Knicks Fall to Memphis 120-109

David Lee has come a long way since Zach Randolph was traded away at the beginning of last season. The 6-foot-9 forward/center became a consistent starter, won the league’s double-double crown and eventually became the Knicks’ first All-Star since 2001 when he got the nod earlier this month.  

“David’s game has evolved,” Coach Mike D’Antoni said.   

But when Randolph made his second return to Madison Square Garden on Saturday, Lee was unable to outshine his former teammate in the Knicks’ 120-109 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. Randolph finished the game with 31 points and a career-high 25 rebounds, while Lee had 21 and seven in a rare off night.   

Lee and Randolph weren’t matched up against each other too much throughout the night – Lee guarded the bigger Marc Gasol – but all eyes were on the two first-time All-Stars to carry their teams. Lee helped the Knicks overcome an early 14-point deficit by scoring 15 in the first half but Randolph’s play down the stretch lifted Memphis to its franchise-record fourth straight road win.     

“He’s tough and he’s relentless,” said Harrington, who covered Randolph for most of the game. “That’s the biggest thing. He has a knack for getting his own rebound when he misses the ball. We do a good job of making him miss, but he just knows where it’s going to go and gets his own rebound and puts it in.”   

With Lee struggling to get much going against a tough Memphis frontline, Harrington provided an offensive spark to the Knicks with his outside shooting. For the second time in as many nights, Harrington eclipsed the 30-point mark with 31 points on 11-for-18 shooting, including 6-for-11 from beyond the arc. He scored 37 in an overtime win in Washington on Friday.   

“We let one go,” Harrington said. “We had a great opportunity to win.”   

Harrington and Randolph were never teammates, with Harrington coming to New York on the same day Randolph was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers on Nov. 21, 2008.  Randolph played one full season with the Knicks in 2007-08 before being dealt 11 games into his second season in one of two major trades on the same day to help the Knicks clear salary-cap space and begin preparing for the future.   

Over a year later, the Knicks continued their roster overhaul last week when they obtained seven-time All-Star Tracy McGrady in one of three trades made right before the deadline. McGrady has played in five games so far for the Knicks, but he is still not 100 percent after coming back from microfracture knee surgery.   

McGrady did not play in the second half against Memphis to rest his knee. The two-time scoring champion went scoreless on three shots in 15 minutes.   

“I didn’t have it tonight,” he said. “Four games in five nights. It was pretty tough out there for me moving around. I just felt like I wasn’t going to try and push through it because it was really bad tonight.”   

McGrady will get treatment on his knee on Sunday and hopes to be ready for Monday’s matchup against the Cavaliers in Cleveland.   

“I’m going to have some bad days and I’m going to have some good days,” he added. “It’s been a brutal schedule considering I’ve been out of the game for so long. The schedule is definitely not in my favor, and I’ve been logging a lot of minutes.”