The Knicks adopted up one among their worst performances of the season with one among their greatest.
Two days faraway from a 25-point drubbing by the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder that prompted boos from the Madison Sq. Backyard crowd, the Knicks rebounded Sunday with a 140-106 rout of a Milwaukee Bucks crew that sat only one spot behind them within the Jap Convention standings.
It was a bounce-back efficiency that Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau believes “says a lot” in regards to the character of his gamers.
“We know it’s a long season,” Thibodeau stated. “The makeup of our team is outstanding. We’re not gonna be perfect. We’ll have some games where we fall short, but I know the work they put in and the commitment they made to each other, and that goes a long way over the course of a season. The idea is to play your best basketball at the end.”
The Knicks entered Sunday’s matinee at MSG as losers of 4 of their final 5 video games. They shot under 30% from 3-point vary in all 4 losses, bottoming out at simply 12.9% in Friday’s 126-101 defeat by the red-hot Thunder.
The losses generated renewed consideration across the lack of depth on a Knicks crew that entered Sunday ranked useless final within the NBA in bench minutes, scoring and rebounding.
Amid that adversity, the Knicks’ stars stepped up.
Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 44 factors on 16-of-26 taking pictures, scoring 23 factors within the first quarter to set the tone. He may have had a fair larger recreation, had a third-quarter collision not left the purpose guard with what Thibodeau described as a shoulder “stinger.”
Brunson missed about six minutes in that third quarter earlier than checking again in to chants of “MVP” from the house crowd.
“We’ve got to continue it,” Brunson stated of the Knicks’ improved efficiency. “I don’t really want to have a lot of bounce-back days. I just want to be able to continue to get better every single day and continue to be consistent.”
Karl-Anthony Cities added 30 factors and 18 rebounds, whereas Josh Hart contributed 11 factors and 11 rebounds.
The Knicks made 18 of their 41 makes an attempt from 3-point vary (43.9%).
“It starts with Thibs, and then it trickles down to JB, KAT, OG [Anunoby], all them guys,” Hart stated. “It shows the character we have. Now, we just have to continue to build off of it. We’ve got a tough team tomorrow [in the Detroit Pistons]; a young team who’s gonna run. Obviously, it’s a back-to-back for us, so we’ve got to make sure we come out with an attention to detail and intensity.”
But it surely wasn’t solely the Knicks starters who got here up massive.
Cameron Payne scored 18 factors off the bench, together with 13 within the second quarter that helped the Knicks draw back. He shot 4-of-7 from the sector in that quarter, together with 3-of-6 from 3-point vary.
“Cam comes in, and it was the second opportunities, him being in transition, and him getting a couple of clean looks,” Bucks guard Damian Lillard stated. “You see the ball go in, and us being in that scramble situation and out of position, and then another guy gets going, it’s gonna be hard to win a game like that.”
Sunday didn’t repair all the Knicks’ issues.
Their rotation stays skinny following what’s been a really profitable late-offseason commerce for Cities, which value them two key gamers in ahead Julius Randle and guard Donte DiVincenzo.
Rim-protecting heart Mitchell Robinson stays out, too, following ankle surgical procedure in Might.
The Knicks have the toughest remaining schedule, in line with Tankathon, as their 42 upcoming opponents boast a mixed successful share of .525. That slate contains three extra video games in opposition to the NBA-best Cleveland Cavaliers and one other three in opposition to the defending champion Boston Celtics.
However the third-seeded Knicks (26-14) improved to 2-0 in opposition to the Bucks (20-17), who fell to the No. 5 spot within the East with Sunday’s loss.
The Knicks additionally beat Milwaukee, 116-94, on the Backyard in November, and afterward, Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo bemoaned his crew’s lack of effort.
“We’re definitely, I believe, a better team than the first time we faced them,” Antetokounmpo stated Sunday. “But at the end of the day, they came in, played way harder than us, better than us, and they were able to get a win.”
