They sure do make things interesting, don’t they?
Amidst a five-game, West Coast swing, the New York Knicks exhibited a microcosm of their race to the finish: all gas, very few brakes, and some glaring scratches on their well-worn fender.
They built a double-digit gap in the fourth quarter at Crypto.com Arena, all for the Knicks to relinquish the lead, fall short to the Los Angeles Lakers, and lose Jalen Brunson to an ankle injury in the process.
The next night, without Brunson and a newly returned Mitchell Robinson, who had sat out the second game of a back-to-back, New York fell to the Los Angeles Clippers by 10 points.
But against the Sacramento Kings and Portland Trail Blazers?
All flash and heroics, even if it is against lesser competition.
Against Sacramento on Monday night, the Knicks routed the Kings, 133-104, extinguishing “The Beam” thanks to Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby’s 50 combined points and a 21/3/7 effort from Deuce McBride, who has capably filled Brunson’s shoes in a starting role.
Against the Portland Trailblazers, with 3.4 seconds left in overtime, Mikal Bridges buried the game-winner—a three from the top of the key—to give the Knicks a 114-113 victory, capping off a 33-point night to lead all scorers, helping his team edge closer to the Boston Celtics, whom New York only trails by 4.5 games in the standings.
If anybody needed a red-letter game on their blotter, it was Bridges, who has not had a game of this caliber since Christmas Day, when Mikal went tit-for-tat with Victor Wembanyama, who has since seen his campaign draw to a close with a blood clot in his shoulder.
Whether he wanted to or not, Bridges made waves by recently calling into question Coach Tom Thibodeau’s rotations, demanding the bench get more minutes at the expense of resting his starters, three of whom—Josh Hart, the league leader, Bridges in second, and Anunoby at sixth—are in the top 10 in the league in minutes played.
On the surface, Bridges is certainly touting the abilities of guys like Mitchell Robinson, Cameron Payne, Landry Shamet, McBride, and—at least before his meniscus tear—Ariel Hukporti, but to others, leaking feelings and frustrations to the press, from a private meeting with Thibs, no less, amidst a playoff push comes off as perplexing.
Regardless, though all seemed hopeless with Brunson’s ailment, the Knicks have managed a 2-2 record out West, with a game left against Golden State on Friday night, a chance for the Knicks to avenge an embarrassing loss at the Garden two weeks ago, even if they will be without Brunson again.
Without Brunson, the Knicks seemed fated to fall back to the fourth seed in the East, but given the Knicks’ last two wins and Milwaukee’s three-game losing streak, New York has expanded their lead over the Bucks by 5.5 games.
Should the standings remain the same by late April, the Knicks will have homecourt advantage against the sixth-seeded Detroit Pistons, a nightmare matchup with Boston potentially awaiting in the second round.
Quick reminder: New York is a combined 1-5 against both squads, the lone win coming against the Pistons on Nov. 1, only the fifth game of the season. And while the Knicks match up well against Detroit, they appear to be light years behind the defending champs, whom New York has lost to three times by an average of 21 points.
That is not to say Detroit would be an easy out for the Knicks. Not by any means.
For one, Cade Cunningham is living up to his first-overall pick pedigree, vying for an All-NBA team spot on the second team that could manifest into first-team honors if Jalen Brunson is out much longer than anticipated. He leads Detroit in scoring (25.7 PPG) and dishing (9.3), fourth amongst all guards in rebounding at 6.1 per contest (he trails only the Knicks’ Josh Hart, Josh Giddey, and Desmond Bane).
Without Jaden Ivey, out with a broken fibula since January 1 that required surgery, the Pistons have become a force, recently ripping off an eight-game winning streak, capped by a convincing road win against Boston, including winning twelve of their last fifteen contests.
Speaking of Ivey, the 23-year-old budding star, as of March 13, has removed his walking boot and can start weight-bearing strength conditioning. He will be re-evaluated in four weeks. A team without Ivey is already worthy of a playoff bid. A team with him has real second-round aspirations, even if it is the Knicks standing in their way.
Though the Knicks’ road trip ends on Friday, with one quick game against the Heat at the Garden on Monday night, they return for two on the road in Charlotte and San Antonio.
Consider, though, what the schedule looks like from now until their April 2 matchup against the league-leading Cleveland Cavaliers:
- A home game against a Heat squad without the edge and scoring Jimmy Butler once provided.
- A road matchup against the lottery-bound Hornets, followed by a game against a Spurs team that is now without Wembanyama.
- Three in a row at home against Washington (OK), Dallas (YIKES), and the Clippers, against whom New York would like some revenge from last Friday night’s loss.
- A great road tilt against Milwaukee, succeeded by games with the spiraling-out-of-orbit 76ers and the struggling Trailblazers, both at home.
Much like the stretch that began the New Year, the Knicks could benefit from a nine-game span that would allow Brunson some rest and acclimation, Mitch time to strengthen his wind and legs, and the Knicks, a shot at distancing themselves from Milwaukee, Orlando, and Detroit on the table, perhaps edging closer to Boston along the way.
More than anything, that stretch and team balance could be just what they need to keep their game against the Cavs respectable. Better yet, though, would be a much-needed win against one of the best teams in the league, amongst whom the Knicks look like a relative car wreck.
