The Knicks had a four point lead at the half against the San Antonio Spurs in yesterday’s second summer league game. However, they were outscored 47-28 in the second half and lost 82-67. The team managed only 12 points in the fourth quarter. The team shot 36% from the field and were a putrid 3-19 from downtown. Newly signed guard, Anthony Roberson led the team with 12 points with a 4 of-13 shooting day. In his previous game he scored 22 points and played with a lot more confidence and tenacity. The debut of Nate Robinson resulted in a 2-10 shooting day for last year’s Summer League MVP. Wilson Chandler, who led the Knicks with 26 points in the first game, finished with 10. Renaldo Balkman sprained his ankle in the loss but X-rays were negative.  He is questionable for tomorrow’s game against the Phoenix Suns. The team could have been fatigued from the two-a-day practices, but that should not be an excuse for the brick-fest and for being outrebounded by 16. Roger Powell led the Spurs with 16 points and Maryland rookie James Gist recorded a double-double.

However, in more important news, first round pick Danilo Gallinari has been shut down and will miss the team’s final three games in Vegas due to a sore back. Gallinari had an MRI yesterday and the test did not reveal any significant damage. He will receive treatment before he returns to Italy to honor his obligation to his national team. The rookie was pushed around in the paint by seven year veteran 285-pound Robert “Tractor” Traylor during Monday’s game against the Cavs. It showed that “Gallo” needs to beef up his lean 6”10” frame if he wants to bang with NBA power forwards. Also, all the traveling, workouts, and appearances since the draft could have resulted in extra fatigue for the Italian. Leading up to the draft, he finished his professional season in Europe (11 games in the Euro league and 29 in the Italian league) and worked out  extensively for NBA teams for three weeks.

Knicks brass are being cautious with the 19 year-old and they believe he will be ready for training camp in three months even though back injuries seem to linger. The Knicks were 5-0 in last year’s summer league, proving that a good summer league in no way carries over to the regular season.  However, with Gallanari out, he will miss out on the experience gained by pounding, defending, and scoring against other NBA talent.  Gallinari must get healthy for training camp and the pre-season to gain that experience to make the transition to the regular season much smoother.