Doubling the Firepower

Carmelo Anthony felt that he was in excellent form today. Even though he had already poured in 14 points in the first quarter, he felt that this was not yet his limit for the night. He could do even better.

15 points in a quarter? 17 points? 20 points?

Anthony did not know. He had no idea just how far he could go tonight. But he was confident that he would definitely score more than Link.

During the break between quarters, Knicks head coach Mike Woodson did not draw up many tactics. He merely shouted a few ceremonial words and considered his job done.

It was not that Woodson lacked real ability, but the team's current situation left him unable to make a move. At this point, his only lifeline was Anthony; the others were simply difficult to rely on.

So the Knicks' strategy was simple: keep letting Anthony take complete control of the offense!

The cheerleaders' performance did not distract the fans. Once the electronic buzzer sounded to begin the second quarter, the passionate crowd immediately turned the Garden back into a battlefield.

Everyone knew that Dave Joerger would not just sit back and do nothing. He would surely have Link match up with Anthony. Everyone was looking forward to a head-to-head duel between Link and Anthony. It would be even more exciting if Link dunked on Anthony or Anthony rose up and hit a jumper over Link.

But when the Grizzlies' second-quarter starters stepped onto the court, everyone froze.

Joerger had not sent Link to guard Anthony. Instead, he put in the defensive specialist Tony Allen!

"The Grizzlies have made a substitution. They clearly weren't satisfied with their first-quarter defense, so Tony Allen has replaced Randolph. The lineup on the court is now very small. Aside from Chandler