Knicks Storm Back Late But Fall in Memphis

It wasn’t veterans David Lee and Al Harrington who guided New York back from a huge second-half deficit. It wasn’t even Danilo Gallinari or Wilson Chandler, the cornerstones of the franchise.

Instead, it was a pair of surprising youngsters who helped the Knicks battle back from a 29-point deficit before falling just short in a 119-112 defeat to the Grizzlies in Memphis on Friday night. The Knicks wanted to take a long look at Toney Douglas and Bill Walker during their current five-game road trip, but no one would have expected the unlikely pair to do what they did.

“(Douglas) and Bill Walker turned the game around and gave us an outside chance,” Coach Mike D’Antoni told MSG after the Knicks dropped their second straight game to begin the trip.

After the Knicks fell behind by 29 points and appeared done late in the third quarter, Douglas and Walker combined for 24 of New York’s 39 points in the final period as the Knicks trimmed the deficit to five with less than a minute left to play. The Knicks outscored Memphis by 14 in the final 12 minutes.

Walker led the way with 21 points, four rebounds and four assists in 33 minutes, while Douglas added 19 points and six boards in 26 minutes. Both players were on the court throughout the entire fourth quarter.

“We were just trying to finish strong,” said Walker, who shot 8-for-13 from the field, including back-to-back clutch 3-pointers in the closing minutes. “Things were getting out of hand and we just wanted to make any type of push we could and try to cut it in half. And we ended up making it a game.”

The Knicks ended up making it an exciting game after Douglas and Walker brought a new intensity to the floor. Although Walker has only played in 47 games in two NBA seasons with the Celtics and Knicks and Douglas is still just a rookie, they looked like veterans down the stretch and played the way D’Antoni wants his team to play each and every night.

“You can’t play the game without energy and hustle, you can’t do it,” D’Antoni said. “And they came in and gave us that a little bit, and we fought. But after we were down so much it’s hard to make it up.”

Douglas has appeared in only 39 games for the Knicks so far, but he has played important minutes in each of the previous three games. In his extended action, Douglas is making a name for himself as a defensive specialist, but showed he can score when needed.

“I feel like the way they were attacking us in the first half, I was saying to myself, ‘We have to attack them and bring it to them,” Douglas said. “Don’t hold back.”

D’Antoni hinted at the possibility of a lineup change when the Knicks visit the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday, and Douglas and Walker could be candidates to join the starting five. Douglas started two games earlier this season, while Walker has started three games since coming to New York at last month’s trade deadline.