Knicks keep rolling into April, still tied first with Milwaukee.
Houston's hot shooting from three continued vs the Jazz.
April 1st, 2001 | by ESPN.COM
The New York Knicks had their best run of the season as they went 13-2 through the 1st of April. They remain in 1st place in the Atlantic Division and they now have a 3 game lead over the Philadelphia 76ers. The 76ers are 3rd in the Eastern Conference. The Bucks and Knicks are still fighting tooth and nail for 1st place in the East, both now have an excellent 55-20 record.
The Knicks had some excellent performances this month. With Marcus Camby back to full health, they are a superb team. The Eastern Conference looks extremley strong at the top this year, with Milwaukee, New York and Philadelphia already over 50 wins. Orlando in 4th are within touching distance on 48 wins. The Knicks had some very convincing wins over the bottom feeders this month like Houston, Chicago, Washington, LA Clippers and Atlanta.
In the matchup vs the Rockets, Houston hit 20, Sprewell 18 and Rice 17. Camby had a nice 15 pt, 10 rebound game, along with Othella Harrington who had 13 pts and 8 boards. In the next game against the Jazz, the Knicks showed how far they have come with a dominant display over the aging veterans in Utah. Cambys 18 pt- 18 rebound game was outstanding and showed Karl Malone that Father Time is about to come knocking. Add Allan Houstons 34 points, and that was too much for the Jazz to handle in MSG.
Another veteran team that look like they are reaching the end of the line was next up in the Garden. Seattle and Gary Payton were also easily dispatched by the Knicks as Allan Houstons 49 points showed Knicks brass they need to sort out a contract extension this summer. Backed up by Bryant Reeves 14pts-11rebs- 8 assists, the Knicks showed the difference between a title contender and a lottery team.
Reeves rises up for 2 from mid range again vs the Heat.
But just at the Knicks were feeling invincible, Detroit dragged them into a blood bath and snuck out of the Garden with a totally unexpected win. Jerry Stackhouse was on fire, hitting 47 points and further improving his chances at winning leading scorer. No Knick scored over 14 points, as they had their worst performance of the season.
But with further poor teams to play the Knicks could not slip up like this again, and really did not hold back from that moment on. A 20 point win over Washington, followed by a win over Atlanta set things back in motion for the Knicks after that one game blip. Houston top scored in both with 24 and 27 respectively. Camby was also again dominant grabbing double-doubles in both. The Play of Bryant Reeves alongside Camby has been astonishing. Reeves flirts with a triple-double most nights, and against Atlanta he did it, with 10 pts - 11 rebs and 10 assists.
With two weaker teams out of the way it was a trip to Miami next. The best of enemies battled hard for playoff position but again the Knicks came out on top. Houston couldn't be stopped with 35 points, and equally Reeves destroyed the Heats small frontline with 17pts-16 rebs and 9 asts. Sprewells play has been up and down all month, but he hit 21 points to really put the rubberstamp on the victory in Miami.
Two more solid victories over playoff contenders in Charlotte and Boston showed the top 4 in the East is lightyears ahead of the bottom 4 playoff spots. With Golden State next to visit the Garden, Sprewell was always going to put in a performance. A 29 point outburst was particularly impressive this time around. Not done with thrashing teams this month, the Knicks had their biggest win of the season with a 60 point victory over the Clippers. Reeves had 29 points and 17 rebounds.
A 2 point loss to the Raptors in Toronto would follow however as Vince Carter hit 39 points. The Raptors are in a tight battle to hang on in the playoffs after losing Tracy McGrady to the Magic in the offseason. Houston and Sprewell helped the Knicks bounce back once more with a good win in Chicago, hitting 27 and 22 respectively.
The last game, and first game of April was against their trading partners the Vancouver Grizzlies. In a tight low scoring contest the Knicks managed to pull out the win. Marcus Cambys 21 rebounds was the highlight in a game that matched two playoff teams with some strong knowledge off each other. Not suprisingly the traded players were fired up, Larry Johnson hit 16 for the Grizz, Kurt Thomas grabbed 12 rebounds. Chris Childs started at shooting guard and hit 12 points. But it was Bryant Reeves for the Knicks who had 11 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists that swayed the game in the Knicks direction.
Here are the Knicks results from the last month.