“I thought [Friday,] he was just exceptional.” DON CHANEY
Before the Knicks’ fourth-quarter comeback Friday against the Kings, they had defensive breakdowns. But one man stood out defensively all night.
Dikembe Mutombo finished with four blocks in the Knicks’ 114-111 victory over Sacramento at the Garden. He even dusted off the finger-wag after a block of Gerald Wallace.
“It is a great lift,” Mutombo said. “You give a lot of confidence to your teammates that you are going to be there at the end defensively or offensively.”
The debate over the merits of the Knicks’ zone compared to its man-to-man didn’t seem to matter for the first three quarters. The Knicks didn’t seem to be covering anyone.
In the third quarter, the Kings shot at a torrid clip of 64 percent (14-22) from the field. All night, the Knicks simply didn’t get back on defense.
But in the fourth, Mutombo stepped to the forefront with two big blocks during the Knicks’ 18-2 middle-of-the quarter run that changed the game.
“Mutombo did a spectacular job of protecting the basket and blocking shots,” Don Chaney said. “He’s got unbelievable character. He’s a great defender and has the size. He also has the leadership. I thought [Friday,] he was just exceptional.”
The two teams played a basically even first quarter. The Knicks led 25-24, thanks largely to Mutombo. Benched for the final 20 minutes in Tuesday’s home loss to the Bucks, Mutombo began fiercely, scoring six points, blocking a shot and generally being a nuisance defensively, while playing the whole quarter.
“Defensively, it feels like I’m moving a lot better than I did two years ago,” Mutombo said.
He capped his night by knocking down two free throws to seal the win.
“He was huge for us,” Kurt Thomas said. “Those two free throws he knocked in, that was the key. Knowing that we have him to block and alter shots and get rebounds is big as well. He is a force inside.”
Mutombo even pulled out his finger wag after he blocked a Wallace shot in the fourth quarter. As he taunted his opponent, Mutombo made sure not to do it in Wallace’s face.
“You can do it away,” Mutombo said. “You can do it to his teammate, but you can’t do it [to him.] It felt very good. My timing is coming.”
Despite Mutombo’s sterling performance, the Knicks had some defensive breakdowns.
In one second-quarter sequence, even the 6-foot-9, 250-pound, 36-year-old Tony Massenburg inexplicably beat the Knicks down the court. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Bobby Jackson and Wallace broke out for basically uncontested baskets to extend the Kings’ lead to 91-79.
Using Vlade Divac to distribute from the lane in the half-court, Predrag Stojakovic, Mike Bibby and the rest of the Kings found easy layups.
Stojakovic didn’t need much help. The 6-foot-10 small forward is a difficult matchup because he is such an accurate shooter that defenders must play right up on his No. 16 jersey. The moment a defender gets too friendly, though, Stojakovic puts the ball on the floor.
To end the opening 24 minutes, Stojakovic, who netted 36 on the night, broke down the Knicks’ defense and finished by using the board to elude Mutombo’s outstretched arms. It gave the Kings 51-43. The eight-point advantage was their largest of the game to that point.
But Mutombo had the final two and final finger wag.