There have been enough ugly losses this year, so an ugly win is something you’ll take. Really, the play of the Knicks in the fourth quarter was not bad, but for the better part of three quarters this game had “letdown” written all over it. Great production from the bench for the second straight game keyed the win, with Nate, Al, and Gallo all having great games.

The Grizzlies are that team that is truly in disarray at the moment – apart from their flukish display of offense to start the game ahead by 15, the only thing they had going for them the rest of the game was their athleticism, which made it difficult for Knicks (outside of Nate and Al) to finish inside in stretches. It didn’t help that there were some hideous turnovers by the Knicks (one sequence in the 2nd quarter looked like footage for a “how not to throw a cross court pass” video).

The Knicks also struggled to build on their halftime lead and put the game away early in the third, because of too many threes despite good ball movement – four to five passes leading to a standstill, not quite open three do not make for quality possessions, and the Knicks missed 8 of 9 in the 3rd quarter.

It might have been fun to see the Grizzlies make one more run because they do have some strong young talent, but OJ Mayo has not just hit the rookie wall, he seems to have been thrown against it a few dozen times, and is a shadow of his high-flying, early ROY self from the first third of the season. The other Grizzlies followed suit and punished the rim time and time again with one awkward , flailing shot after another.  I can't believe this is the same team I saw destroy the Heat in December and play very close, competitive games against the Suns and San Antonio on the road -- only Darrell Arthur and Mike Conley (early) looked marginally effective, and I'm embarrassed by my early championing of Marc Gasol, who looked lost and awful last night (I still think he can be a good player, but he's in a bad situation right now...Three Shades of Blue has particularly incisive analysis on the grim situation in Memphis currently).

Heady play from Gallinari and Tim Thomas (!), (plus some timely offense from Nate) sealed the deal in the final quarter. Gallinari's highlight play was a behind the back dribble and step back runner against Jaric, but I think I was even more impressed with an earlier play where Gallo, stopped by his defender and balancing on one foot, managed to hang on that foot for what seemed like an eternity without traveling, look one way and then pass the other way along the baseline to hit Harrington for a basket. At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, it was the sort of play I remember Larry Bird making -- even when you had him cornered and on the wrong foot, he would find a way to keep his defender off guard and get an assist or a shot off that you wouldn't expect.

The Knicks have a quick turnaround as they face the Sixers this evening -- if reports that Gallinari isn't playing tonight are true, it looks pretty grim against a team the Knicks already match up very poorly against.  The Knicks can perhaps derive some hope from Elton Brand coming back, in a backward sort of way -- perhaps the Sixers will have some adjustment issues that affect their rhythm, perhaps theyl'll be rusty after several days off, and the Knicks can take advantage. But this looks to be a rough game, though the Knicks are playing cohesively and Nate is shooting well again, so it's not unreasonable to envision a perfect week.