The New York Knicks went in to Phoenix on Wednesday night with a handful of handicaps.

Not only were the Knicks coming off a deflating loss to the Lakers in Los Angeles one day earlier, they had to travel on Christmas Day to Phoenix and found out once they were there they’d be without two crucial starters, Carmelo Anthony and Raymond Felton. 


J-Kidd was back at point guard on Wednesday and delivered a vintage performance (Getty Images).

The injury to Felton pushed Jason Kidd back over to his natural position, point guard, though Jason downplayed the move.

"For me it’s just playing basketball," he said. "As a point guard it’s being able to get the ball to the right guys in the right places. There’s nothing different if I was playing the two-guard; it’s just understanding what the defense is giving you and being able to knock down shots."

But thanks to the veteran guile of J-Kidd at the point and the clutch shooting of J.R. Smith at the two, the Knicks escaped the desert with a win. Jason scored 23 points, dished out eight assists, grabbed six rebounds. But it was a key deflection late that set up Smith, who scored 27 points, including the game-winning fade-away at the buzzer — off a perfect bounce pass from J-Kidd — to lift New York to a 99-97 win over the Suns.

The buzzer-beater was Smith’s second this month. He also knocked one down at the horn on December 5th in Charlotte to lead the Knicks to a road win without Anthony. Jason has learned over the last few months that his teammate thrives in that spot, so he knew he had to get the ball to Smith one way or another.

"I don’t know whatever words you want to use but he loves that moment," J-Kidd said. "I’m trying to figure out if that last shot was tougher than the one before that he took."

After a back and forth opening quarter, the Knicks established a large lead in the game thanks to sound defense in the second. In the final 12 minutes of the first half, New York held Phoenix to just 15 points on 6-of-21 from the field.

Thanks to that effort and continued production on offense, the Knicks led by double-digits heading into the second half.

Phoenix was able to inch their way back in the third, outscoring the Knicks 32-22 thanks outstanding perimeter shooting from Jared Dudley and Sebastian Telfair.

It was J-Kidd who kept New York afloat in the third, scoring eight of his 23 points on 3-of-5 from the field, included two triples. The Suns briefly took the lead late in the quarter, but the teams headed to the fourth tied at 76-76.

Much like the opening quarter, the fourth was a back and forth battle in which neither team managed to take control. Phoenix started the quarter hot to take a four-point lead, but Jason found Marcus Camby for a bucket to cut that edge in half and Smith followed with a bucket to tie it. The Suns retook the lead less than a minute later, but a mini 4-0 run by No. 5, which included a pair of free throws put the Knicks back in front.

However that lead lasted than 30 seconds as Phoenix’s Michael Beasley tied the game. It was one of six ties the teams would get locked into in the final quarter. The Suns went back up by four with 5:19 to go, only to see New York go on a 9-0 run over the next two minutes to take a 95-90 lead with 3:34 remaining in the fourth.


No. 5 helped the Knicks make several runs during the game, but his former team the Suns kept hanging in (Getty Images).

The wave of offense included a J-Kidd three pointer and a dime to Chris Copeland, whose jumper put New York in front by five. But Phoenix wouldn’t go away and went on their own 7-0 run that culminated in a pair of Jared Dudley free throws. Those shots gave the Suns a 97-95 lead with 34.5 seconds to go.

It’s in situations like that J-Kidd is able to aid the Knicks with his veteran leadership, and Wednesday was no different. While both Jason and Smith have shared the limelight with game-winning shots of their own, the Knicks would need a collaboration of the two in the waning moments of Wednesday’s night’s game.

First it was a game-tying fade away jumper by Smith with 10 seconds left that gave the Knicks an opportunity to stay in the game. Then on the following Suns’ possession, J-Kidd came up with a huge play on the defensive end, deflecting a pass by Sebastian Telfair while killing time for the Suns to create a play.

The deflection would force the Brooklyn native to scramble for the ball, resulting in a turnover for the Suns while leaving just one second on the game clock. The crucial defensive play by No. 5 set the table for the Knicks to win the game.

But Jason said it was team defense down the stretch that led to opportunities on the other end of the floor.

"Without our defense, we don’t even get to take that shot right there," he said.


J-Kidd’s 23 points on Wednesday were a season-high, as were his eight assists (Getty Images).

Jason continued to deflect credit on the offensive end, pointing out the contributions of Smith and Copeland, who combined for 41 points off the bench, as well as Tyson Chandler, who posted a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. All three players helped to pick up the slack in the absence of Felton and Anthony.

"The nice thing about this team is when guys do go down guys are ready and prepared," Kidd said. "This was a big team win; everybody had a big part to help us win tonight."

While Jason remained humble about his contributions, his teammates continued to praise him for guiding them to another win.

"J-Kidd is unbelievable," Smith said. "He plays so calm he keeps everybody else under control even though it’s a hostile environment. He just communicates with everyone so well and makes everyone feel good about themselves."

Jason played 31 minutes in the win and his presence was felt throughout the entire game, particularly in his passing and rebounding. Scoring 15 second half points when his team needed an offensive boost didn’t hurt either.

"Kidd was big," Coach Mike Woodson said. "He nearly had a triple-double. Here he is almost 40 years old still playing like that. It’s incredible."

NEXT UP
The Knicks (21-8) continue their West Coast trip in Sacramento on Friday night where they will face the Kings (9-19).

The team will once again be without Felton, after it was revealed that he suffered a broken pinkie and could miss up to six weeks. His absence will force Jason back into his most familiar role as starting point guard. The status of Carmelo Anthony for Friday’s game remains unclear.

Tip-off is scheduled for 10:00 p.m. EST and will be televised locally on MSG.

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