The New York Knicks were in a giving mood during their 120-108 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday. Center Nerlens Noel was feeling particularly charitable.
Trailing 95-90 in the fourth quarter, the Knicks appeared to get a stop when a shot from Memphis star Ja Morant was off the mark. Appearances can be deceiving, and unfortunately for the Knicks and Noel, that was the case here.
Noel went up for what seemed like a simple rebound. Only, he couldn’t secure it. But Noel didn’t simply drop the ball out of bounds or even right into the hands of a Grizzlies player. No, Noel fumbled the ball upwards, back into the basket, scoring two points for Memphis in the process.
The Knicks score two points… for the Grizzlies! pic.twitter.com/GiGKMj8V7e
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) February 3, 2022
Noel’s hands had been the subject of scorn before this play. Naturally, plenty of Knicks fans took their frustrations out on Twitter.
*God making Nerlens Noel*
"I'm done! Wait, just one more thing…" pic.twitter.com/4siIboKUMQ
— Knicks Memes (@KnicksMemes) February 3, 2022
We have reach new levels of Nerlens Noel's horrible hands. He's now scoring buckets for the other team because of them.
Trade him now.#NewYorkForever
— Knicks Reddit (@NYKnicksReddit) February 3, 2022
https://twitter.com/DallasAmico_/status/1489067422401417221
Nerlens Noel has the worst hands I've ever seen from a professional athlete…soccer players, swimmers, E-Sports….you name it, Nerlens Noel has worse hands than them
— Anthony (@aferrizie117) February 3, 2022
Julius Randle Kemba Walker nerlens Noel Alec burks pic.twitter.com/PYTXhBd8HG
— Michael G🇬🇷 (@Michael_Grigs26) February 3, 2022
If you had Under negative-one on Nerlens Noel points today, your bet just cashed
— Knicks Memes (@KnicksMemes) February 3, 2022
Indeed, Noel did finish the game with no points. So while his official plus-minus for the game was -15, his more literal plus-minus was -2.
While not the first time the Knicks have been down this road, Noel’s blunder does punctuate what’s been a rough stretch for New York. After a three-game winning streak seemingly righted the ship, the Knicks have now lost seven of the nine games since. They now sit at 24-28 and are the No. 12 seed in the Eastern Conference.
There’s still plenty of time to get things going in the right direction, of course. Not scoring in their own basket would be a good start.
Related: Knicks fans turn to watching ‘The Office’ on mute during loss at MSG
