Tonight at Madison Square Garden, the Knicks played their final preseason game—a rematch with a Toronto team that clobbered the reserves on Tuesday. This time, the fight was fairer. The visitors played their starters (Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, Scottie Barnes, Kawhi Leonard, and Jakob Poeltl), but so did the Knicks (mostly: Mohamed Diawara took Josh Hart’s spot). Determined to not lay a complete goose egg this preseason, coach Mike Brown returned to his starters in the fourth quarter, and that gave
them just enough juice to win, 122-120.
The game started on the right foot. Resuming their championship ways, Karl-Anthony Towns took turns with Jalen Brunson on give-and-go sequences that were money in the bank. When KAT sat around the three-minute mark, he had five points, five boards, and six dimes on perfect shooting. Included in those buckets was a laser from deep. Every time he swishes the net this season will sound like a whispered, “Pay the man.”
Across the aisle, Barnes converted his first four shots for an early nine points. That’s what has Toronto fans excited: four scoring options in their starting lineup to complement a top-ten defense. Neither team lived up to their defensive potential in the first frame, however. They allowed each other to shoot over 60% from all areas of the floor by the midway mark.
Even Diawara (carrying two fouls) laced a corner three. Not to be outdone, Miles McBride (who had two triples through four preseason games) dropped three threes in his first four minutes. Those were positives. What wasn’t: Pacome Dadiet checking in and promptly getting stripped while over-dribbling. Soon after, he flushed a pass from Brunson, but there was nothing to change our minds about the youngster. In preseason form, the two teams traded buckets, but by the quarter’s end, the good guys were up, 35-32.
Andre Drummond provided a steady hand off the bench, hoovering up rebounds (seven in seven minutes), rattling in a jump hook, tipping in a putback, and making a free throw or two. That softened the sting of seeing Mitchell Robinson doing his best Bill Russell impersonation at TD Garden. Also off the bench, Landry Shamet picked Jamal Shead’s pocket and, on a fast break, fed the trailing Jordan Clarkson. Just a few pros giving the team solid minutes.
Toronto fell behind by 10, but clawed their way back by disrupting New York’s offense. Shead and Jamison Battle hit threes; the former is a defensive pest and blocked two perimeter shots (Diawara, Shamet), while Collin Murray-Boyles intercepted two Brunson passes. Towns had lost the touch, missing two threes and coughing up the rock twice. Nonetheless, New York won the quarter 28–26, and entered intermission ahead, 63-58.
The hosts had shot 55% overall, 47% from deep, and had a 32-18 advantage in the paint. They’d out-bounded the Raps, 26-16, but turned the ball over 12 times, which kept them from running up the score. Top scorers through the half were Barnes (15 points) and Mikal Bridges (14 points, two blocks, 6-of-8 shooting). Bridges made all five of his two-point attempts and canned a Brunson-assisted three, but his jump-out-of-the-seat play was the block of Barrett’s three at the buzzer. I’d say Mikal is ready for opening night.
With our team fumbling and bumbling after the break, the guests gained ground and overran the score, 69-66, with scores from Leonard, Quickley, Barrett, and Murray-Boyles. For the Knicks, Anunoby continued to struggle from yard, having made just 1-of-11 through the preason after his miss early in the third. Diawara committed another foul trying to grab a board, and his fourth infraction in 13 minutes earned him a quick hook.
Remember when Brunson joked that his SNL episode would be like a Knicks playoff game: crappy through three quarters with a big finish at the end? The Knicks still feel like a team that can’t play a complete game. We cheered when Towns dished to a cutting Shamet for a dunk (yes, Shamet!), but no one boxed out Barrett at the other end for an easy response.
Coach Mike Brown wanted this win, we gather, as he left Brunson and Towns on the floor late in the third quarter. Brunson steadied the offense, scoring seven points and dishing two dimes to fuel a 9–0 run. Dadiet made a hook to tie it at 74 (then missed a dunk), and KAT connected from deep to regain the lead. With a 19-5 run—including OG’s first basket after missing seven shots—our heroes finished the frame up, 87-79.
A few times tonight, we saw Jose Alvarado and Drummond playing a nice two-man game. When Andre drove to the cup for a finger-roll, it gave the home team double-digit lead. Alvarado made his first three dingers from deep, too. We’re eager to see more of this dynamic duo. The Dinos went on a Barnes-heavy run and scored eight unanswered to tie the game around the 9:30 mark, but then Alvarado, Anunoby, and Shamet stimulated a seven-point swing to stop the insanity.
The toughest move of the night was Mike Brown refusing to go winless this preseason. At 8:28, he subbed Brunson, Towns, and Diawara in to hold the lead alongside Shamet and Anunoby. OAKAAKUYOAKs Barrett and Quickley would not willingly roll over on their old home court, however, scoring their 21st and 18th points respectively. For a scrimmage, this one was competitive late.
When Towns sat at 5:15, his box score read 13 points, 15 boards, and nine assists and his team clung to a six-point advantage. It would be up to the reserves to close out the dub: Tyler Kolek, Tyler Nickel, Dadiet, Diawara, and James Wiseman.
Tonight we got just four minutes of Wiseman, who seems to have secured the third-string center spot with today’s annoucement that Drew Eubanks has a torn pectoral.
With a minute to go, Jaden Bradley had tied the score at 117. From there, though, the Tylers combined for five points (including a trey for Kolek) that offset a late bucket by Malachi Smith. These games don’t count, but this one sure had some fun moments.
Up Next
Opening night is Tuesday, with a banner and the Sixers. Rest up, Knickerbockers.
