Final Score: Blazers 105, Knicks 100

Man, the Knicks are hurting my hearts these days. Even with Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire returning, this one was eerily similar to the loss in Sacramento. New York fell behind early with some absolutely horrendous defense, staying somewhat involved only by the grace of Melo and J.R. Smith. They surged back into the game and struck very close at certain points, but surrendered a couple big shots they just couldn't afford.

it was great to see Melo play one of his finest offensive games in his return and encouraging to see Amar'e have a few solid moments amid a very rusty debut, but the Knicks are in a bad way right now. The defense, the sudden turnover-heavy spurts, and the bad shooting keep sinking them early, and they're no longer showing enough potency from anyone other than Melo/J.R. to undo the ills of the early going.

Full recap coming later.