Daily Report – 11/12/25
Knicks
“I think we’re a work-in-progress,” said Karl-Anthony Towns after yesterday’s 133-120 Knicks victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Hold up a minute. The Knicks have won five straight games. They are 7-0 at Madison Square Garden. They have scored over 130 points in three consecutive games for the first time in franchise history. They attempted a franchise record-setting 55 three-point shots yesterday.
And Karl-Anthony Towns said what?
10 games into the season, only one thing is crystal clear: The Knicks will not be satisfied until they win a championship. “You talk about 47 field goals made, and 35 of those were assisted, so we did do some things right,” said head coach Mike Brown. “But I know and I think some guys in the locker room feel we could have done better.”
I’ve written many times about how pace is Brown’s key tactic for success. Sometimes, consistently maintaining a speedy pace of play requires a reduced defensive effort. But this Knicks team is so committed to achieving perfection on all sides of the ball that they outright refuse to stop defending. It’s really quite something how, in just the first 10 games of the season, in an NBA era where offense outshines defense, the Knicks have treated every game with so much intensity. Because defending isn’t easy, and it isn’t always fun.
“One of our values is joy,” Brown said. “One of our principles is to have fun. If you’re gonna preach something or say something, you’ve got to be about it.”
According to the New York Post’s Stefan Bondy, after every game, the Knicks’ coaches crown their defensive player of the game with a hard hat and Timberland boots. The Knicks post pictures after every win of their defensive player of the game, or DOPG. This reward is given in an effort to encourage players to defend, and it’s the only reward that exists in Brown’s locker room.
“I feel like guys are locked in and getting stops now,” Deuce McBride remarked. “I feel like [the DOPG award is] something as a team we can connect on.”
If you’re reading this, you’re probably wondering why, when the Knicks have scored over 130 points in three consecutive games for the first time ever, I’m writing about their defense. Allowing 120 points to Memphis isn’t exactly something to celebrate, after all. The players agree with that, and they recognize their sky-high offensive potential. But remember, Brown pointed out after Sunday’s win, that talent doesn’t matter when the playoffs arrive.
I cannot emphasize enough just how incredible it is that the Knicks are buying into this message 10 games into their season. A season that players and I both agree carries championship expectations, making it the most anticipated Knicks season in 30 years.
Mikal Bridges won last night’s DOPG award, his first of the season. There’s a reason he’s the NBA’s Iron Man, since he didn’t miss a beat playing 38 minutes. His 22 points were significant, but he made two notable defensive plays that stood as a true testament to the Knicks’ elite wing defense.
With one minute remaining in the second half, Bridges robbed the ball out of Cedric Coward’s hands and drove it the other way for an uncontested dunk. Then, at 2:35 in the third quarter, Bridges outran Ja Morant to break up a fastbreak opportunity, and he batted the ball backwards into OG Anunoby’s hands. Jalen Brunson then drove it the other way, and despite crashing behind the basket after his defensive play, Bridges burst past everybody to receive Brunson’s pass all the way on the other end of the court.
“The ball was moving,” said Brunson, who led the Knicks in scoring with 32 points. “We were playing off each other. When the ball is moving like that and we’re making shots, it’s great to see.”
Part of the offensive recipe for 133 points – 130+ in three straight games for the first time in franchise history (take that stat in) – was a seventh 40-point quarter. Last season, the Knicks scored 40 points in a quarter just 14 times. They also scored 77 points in the first half yesterday, giving them 75+ points in consecutive first halves for the first time since 1988. And, their 114 points through three quarters were the most in any first three quarters since 2008.
And don’t leave this out: The Knicks scored on 22 of their record-setting 55 three-point attempts, and Brunson went six-for-nine from downtown.
Additionally, Jordan Clarkson epitomized the importance of depth with 13 bench points, and the Knicks totaled 32 points off the bench. According to the Knicks, Clarkson scored his 8,137th career bench point yesterday, which surpassed Vinnie Johnson for 10th all-time in the NBA since the league started tracking bench points in 1968.
Tonight, at 7 PM (6 PM CST), the Knicks will play the second half of a mid-week back-to-back set as they host the up-and-coming Orlando Magic in the sixth game of this seven-game homestand.
“Our fans are fantastic,” Mike Brown said. “Playing here at MSG, playing at home, there’s no better place to play for a group. And we fed off the energy of being here, and we figured it out.”
Schedule
7:00 PM (6:00 PM CST): NYR at TBL; TNT, HBO Max
7:00 PM (6:00 PM CST): NYK vs. ORL; ESPN, MSG, Gotham Sports
