Knicks
It wasn’t easy for the Knicks, but they broke Monday’s game open in the fourth quarter to defeat the Brooklyn Nets for the 15th straight time. The bottom-feeding Nets kept the defending champions within reach for three quarters, but the better team prevailed in the fourth.
After the Knicks lost in Philadelphia last Friday, Josh Hart said he was “fatigued.” But he was the Knicks’ best defender on Monday. The Knicks outscored Brooklyn by 22 points with him on the court. He scored eight points and a team-high seven assists.
But it wasn’t all smooth sailing. The Knicks turned the ball over 15 times and only survived because the Nets average the second-fewest points per game in the NBA. The Knicks are not much better, though. They score the fourth-fewest points per game in the league.
“The issues are still there,” Hart said. “Defensively, we were solid. This year, for the most part, our defense has been pretty good. Obviously, there have been some lapses. […] But our offense has to get into a better flow, and that’s what’s holding us back right now. So, a win doesn’t erase the problem.”
The Knicks have the NBA’s 10th-best defensive rating and allow the third-fewest points per game. Defending well has been necessary as the offense keeps struggling. Jalen Brunson had another bad game against Brooklyn, making six field goals in 33 minutes.
Brunson took 11 of his 16 shots from three-point range, and the Knicks were outscored 26-24 in the paint. They also trailed 18-11 in second-chance points, even though Karl-Anthony Towns recorded his seventh straight double-double. Getting into the paint has been a big issue for the Knicks this season, especially Brunson.
Mikal Bridges, who thrives from mid-range, faltered again. He scored six points in 16 minutes and only played three minutes in the second half. Especially if the Knicks want to extend an olive branch to Karl-Anthony Towns, they could trade Bridges, who will earn $150 million over the next four seasons.
As he has often done this season, Landry Shamet made the most of his extra playing time. He made up for Bridges’s ineffectiveness with a team-high 22 points, but he only took one shot in the fourth quarter.
“We have to be real with ourselves,” Shamet said. “Mike [Brown] is great with that, assesses things in film, calls it as it is. Our group is great with that. We all understand that we’re not taking this [win] as any potential fool’s gold. The whole goal right now is to continue to get better, and we want to do that.”
Jordan Clarkson replaced Shamet for most of the fourth quarter. He helped the Knicks establish a more competitive pace as four starters returned. OG Anunoby scored a team-high nine fourth-quarter points, and Hart added five points and three assists.
The Knicks were outscored 35-24 in the third quarter and started the fourth quarter down by four. But Hart’s three-pointer, followed by two Anunoby triples, sparked a 25-5 run. The Knicks were fourth-quarter heroes, even though Brunson, often unstoppable in crunch time, scored one point.
Brunson had offseason surgery to repair a wrist injury he sustained during the playoffs, but he doesn’t think that is affecting his shot. Regardless, he seems out of rhythm, whether it’s because of an injury, a championship hangover, or too much time away from basketball this summer.
The Knicks won unsustainably on Monday. They can’t keep relying on game-saving fourth-quarter plays, yet they continue to struggle in the first quarter. They aren’t as invested at the start of games as at the end. That didn’t matter last year, even in the playoffs, but it wasn’t happening in every regular-season game.
The Knicks will try to play better tonight against the Chicago Bulls at the Garden (7:30 PM, 6:30 PM CST – MSG, DAZN). The Knicks overcame a 19-point deficit to beat Chicago on the road last Wednesday. This time, they hope to lead by 19 points instead.
Schedule
6:00 PM (5:00 PM CST): Yankees Hot Stove; YES, DAZN
7:30 PM (6:30 PM CST): NYK vs. CHI; MSG, DAZN
Cover Image Courtesy: New York Knicks
