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GAME FLOW
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| Abdur-Rahim |
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) – The best defensive team in
the NBA was given a lesson on defense by the lowly Vancouver Grizzlies.
Shareef Abdur-Rahim scored 30 points as Vancouver snapped a nine-game losing streak with an 89-68 victory over the New York Knicks on Thursday night.
Mike Bibby had 16 points and eight assists for Vancouver, which improved to 21-52. Bryant Reeves had 14 points and 10 rebounds.
"I think we delivered the first blow," Grizzlies coach Sidney Lowe said. "We threw the first punch, as we talked about. That set the tone for us. Our defense got our offense going, especially in that first half. We were really clicking, shooting the ball well, moving the ball around."
The Grizzlies had lost seven straight games to the Knicks and
were 1-8 lifetime against New York entering the game. Vancouver had
not beaten the Knicks since its inaugural season.
"We showed up, we challenged every shot, we gave them nothing easy," said Reeves, who also had two blocked shots. "We played a total package tonight on defense."
Reserve Charlie Ward had 13 points and eight assists for the Knicks. Allan Houston scored 12 points and Mark Jackson 10, as New York dropped its second straight.
"Your strengths get revealed on the road, your weaknesses get revealed on the road," New York coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "There are no illusions of greatness when you're out of the game on the road. Let's face it, we're just not playing -- since the New Jersey game -- the way we need to win. It's very simple."
Vancouver's large lineup was the difference, according to Van
Gundy.
"You've got to give Vancouver credit," Van Gundy said. "I
think sometimes when you're analyzing the game, you don't want to
give credit to the other team. But the other team deserves credit.
They started real big tonight so that we had to play small on
Rahim. That was a great move. That one thing overwhelmed us."
Vancouver, coming off a winless eight-game road trip, shot 54.8 percent in the first half and led 52-37 at the break. Abdur-Rahim, Bibby and Reeves each scored 12 points in the half.
The Knicks were led by Sprewell's eight first-half points.
Vancouver used a 15-4 run to build its lead to 26, 67-41, with
7:38 remaining in the third quarter. The Grizzlies led 78-50 after
three.
The Knicks started ex-Grizzlie Othella Harrington, along with Travis Knight and Lavor Postell in the fourth quarter and used a
12-2 run to close within 80-62 with 7:36 remaining.
Vancouver responded with an 8-2 run and never looked back.
Harrington, playing his first game in Vancouver since being traded, was booed each time he touched the ball. He finished with one point and four rebounds in 12 minutes in a reserve role.
"I expected it," Harrington said. "Who really cares? When I
was here they cheered for me. When I'm on another team, they booed
me. That's what they're supposed to do. They needed more of that
when I was playing for them instead of cheering for the other team."
The Grizzlies looked like the playoff team for 48 minutes, a
fact not lost on Abdur-Rahim.
"If we could just somehow get together and play this way all
the time, it could be scary the kind of team we could be," he
said. "Everything in its own time, I guess."
Game notes
The game was the first matchup between the Knicks and
Grizzlies since the Jan. 30 trade that saw Erick Strickland go to
Vancouver in exchange for Othella Harrington. ... The Knicks are
last in the NBA in assists per game. Against the Grizzlies, New
York finished with 19 assists. ... Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (back spasms) and Strickland (strained left knee) did not play for the Grizzlies. ... The Grizzlies went with their 16th different starting unit. Last season, they used just three starting combinations in the 82-game season.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
New York Clubhouse
Vancouver Clubhouse
Report: Media maven Radler trying to help Vancouver keep Grizzlies
RECAPS
Washington 116
Golden State 100
Atlanta 104
Indiana 93
Milwaukee 104
Miami 96
San Antonio 106
Utah 88
Boston 106
Chicago 104
Phoenix 90
Houston 85
Vancouver 89
New York 68
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