Knicks Crush Blazers in Mike Woodson's 1st Game as Head Coach

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The New York Knicks beat the Portland Trail Blazers 121-79 today at home after Mike D'Antoni stepped down as head coach of the team earlier in the day.

In Mike Woodson's first game as interim head coach of the struggling and inconsistent Knicks, they beat the Blazers by 42 points in a huge victory.

Play-by-play isn't necessary for this game. This game was all Knicks from the start and they didn't look back. Portland played an all-around awful game while New York clicked on all cylinders.

J.R. Smith was the game's leading scorer. He heated up in the second half and finished with 23 points and seven 3-pointers off the bench. That being said, he was 8-18 from the field, which isn't overly great.

Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire both played well. They only played 25 minutes each, but made their minutes count. Melo had 16 points and 7 assists, while Amar'e scored 17 points and grabbed 8 rebounds.

Jeremy Lin started and had 6 points and 6 assists, while Baron Davis scored 4 points and dished out 10 assists. Lin had 6 turnovers and Davis only had one. I wouldn't be surprised if Woodson starts Davis over Lin in the next game.

Thirteen Knicks played tonight. Woodson gave a lot of minutes to players off the bench. Steve Novak scored a season-high 20 points and made six 3-pointers. Iman Shumpert scored 16 points and dished out 3 assists. Jared Jeffries came back from a knee injury and finished with 4 points and 4 rebounds. Even Mike Bibby and Jerome Jordan got some minutes! Bibby had 4 assists and 2 rebounds and Jordan had 2 points and 2 rebounds. Woodson played every player on the team that was in uniform. I would have liked to see Toney Douglas play, but he was inactive.

Player of the Game: Mike Woodson (He's not a player, but you know what I mean)

What does this game mean for the Knicks? I don't think it means too much because it was only one game. The Knicks beating their opponent by 42 in their first game without D'Antoni as head coach may not be a coincidence, but time will tell. That being said, Woodson made a statement by coaching the Knicks to victory and I expect things to start going better for the Knicks from here on out.

What does this mean about a possible trade before the deadline tomorrow? I don't think the Knicks will make a move. They already have their hands full with having a new head coach and they're coming off an incredible victory. However, if they can find a team that wants Bill Walker, they should trade him.

(Photo Courtesy: Yahoo! Sports - "NBA: Portland at New York - Mar 14, 2012" http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/games/2012031418/gallery;_ylt=AszT.r4E2TV0.2H02BGzDk.PvLYF)

Have any thoughts on the Knicks beating the Blazers? Should the Knicks have fired Mike D'Antoni? Will the Knicks still make a trade before the trade deadline? Leave a comment below and tell me what you think.