LA Clippers hold off the NY Knicks at the Staples Center on November 14, 07
The New York Knicks came into LA on November 14, 2007 to visit the LA Clippers at the Staples Center. The Clippers have gotten off to a pretty good start despite missing star player Elton Brand due to a torn Achilles tendon suffered in the off-season. They are also missing guard, Shaun Livingston who is still recovering from a knee injury from early last year. Center Chris Kaman (pictured below) has picked up the slack and has been playing fantastically so far. Corey Maggette, Cuttino Mobley, Sam Cassell and Tim Thomas have been mainstays. Newcomers Ruben Patterson and rookie Al Thornton have added depth.
The Knicks have had internal problems starting with coach Isiah Thomas (pictured below)
who is in the middle of a sexual harassment lawsuit with a past employee. Now Stefan Marbury (pictured below) has added fuel to the fire. Earlier in the week he became outraged on a team flight because he wasn’t starting. He was not with the team the night before vs. Phoenix and was fined $182,000 (a small portion of his $42 million salary over the next 2 years).
Marbury and Thomas made up and Marbury was back for the game against the Clippers scoring 13 points. The Knicks had high hopes coming into this season trading for star forward, Zach Randolph who had 16 points and 19 rebounds despite shooting five for eithteen. The key players coming back for New York besides Marbury are Eddy Curry, the best player for the Knicks this game scoring 16 points and 12 rebounds, guard Jamal Crawford, underrated David Lee, ex-Clipper Quentin Richardson and 5’9” exciting guard Nate Robinson (last two pictured below).
The Clippers got off to a good start and the game was close the first three quarters before LA went on a run to take a double-digit lead. New York had a strong comeback late in the 4th and ended up tying the game before succumbing to the Clippers 84-81 and falling to 2-5 as Crawford missed a 30 footer at the buzzer. LA improved to 5-2 and had good performances from Kaman, Maggette and Mobley. Kaman led a balanced attack with 14 points and 18 rebounds while his fellow teammates all contributed. The Clippers now travel to Golden State on Friday to face the winless Warriors. For more information on the LA Clippers go to www.nba.com/clippers
