Williams Passes Up Buzzer-Beating Trey in Loss to Sixers

PHILADELPHIA--- Shawne Williams passed up his signature corner three-point shot- a potential buzzer-beater, only to drive to the basket and put up a weak runner that missed in the final seconds of the Knicks loss to the 76ers Friday night, 100-98, at Wells Fargo Arena. The loss was the Knicks' 10th in their last 14 games to put them near an even .500 at 25-24 on the season, while the hungry Sixers have been playing very well of late, as they improved to 23-26 on the season after an atrocious 3-13 start to the season, and cut their deficit in the standings behind the sixth-seeded Knicks to a mere two games.

The game was generally even and back-and-forth until the third quarter, which the Knicks left with an 82-73 lead. But the Sixers turned it on for a 15-0 run in which the Knicks appeared to have had their pace disrupted. They did come back to cut it to within two, on the heels of a Williams three with 35 seconds remaining. Williams is shooting 51 percent from three-point range this season, and has been known to hit them in big moments, but could not pull the trigger on an open shot that would have won it for New York.

Amar'e Stoudemire poured in 21, to go along with seven rebounds, but shot less than 37 percent from the field on 7-of-19 shooting. Raymond Felton was the Knicks' high man with 26 points as well as nine assists, and Danilo Gallinari continued his recent solid play on the boards, grabbing 13 rebounds in addition to scoring 18.

Elton Brand had a monster game for the Sixers, meanwhile, scoring 33 and posting up for 16 rebounds- five of them on offense. Andre Iguodala also had a big night, putting up 18 points and 16 assists.

Co-captain Stoudemire told reporters he expects better play from his struggling squad in the future, and even crumpled the game's box score and threw it emphatically at the floor. "We have to definitely look at ourselves in the mirror," said Stoudemire. "We have to play much better. We're slacking right now. It's something we can't afford. We're a young team. We haven't done nothing. I hope everyone's not comfortable with the fact we have a winning record. That's slowly evaporating."

Stoudemire had similar words following a loss early in the season that brought the Knicks to 3-8. After diagnosing the Knicks with a "losing mentality," the team went on a tear and won eight straight, and have not dipped below the .500 mark since. They are seen as playoff contenders for the first time since 2004, and a winning campaign would be their first in ten seasons.

Among the biggest problems for the Knicks was three-point shot selection. New York was a mere 8-for-27 from downtown (29.6%), and 42 percent from the field overall, compared to Philadelphia's 38.5 from three and 47 percent from the field. The Knicks tend to rely on the three ball too much, and while they were hot from long range during their convincing play earlier in the season, they have trouble putting up wins when they cannot hit from behind the arc.

The other major issue for the Knicks over the course of the season has been their defense, and while it was solid for most of Saturday's game- only allowing 100 points compared to a season average of 106, which ranks a lowly 29th in the NBA- it came against a defensive minded Sixers team whose offense ranks 19th in the league, and was not very timely.

And while it was considered an inevitability that the Knicks would reach the playoffs, head coach Mike D'Antoni was skeptical of accepting such a fact. "That's where I get worried," D'Antoni said. "We still have a lot of work to do, a lot of games. We have to play better than we've played the last month. Our whole focus is to make the playoffs. That's the only focus we have."

The Knicks may feel comfortable being the sixth seed in Eastern Conference, but the Pacers lay only four games back from the Knicks at the eighth seed, and the Bobcats follow closely behind them. The Knicks have a lot of young talent and show flashes of being a great team, but it will be difficult to make any guarantees about making their mark this season.