Immediately following an article about some of the things the New York Knicks need to do in order to find themselves and remain competitive without Jalen Brunson, they decided to go and take my advice.
They were competitive and blew out the Sacramento Kings on their home court to secure the two-game season sweep, 133-104.
Everybody ate.
Nice.
This game felt comparable to New York’s blowout over Memphis in late January in that the Knicks played faster than their usual pace and with a ton of energy, resulting in yet another massive win.
Their three-point shooting and defense were the cherry on top of New York’s victory sundae. The Knicks matched their season-high in made threes as a team, shooting 22-40 (55%) from beyond the arc. Conversely, they held the Kings to just 10-34 (29.4%) shooting from outside and a mere 41.9% from the field.
They won big as a team, but let’s see how the Knicks performed individually, based on my latest column.
Karl-Anthony Towns
This was an A1 game from the Knicks’ temporary 1A. Karl-Anthony Towns led all scorers with 26 and did so without relying on his outside shot as much, though he did finish the night shooting 50% from three (3-6).
Out of Towns’ first eight field goals attempted, only one was a three, and it was cash.
Final stat line: 26 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block on 53.3% FG, 50.0% FG, 77.8% FT (7-9).
Mikal Bridges
While Bridges still didn’t attempt as many field goals as he should for what the Knicks are looking to get from him (he was the lowest out of any starters with 10), he gets an easy pass tonight for not only the blowout but also the overall togetherness the team played with.
New York is going to need him to shoot more going forward, but they didn’t need it last night. He also tied his season-high in assists with eight – creating shots doesn’t only mean for yourself, at the end of the day.
Final stat line: 15 points, 3 rebounds, 8 assists on 60% FG (6-10), 33% 3PT (1-3), 100% FT (2-2).
OG Anunoby
OG had, without a doubt, his most complete game of the season last night and arguably his most complete game in a Knicks uniform. Just ask the man himself.
“Yeah, probably. I try to make every game complete, but that was definitely one of the more complete games,” Anunoby told Mike Breen during his postgame interview in his patented deadpan tone that almost makes it seem like he’s trying not to laugh.
I’m not going to sit here and wait for the NBA to drop the advanced stats on this game, though I wish I could, I will give you my word that Anunoby found the vast majority of success in this game on very few dribbles.
Final stat line: 24 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists (season-high), 5 steals on 46.6% FG (7-15), 42.8% 3PT (3-7), 87.5% FT (7-8).
Josh Hart
Talk about timing! Hart tied his season-high in threes made and looked confident while shooting all of them, finishing the game 4-6 from beyond the arc.
Perhaps the happiest of all to see Hart’s willingness to let it fly was the newest Knick, PJ Tucker, who appeared to be seamlessly filling his role as New York’s veteran presence.
Final stat line: 18 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists on 55% FG (5-11), 66.6% 3PT (4-6), 100% FT (2-2).
Miles McBride
Growing pains? Who? Miles McBride had his third-highest-scoring game last night, scoring 21 points and adding seven assists en route to the Knicks dethroning the Kings.
His ability to come out with an aggressive mindset after a poor shooting performance in his last game speaks volumes to his overall mentality as a player, which will take you a long way in the NBA. In a season of 82+ games (if you’re lucky), there’s nothing positive to be gained from just one game, good or bad.
Instead of growing pains, I’ll chalk this performance up to McBride’s sheer talent as a basketball player. Now, if he can average around these numbers until Brunson is back in the lineup, the Knicks will be in steady hands. For now, though, let’s just enjoy the ride.
Final stat line: 21 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists on 63.6% FG (7-11), 80% 3PT (4-5), 60% FT (3-5).
On to the next.
