You possibly can by no means rely this group of Knicks out — regardless of how deep the opening, regardless of how daunting the deficit.
Friday in Memphis? They trailed by 12 within the third quarter, didn’t take their first lead till halfway via the fourth, then closed the sport on OG Anunoby’s game-winning three and two clutch stops from Mikal Bridges.
Sunday in South Seashore? An identical story.
The Knicks confronted a Miami Warmth squad that had simply traded away its finest participant, All-Star ahead Jimmy Butler. But it was Miami that got here out swinging, burying a barrage of early threes to construct a double-digit lead within the first quarter — one which ballooned to 19 late within the first half.
But when there’s one factor Miami leads the NBA on this season, it’s an obscure class: blown double-digit leads.
And if there’s one factor the Knicks have thrived on this season, it’s closing video games in crunch time.
That mixture proved deadly for Miami, as New York erased yet one more huge deficit, storming again within the second half to steal a 116-112 additional time victory — New York’s fortieth win of the season.
“Obviously we didn’t want to get in a hole like we did in the first half. They’ve been playing really well. I thought our defense tightened up in the second half and the rebounding was really good,” mentioned head coach Tom Thibodeau after the sport. “Then we started making shots and there were timely plays and a lot of hustle plays that really got us going. It was slow in the first half. We were missing open threes, and we let that take away from the intensity that we needed defensively, but I thought the second half was really good.”
The win marked the Knicks’ tenth consecutive victory in a recreation that reached crunch time — outlined as the ultimate 5 minutes of a recreation inside 5 factors. Additionally they improved to 13-3 in video games which were inside two factors with two minutes to go.
They beat the Grizzlies by one on Friday. The 76ers by 5 on Wednesday. The Hawks and Bulls in additional time thrillers determined by a single possession.
And Jalen Brunson — the frontrunner for NBA Clutch Participant of the 12 months — was on the middle of all of it as soon as once more.
The Knicks’ captain delivered one other late-game masterpiece, ending with a game-high 31 factors on 13-of-25 taking pictures after getting into halftime with simply 5 factors underneath Miami’s relentless defensive stress.
“I’m gonna find a way to help this team win. It doesn’t matter,” Brunson mentioned in his walk-off interview. “We’ve gotta come out and play Knicks basketball. We’ve gotta fight. We didn’t do that in the first half. They got the best of us.”
“The thing with Jalen in the first half: he doesn’t fight the game,” added Thibodeau. “And I thought his aggression to start the third quarter was really huge for us. He gave us the spark to get going.”
Brunson credited a fiery halftime speech from head coach Tom Thibodeau for lighting a spark underneath the crew.
“We know what we’re capable of as a team, and Thibs knows that. He just had to remind us,” he mentioned. “When we take a slow start, obviously we’ve gotta come back with some fire. We decided to do that a little late, but we came out of it with a win.”
After all, the win didn’t come with out drama.
The Knicks had no reply for Bam Adebayo, who torched them for 30 factors on 12-of-14 taking pictures in considered one of his best performances of the season.
Nor did they’ve a lot success scoring inside in opposition to rookie massive man Kel’el Ware, who swatted six pictures and anchored a Miami protection that saved New York from producing straightforward appears to be like on the rim.
But, for the second recreation in a row, the Knicks’ bench held its personal — a promising signal for a second unit that has ranked useless final in scoring this season.
And as soon as once more, Miles McBride was the momentum-shifter, delivering well timed performs on each ends of the ground.
New York outscored Miami by 13 factors in McBride’s half-hour, and he completed with 12 factors and two assists whereas taking pictures 3-of-7 from downtown.
And when the Knicks lastly took their first lead in regulation, it was McBride who delivered the second — a pull-up jumper over Warmth All-Star Tyler Herro with simply over three minutes left within the fourth.
Anunoby adopted up his game-winner in Memphis with one other clutch efficiency.
He held Herro to 22 factors on 8-of-24 taking pictures, made a key tip-in late in regulation, and stuffed the stat sheet with 23 factors, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, three blocks, and two steals.
Karl-Anthony Cities was dominant on the glass, ending with 19 factors and 16 rebounds, whereas Josh Hart chipped in 14 factors, seven boards, and three assists.
The Knicks return to Madison Sq. Backyard on Thursday for a showdown with the Golden State Warriors earlier than embarking on a five-game West Coast highway journey.
Given how this crew has fought again all season lengthy, don’t anticipate them to again down from no matter challenges await.
“That’s the NBA. You don’t want to get high. You don’t want to get too low. You focus on what’s in front of you. The most important thing is finding a way to win and in this league every team is capable of beating you,” Thibodeau mentioned. “So just keep improving everyday. That’s our goal. We have a daily goal to improve. So whatever that is, focus on that, knowing that you have to play your best at the end.
“No one is winning a championship today. It’s all the things that you’re doing each and every day to get you there to give yourselves the best chance to win. And that’s what it takes. There’s a heavy price to pay for winning, and you have to do it every day. There’s no shortcuts to it.”
Initially Revealed: March 2, 2025 at 9:19 PM EST
