Tonight at 10:00 p.m. ET the Portland Trailblazers (12-2) will host the New York Knicks (3-9) at the Moda Center in NBA action that can be live streamed by clicking this link. Knicks fans can listen to the game on 98.7 ESPN New York, while Blazers fans can do the same on 1190 KEX Portland.
The New York Knicks' defense is much maligned this season, and their fortunes don't figure to change against the NBA's third-best 3-point shooting team. Portland has won 10 consecutive games, including two come-from-behind wins against the Chicago Bulls and Golden State Warriors.
In the victory over Golden State two Blazers, Mo Williams and Wesley Matthews were ejected after a third-quarter altercation that epitomized Portland's newfound feistiness. "That inspired us," Matthews said. "We got better from it, we got stronger from it. Mo and I were continuing to cheer. They couldn't hear us, but we were continuing to cheer."
Making matters worse for the woeful Knicks, point guard Raymond Felton is expected to miss tonight's tilt; "We'll see where he is tomorrow when he wakes up and comes to shootaround," head coach Mike Woodson said.
Felton's absence leaves more on the shoulders of Carmelo Anthony, who leads the team with 25.8 points per game but is doing it on an uncharacteristically low 42 percent from the field. "It's a very tough time," Anthony said. "This is a time where you could easily put your head down and mope around, but I can't do that."
With Melo doing all he can and J.R. Smith struggling mightily (32 percent shooting), the Knicks need to find secondary sources of offense. That might have to come from sweet-shooting big man Andrea Bargnani, who has given the Knicks 14 points a night but just under five rebounds a game.
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