With the real NBA season (finally) set to begin on Christmas Day, BeatKnicks is proud to present a simulation of the Knicks’ original 2011-12 schedule leading up to Dec. 25. All results come courtesy of NBA 2K12. Friday night, the Knicks conclude their homestand against Brandon Jennings and the Milwaukee Bucks.

Fresh off of a rather convincing win versus Orlando, the Knickerbockers capped off their three-game homestand with a 116-108 victory against the Bucks. It was more of a battle than most expected, as Milwaukee jumped out to a 56-52 halftime lead thanks to a 2nd-quarter surge. However, New York battled back with an even stronger 2nd half effort that helped put the game away. Seven Knicks scored in double figures, led by Amare Stoudemire’s 28. Chris Andersen was a menace down low with 14 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks. Solid bench play from Kurt Thomas (14 points in 14 minutes), Bill Walker (11 points) and Andy Rautins (two huge 4th-quarter threes) helped put the game away. Chris Douglas-Roberts led the way for Milwaukee with 17 points. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Larry Sanders were problems for the Knicks in the post, combining for 24 points and 24 rebounds. Jennings had a rough night, mustering up just 12 points on 6-19 shooting.

With the win, the Knicks’ winning streak reaches three games and they keep pace with the Celtics. Next stop is Toronto on Sunday. Will the winning ways continue north of the border? You know the deal … stay tuned to BeatKnicks to find out!

As you may have already known, the dreaded NBA lockout has (unofficially) come to an end. With a handshake agreement in place between the owners and players, all that awaits the die-hard fans is the ratification of the new CBA which should occur within the next week. Training camps and free agency are set to begin December 9 and the season is expected to kick off on Christmas Day with a triple-header on ABC/ESPN. Included in this slate of games are our beloved Knicks who take on the Boston Celtics in a rematch of last year’s playoff series. Between now and Christmas Day, however, there is considerable down time. As the labor situation sorted itself out, I decided to play out the 2011-12 season on NBA 2K12 until the lockout ended. And at the suggestion of Stacey, the wonderful creator of this fine blog, I will be bringing you game wrap-ups of each game leading up to Christmas.

Before the wrap-up, a few notes:

• Carmelo Anthony suffered a lower back strain in Sacramento and will miss 2-4 weeks.
• I managed to spin a few trades to shore up the front line … and no, Chris Paul isn’t a Knick (yet). Roger Mason and Derrick Brown were shipped to Chicago for fan favorite Kurt Thomas and Brian Scalabrine; Jared Jeffries and a 2nd-round pick got traded to Memphis for Leon Powe and a 1st-round pick; and Ronny Turiaf has gone to Denver with a 1st-rounder for Chris “Birdman” Andersen and a 1st-rounder

The Knicks returned home after a 5-2 road trip and defeated the Washington Wizards 77-72 Monday night. Playing without the scoring punch of Anthony, Amare Stoudemire lead the Knicks in scoring with 22 points. He also chipped in five rebounds and one blocked shot. Chauncey Billups filled up the stat sheet all night, dropping 10 assists to help pace the offense and also adding seven points, six boards and two blocks. But the most impressive scoring performances came from Landry Fields and Shawne Williams. The two wingmen combined to score 33 points on 13-for-18 shooting from the field (including a whopping 7-for-11 on 3-pointers), more than making up for ‘Melo’s absence. The Wizards were playing without stud second-year point guard John Wall, but still got solid performances from Nick Young (19 points), Andray Blatche (16 points, 8 rebounds) and Rashard Lewis (16 points).

With this win, the Knicks improve to 10-4 on the young season. They sit in 2nd place in the Atlantic and 3rd in the Eastern Conference, 1.5 games behind the Celtics. The next test comes Wednesday vs. Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic at MSG. Could D12 be auditioning for the Garden crowd? Can the Knicks contain him and keep the wins coming? Find out Wednesday!

With the real NBA season (finally) set to begin on Christmas Day, BeatKnicks is proud to present a simulation of the Knicks’ original 2011-12 schedule leading up to Dec. 25. All results come courtesy of NBA 2K12. Wednesday night, the Knicks continue their push to the NBA Finals against Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic.

Coming off a solid win vs. the Wizards, New York continued their winning ways at home with a rather convincing 81-67 victory against the Magic. Amare Stoudemire led the charge once again with 23 points and seven rebounds while Chauncey Billups chipped in 14 points and 10 assists. The bench provided some much-needed scoring punch, courtesy of Toney Douglas and Bill Walker. Douglas scored 12 points, all on 4-5 shooting from three-point range. Walker poured in 11, making on all three 3-pointers. All told, the Knicks shot 15-for-26 from three-point range and a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line. For the Magic, Howard was held in check for the most part as he only scored eight points on 4-for-10 shooting; he was a menace on the defensive end, however, as he tallied 12 rebounds and seven (!!!!!) blocks. Brandon Bass and Gilbert Arenas provided the most punch with 13 points each. It wasn’t enough to contain the Knicks, who clicked on all cylinders offensively in the second half. With the win the Knicks pulled within 1.5 games of Boston in the division and improved to 2-2 without superstar forward Carmelo Anthony, out with a lower back strain.

The Knicks complete their three-game home swing vs. Brandon Jennings and the Milwaukee Bucks Friday night. Can the home cooking continue? Stay tuned and find out here on BeatKnicks!