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 The 6-foot-8 Williams ignited the Knicks (15-18) by scoring 16 of
his 18 points in the fourth quarter on Tuesday, helping New York end
a four-game losing streak with a 108-96 win over the Detroit Pistons
at Madison Square Garden.
Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony poured in 24 points, passing former
Philadelphia 76er Hal Greer for 32nd place on the NBA's all-time
scoring list. Greer recorded 21,586 points; Anthony now has 21,604
points.
Just ahead of Anthony is Larry Bird with 21,791 points.
Point guard Jose Calderon added 15 points, and Kyle O'Quinn
contributed 12 points off the bench.
Williams, who played a season high 29 minutes as a reserve, scored
16 of his points in the final quarter, hitting 5-of-6 shots from the
field. He's averaging 47 percent from the field in his last five
games.
After a hot start, Porzingis has cooled off to the tune of shooting
just 35 percent in his last five games. He scored 10 points in 18
minutes against the Pistons.
He gave way to Williams in the fourth quarter.
"That's the coach's decision," said Porzingis, the fourth overall
pick in the June draft. "We were playing well at that point and the
game was going our way.
"We got the win and that is what matters. When it is the fourth
quarter I want to be in the game, but we won tonight. I will have my
chances."
Forward Ersan Ilyasova paced Detroit (17-15) with 19 points and
forward Marcus Morris and point guard Reggie Jackson each scored 17.
Center Andre Drummond, the league leader in rebounding, scored 13
points and grabbed nine rebounds.
The Knicks led by only 80-76 early in the fourth quarter, but went
on a 25-11 run to take an 18-point lead on Williams' long jumper
with 1:42 left in the game.
"There was not one stretch in that game where we played defense,"
admitted Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy. "I think Marcus (Morris)
competed against Carmelo Anthony and nobody else brought anything."
Knicks center Robin Lopez was able to contain Drummond, who averages
16.3 rebounds. Lopez blocked six shots and grabbed seven rebounds.
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"Players like Drummond are not necessarily contained by one guy,"
remarked Knicks coach Derek Fisher. "I think what contained him
(Drummond) the most was Robin's aggressive play on the offensive
end.
"We put a little pressure on the other guys this morning to help
Robin out rebounding."
The Knicks received at least one rebound from 10 players.
A basket from Williams advanced the Knicks lead to 93-83 with 6:22
left to play.
Anthony ignited a 13-4 Knicks run in the third quarter with a
20-foot jumper on the way to a 65-54 lead with 7:37 remaining in the
quarter. He dropped in nine points in the quarter.
The Knicks bench scored 17 points in the first half to help New York
to a 50-49 edge. Ilyasova (14), Morris (13) and Jackson (11)
combined for 38 of Detroit's first-half points.
New York took its first lead, 29-28, early in the second quarter on
a short jumper from forward Kyle O'Quinn, then went on a 13-7 run to
move ahead with 4:35 left in the quarter.
The Knicks were able to close the Detroit lead to 26-25 at the close
of the first quarter after being down by as many as seven points.
NOTES: Knicks F Lou Amundson was out with back spasms. ... Detroit
is the Knicks sixth opponent in a stretch of 11 straight games
against teams that are .500 or better. ... The Pistons entered the
game assisting on a league-low 48.2 percent of their field goals.
... Detroit C Andre Drummond leads the league in rebounding. ...
Knicks G Arron Afflalo was drafted by the Pistons with the 27th
overall pick in the 2007 draft and played for Detroit from 2007 to
2009. ... The Knicks rank first in free-throw percentage (81.1) and
opponent 3-point field goal percentage (30.6).
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