Lazy defense dooms New York Knicks in pathetic loss to Pelicans
Dec 30, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; New York Knicks guard Derrick Rose (25) dunks over New Orleans Pelicans guard E'Twaun Moore (55) during the second quarter of a game at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Knicks embarrassed themselves in New Orleans against the Pelicans with a terrible performance on the defensive end.

  • New Orleans Pelicans 104 (14-21)
  • New York Knicks 92 (16-16)
  • NBA, Final, Box Score
  • Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, LA

The New York Knicks were down 104-92 when Carmelo Anthony got a defensive rebound with 13 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Instead of throwing up a shot to cut the lead to single digits before the clock ran out, Anthony just dribbled out the clock and handed it off to the ref. You could tell he was disgusted with the last 48 minutes.

Can you blame him?

After Melo said tonight’s game was one the Knicks had to win (maybe he should stop doing that) for the second time in two weeks, his team again came out and gave a terrible effort.

The defensive effort was particularly atrocious. The laziness from the Knicks as a group cost them the game against an inferior team. Noah came back to earth, getting cooked by Anthony Davis, only playing 16 minutes (none in the fourth), and not scoring a point.

The Knicks allowed the Pelicans to make 12 three-pointers and shoot 41.4 percent from downtown on Friday night. New Orleans was 21st in three-point percentage entering the game.

The Pels scoring a staggering 16 fast break points in the first quarter and finished the game with an advantage of 30-12 on the break.

Anthony, Derrick Rose, and Kristaps Porzingis combined for 67 points but on it was 25-63 from the field (39.7 percent).

The Knicks don’t have a lot of time to think about what happened in New Orleans. They have a tough one Saturday night in Houston against James Harden and the Rockets. Tip-off is at 8:00 p.m. ET.

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