Knicks Reward Fans' Appreciation With Comeback Win
Danilo Gallinari hit the floor twice for loose balls in the first four minutes alone.
The fans chanted “dee-fense” and “let’s go Knicks” throughout the night.
No one can question the dedication of the Knicks and their fans this season, all the way up to their come-from-behind 114-103 win over the Washington Wizards in Monday’s home finale at Madison Square Garden.
“They’ve been great and every night is exciting,” Knicks head coach Mike D’Antoni said of the fans. “And if we play well, it’s really exciting. It gets loud and there’s not many places like that in the world. I guess that’s why this place is famous. There’s usually electricity in the air and we hope to bring a little bit more next year.”
The Knicks had the place pumping after rallying from 10 down early in the fourth quarter to record their 29th victory of the season. Behind Gallinari’s 24 points – all coming in the second half – and Sergio Rodriguez’s 12 – all of which were scored in the fourth quarter - the Knicks outscored the Wizards 40-21 in the final period.
New York held the Wizards to 11 points in the final 9:23 to pick up a win for their loyal fans.
“They stuck with us all season long even though we haven’t been winning as many games as we would have liked to or they would have like to,” David Lee said. “It was a great ending tonight. It was good to beat Washington and get a victory to end the season at home on Fan Appreciation Night.”
Lee continued his offensive dominance, scoring a game-high 26 points to go along with eight rebounds. Toney Douglas scored 16 off the bench and Chris Duhon added 14. And the fans sold out a game for the 26th time this season, which was the highest total since the 2004-05 season.
“First of all, we appreciate what (the fans) have done,” D’Antoni said. “Even tonight it was exciting, it was great. You have two teams that don’t have 50 wins together and that’s why this is the best place to play. They need to hang in there a little bit with us and hopefully we’ll get the job done. It’s going to be a tough summer, no doubt about it. They’ve waited this long, they might as well wait a few more months and see what happens.”
The Knicks were unable to make the playoffs in both seasons under D’Antoni but they have set themselves up nicely to possibly build a contender for next season. After several trades over the past two seasons, New York has created financial flexibility heading into this summer.
“Things went on that we were able to clear some cap and set up for the summer,” D’Antoni said. “That was our strategy. And in doing that, we wanted to develop our young guys, and I think Gallo has done that and I think Wilson (Chandler) has done that. Toney Douglas has done that to an extent and we found Bill Walker, which was unexpected.”
D’Antoni also gave Lee credit for his two straight unbelievable seasons. Lee entered the night ranked second in the league in rebounding (11.8) and fourth in double-doubles (52). He has also led the Knicks in scoring 29 times this season compared to just seven times last year.
“In the two years I’ve had him I think he’s improved from where I didn’t know if he could play in the system to where he’s an All-Star,” D’Antoni said before the game.
The fans also appreciate what Lee has brought to the team. As he watched the final few minutes from the bench, fans chanted Lee’s name.
“It’s good to head out on a win and it was a little bit emotional out there tonight,” he said. “It was good with the fans showing their support.”
The Knicks will close out the season Wednesday night against the Raptors in Toronto.
