes remaining.
Robinson did most of his damage while playing alongside Chris Duhon, who came off the bench for the second straight game after starting the previous 48 games this season. D’Antoni indicated that Duhon could be moved back into the starting lineup after the veteran dished out eight assists with two turnovers in 30 minutes. Robinson would then slide back to his more natural shooting guard spot in the rotation.
“I think Nate’s a better two than a one,” D’Antoni said. “We’ll probably just experiment with that a little bit more and just try to get back to where we were about a month ago.
“Nothing’s set in stone.”
D’Antoni played a different lineup down the stretch than one we’re used to seeing. Instead of going with banged-up starters David Lee, Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari, the coach turned to rookie Jordan Hill, Al Harrington and Jared Jeffries alongside Duhon and Robinson for the final push.
Larry Hughes, who was the first guard off the bench against the Bucks on Friday, sat out with a sprained big toe.
The 6-foot-10 Hill was on the floor for the entire fourth quarter and matched up well against Shaquille O’Neal, one of the greatest big men of all time. Although he didn’t grab any rebounds, Hill produced on the offensive end, scoring eight important points, including a short jumper to keep the Knicks within three with 2:18 left to play.
“I wanted him to stay in and play important minutes,” D’Antoni said. “It’s important for us to be in and win as many games as we can because those are valuable minutes. Going down the stretch he did a good job on Shaq and brought some energy.”
The Knicks will host the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday before getting a week off for the All-Star break to rest up for one final playoff push.
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