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Wow, man. I did not see that coming. I didn't see it coming even like a few minutes ago. The Knicks went into Washington D.C., survived some early rough stretches, and just played really hard and hit really big shots and got big stops against a plenty lively bunch of Wizards. Joe's got a recap on the way and I'll have so much more to say tomorrow, but first a few important moments.
Let's start at the end, with Carmelo Anthony putting the bow on a wonderful night of scoring (37 points on 18 shots) by just staring Jared Dudley dead in the face and flicking his nutsack:
dang melo pic.twitter.com/kL1MFrgfCP
— James Herbert (@outsidethenba) November 1, 2015
You'll get some of those and you hope they go in, but here's an even greater use of Melo on a sideline inbound play seconds later. Melo sets the screen, Langston Galloway finds himself open, and -- just as he quietly did several times last season -- BUCKETS to go up 5 in the final minute:
And here's Robin Lopez, who had a typically quiet but very important defensive performance, sealing the victory with some help on Bradley Beal:
Back to the beginning, Jose Calderon guarding John Wall was, as expected, a problem:
I mean, it seems overkill to pick on Calderon for his defense, but... pic.twitter.com/ZQOgPZMZP8
— Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer) October 31, 2015
It's not an easy thing to do, but I'm certain Galloway is better at it and was pleased to see him get all the fourth quarter burn and finish a second-straight game with starter's minutes. Lang had a fantastic game, man. There's a lot more. Langston Galloway is good.
Here's some of that Melo passing. He was really sharp out of double teams and set Kristaps Porzingis up for his best bucket on a quiet night:
Great night. I really would've been satisfied with the moral victory, but the Knicks showed us a hint of something we haven't seen in a while. They kept seeking the right play, kept executing, kept trying, kept making me scream and pound my fists and make my dog really worried. Enjoy this feeling for a bit.