If the Memphis Grizzlies thought coming home to face the usually-hapless New York Knicks was going to be a reprieve from a frustrating road trip, they were in for a rude awakening Wednesday night.
These are not your older brother's New York Knicks, or even your own from last season. The group that took the floor for coach Mike D'Antoni at FedEx Forum stunned the Grizzlies by torching them from 3-point range in a 132-103 rout.
The Knicks (5-3) shredded one of the NBA's top defenses in scoring 52 more points than they had just one night earlier in San Antonio. The Grizzlies looked slow and apathetic on defense and allowed a Knicks franchise record 19 3-pointers as New York shot 59 percent from the floor. Every Knicks starter hit at least one 3-pointer and nearly every reserve did as well.
The Grizzlies (3-6) made it easy for that to happen by once again rotating slowly on defense and allowing shooters to get wide-open looks at the basket. Wilson Chandler scored a career-high 27 points to lead the Knicks, who got 25 from Jamal Crawford and 21 from Nate Robinson on 8-for-8 shooting.
A 17-4 Knicks run in the second quarter broke open a close game and they never trailed after that, leading by as many as 32. The Grizzlies shot 49 percent from the floor in the game, a figure that is good enough to get a win on most nights, just not when your opponent is throwing the ball into an ocean. Not even a nine-point advantage at the free-throw line could make a dent in the Grizzlies' deficit on this night.
Rudy Gay led the Grizzlies with 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting. O.J. Mayo added 17 while Marc Gasol finished with 16.
The Grizzlies will try to bounce back when they host Milwaukee at 7 p.m. on Friday.
