Tyson Chandler was back last night, and Carmelo Anthony took 29 shots to score 29 points; J.R. Smith was 5-of-17…from three-point range, and defended his shooting on Twitter after the game. All these things and more happened despite the Knicks getting a double overtime win on Wednesday night, 107-101, over the NBA-worst Bucks. Still, all anyone can talk about is the stupidity of Andrea Bargnani after he took possibly the most ill-advised shot in the history of basketball.
We’ll set the scene. The Knicks were winning 94-92 near the end of the first overtime period. Ben Udrih passes to Carmelo Anthony, isolated on the right wing. ‘Melo misses a long jumper over two Bucks defenders with the shot clock running down (he missed 20 shots on the night). Tyson Chandler got the offensive rebound with less than 20 seconds left. Chandler passed the ball out to Bargnani, expecting Bargs to hold the ball and force the Bucks to foul since it’s inside of 15 seconds and the Knicks have the lead. That, uh, doesn’t happen.
Bargnani misses the open three-pointer, and the Bucks get the rebound with a chance to tie or win in the first overtime. After Brandon Knight‘s shot bounces off the rim, John Henson tips it in to tie the score at 94 with less than a second remaining. The game heads to a second overtime thanks to Bargnani’s idiocy. The Knicks ended up outscoring the Bucks 13-7 in that extra, EXTRA period, but the brainlessness of Bargnani cannot be ignored. Just check out the Knicks bench after the shot (â„… CBS Sports’ Matt Moore):
Bargnani told Marc Berman of the New York Post after the game, “It was aggressive and it definitely was a mistake. It’s a good thing we won the game and stayed together.”
The Knicks won, so some want to cut Bargs a break. Here’s BDL’s Dan Devine to explain why his shot is, in fact, a big deal:
The big deal is that Chandler…played an additional overtime period in his first game back from a broken leg, and did so despite dealing with left calf cramps repeatedly through the extra frame, when he didn’t have to. The big deal is that Anthony…played 55 1/2 minutes on Wednesday, which is (at least) five more than he probably had to.
Devine goes on to list a few more reasons Bargnani’s shot was so awful, but it basically boils down to: the Knicks are pretty terrible already, so why throw more gasoline on the fire in the form of such a foolish shot attempt? That question is rhetorical.
Barg’s brain fart was not the only thing of note in New York’s sloppy road victory. J.R. Smith couldn’t wait to pull the trigger from beyond the arc, going 5-of-17 from long-range and 7-of-23 overall for 19 points in over 48 minutes of action. Just look at his shot chart:
But Smith compounded his inaccuracy from deep with a series of tweets after the game that had us laughing to ourselves while simultaneously shaking our heads:
Lol 17 threes tho! Had to say damn my self!
— JR Smith (@TheRealJRSmith) December 19, 2013
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But trust me give me that chance again I'll shoot it again!
— JR Smith (@TheRealJRSmith) December 19, 2013
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We lose an I take 1 shit y'all mad we win I take 23 shots y'all mad! Lol #OHWELL
— JR Smith (@TheRealJRSmith) December 19, 2013
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The Knicks are a carnival of ineptitude right now, and while their fans are busy sharpening pitchforks outside James Dolan‘s mansion, most of the rest of us are just getting the popcorn ready to see what happens next.
What’s the worst thing from last night’s Knicks game?
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