Amar'e Stoudemire scores 32 in Knicks debut
Even though it was an exhibition game in Italy, New York Knicks fans should be happy with the debut of Amar’e Stoudemire, their big free-agent signing of the off-season.
In their first pre-season game Sunday, taking place in Milan as part of the NBA’s European pre-season tour, Stoudemire scored 32 points, leading the Knicks to a 125-113 victory over Olimpia
Milano. The 27-year-old forward, now the face of the Knicks franchise, made 10 of his 13 field goals and added 11 free throws, six rebounds, three assists, and two steals. He also committed five turnovers.
Danilo Gallinari, the promising 22-year-old sharpshooter entering his third NBA season, finished with 24 points and seven rebounds, including five three-pointers. Gallinari and Stoudemire,
along with point guard Raymond Felton, are the main pieces of an improved Knicks roster that hopes for a return to relevancy this season after numerous losing campaigns. Felton finished with five points and eight assists.
For Gallinari, who hails from Milan, and Mike D’Antoni, the Italian-born head coach of the Knicks, the game represented a homecoming of sorts. In the 1980s, D’Antoni played point guard
for Milano, leading them to two Euroleague titles and five Italian championships. He also coached the team before coming to the NBA in 1997.
Gallinari played two seasons with the Italian squad before joining the NBA. D’Antoni was proud of his forward, in what had to be an emotional experience for both men.
“He started off really well,” D’Antoni said of Gallinari. “He comes up big in big moments, but I think the emotion hit him at the start of the second quarter. But at the end he came good
again.”
The Knicks didn’t play particularly well in the first half, trailing Milano 41-36 at one point during the second quarter. But a three-pointer by Gallinari seemed to spur on the team, who
went on a run to finish the third quarter with a 12-point lead. D’Antoni was satisfied with his team’s performance, but pointed out one trouble spot.
“We turned the ball over 28 times for 31 points, but I think that for the first time out with these guys they did all right,” he said. “We need to play with energy. We have 11 or 12 guys
who can play and we don’t need to drop from that level.”
Oleksiy Pecherov led Milano in scoring with 23 points.
The Knicks will continue their European tour with a game in Paris against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday.
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