Knicks Vs. Clippers Recap And Highlights: Los Angeles Rings In New Year With Rout Over New York 99-78 [VIDEO]

LOS ANGELES – Before the season, the Los Angeles Clippers might have circled this game on their calendar. After all, how often do stars like Phil Jackson, Carmelo Anthony, and Amare’ Stoudemire come to town on New Years Eve?

But the New York Knicks have not performed up to expectations on the court this year, and their miserable season struggles continued at Staples Center on Thursday as the Clippers routed the undermanned Knicks 99-78 for their second straight victory.

“We kept getting defensive stops today,” said Clippers head coach Doc Rivers “I think defensively we did really well. We had many easy and quick scores, and we took away easy scores from the Knicks.”

J.J. Redick led Los Angeles with 20 points with four threes from downtown, it was his 8^th 20+ point game of the month, more than any other in his career. DeAndre Jordan had 14 points and 12 rebounds dominating the glass for the Clippers against the lowly Knicks.

“We have a great little home stand here,” said Redick. “We have some tough teams coming in. We have some teams that play really hard, some teams in the West, and some teams in the East. We have some challenging games, but we need to take care of business.”

Blake Griffin messed around and nearly had a triple-double as he finished with 13 points, 11 assists and 7 rebounds.

“Doc put me back in there (the 4^th quarter) and guys were telling me, but at the same time I’m not going to run anybody over to get those three boards,” said Griffin about coming so close to his 5^th career triple-double. “It would have been cool, but this win and getting the rest towards the end was the best part.”

Chris Paul finished with five points and eight assists as he sat out the entire fourth quarter.

“I think the positive thing was that we were able to keep our foot on the gas,” said Paul after the game. “We got a chance to sit in the 4^th quarter. The bench was great. We just kept the intensity and we’ve got to keep doing that.”

The Knicks misery continues under first year head coach and former Los Angeles Lakers legend, Derek Fisher, the Knicks have lost 20 out of their last 21 games and have only one victory since Thanksgiving day. Carmelo Anthony returned from a knee injury against the Trailblazers and finished with 19 points and five rebounds.

“It’s been testing,” said Anthony about the team’s last 20 games. “Especially for me. I have never been in this situation. We’re 5-29 right now. From that stand point this has been a test alone. You know to come in here and still be motivated and still be positive and still keep a smile on your face despite everything that’s happening, losing basketball games and injuries.”

Phil Jackson attended his first road game of the season as he sat in his fiancé, Jeanie Buss’s, suite at Staples center. Jackson was able to see firsthand how his team plays on the road, as they were uncompetitive for their ninth consecutive contest.

Amare’ Stoudemire, Samuel Dalembert and Iman Shumpert did not play for the Knicks will gladly waive goodbye to 2014 tonight and hope that 2015 will bring better luck and success for the storied franchise when they take the court again at Madison Square Garden on Friday against the Detroit Pistons.

“I just want 2015 to be better than 2014,” added Anthony.

The Los Angeles Clippers rang in the New Year with fans during a timeout with 5:20 left to play in the game. The video board above center court, counted down from 10 as Auld Lang Syne played throughout the arena. The celebration was a tad premature however as the clock had only struck 5:00PM PST.

Game Notes:
J.R. Smith returned to the Knicks after missing last game with a left heel injury. Andrea Bargnani returned to the lineup for the first time all season. Jamal Crawford passed Peja Stojakovic for 9^th all-time in NBA three-pointers with 1761.