Last night in Houston, the Knicks (49*-28) lost their third straight game, all on the road. It was possibly the least entertaining game we’ve watched all season, and New York played out of sync all night. Tonight, in the second of a back-to-back, they had a prime opportunity to build their confidence against a Grizzlies (25-51) team that has seven players out with season-ending injuries and no active center. Mostly, the game went as expected, with the Knicks taking a 22-point first-half lead. Memphis
shot well (51% from the field, 44% from deep), but New York shot better (55% and 41%), owned the glass (49-20) and the paint (66-44). Despite a dip late in the third quarter, New York held on to win it, 130-119.
Quoth JustMissedOut2001, “Dang is that stat right? Only 20 rebounds for the grizz.” According to the talking heads after the game, 20 rebounds was the fewest ever for a Knicks opponent. It helps when the tallest guy on the other team is 6’9” in heels.
With Jalen Brunson resting a sore right ankle, Jose Alvarado (15 PTS, 4 AST, 4 TO, 2 STL) got his second start as a Knick. Memphis started rookie shooting guard Cedric Coward (15 PTS), the 11th pick in last summer’s draft, and four other dudes, at least one of whom is on a two-way contract.
Karl-Anthony Towns attacked the rim, wisely, as the undersized Grizzlies had no one his equal in the front court. He finished the night with a triple-double of 20 points, 11 rebounds, and a career-tying 11 assists—and he did it in 29 minutes. Bridges had a very efficient night, too, tallying 24 points on 9-of-15 from the field. And OG Anunoby delivered an excellent performance, with 25 points, 13 rebounds, two blocks, and a steal in his 40 minutes.
In fact, all our heroes were sizzling, missing just two of their first 15 shots and hitting a perfect five from downtown (Hart, Bridges, Alvarado, Kolek, and Shamet). They also had 11 assists on their first 13 makes, with Josh Hart (5 PTS, 6 RBS, 6 AST, 25 MIN) and Kat combining for seven in the quarter.
Just gonna drop this here….
Midway through the quarter, coach Mike Brown subbed in Tyler Kolek (9 PTS, 7 AST, 0 TO, 19 min), Jordan Clarkson (8 PTS), and Landry Shamet (13 PTS, 2 STL), back after missing five games with a right knee bone bruise. Landry showed no signs of being hindered, knocking down three of five from deep tonight.
Late in the quarter, Ariel Hukporti (7 PTS, 6 RBS, 12 MIN) replaced Towns. His rust showed, but Huk could teach Mitchell Robinson (out due to the back-to-back) something about shooting free throws. Coach Brown named Hukporti the Defensive Player of the Game.
An 11-0 run in the fading minutes helped to pad their lead, and despite a Cam Spencer (10 PTS) triple and Tyler Burton (10 PTS) adding two of his own, Shamet canned a corner three in the final seconds to give the visitors a 48-30 lead. That’s a season-high for any quarter of the season for the Knickerbockers.
To start the second quarter, Brown stayed with Kolek and inserted rookie Mohamed Diawara (4 pTS, 5 MIN) into the mix. The tall Frenchman made the most of his minutes, with two quick scores and a steal. Not to be overlooked, Towns continued to have the biggest impact with multiple dunks, putbacks, and strong rebounding, while Mikal Bridges added efficient scoring, including a step-back three and driving plays. Hart and Alvarado contributed key assists, steals, and timely buckets, and with the lead reaching 22, this game became a glorified scrimmage.
Memphis got sporadic production from G. G. Jackson (20 PTS, 8-of-12 FG) and Coward, but struggled with turnovers and chasing down loose balls. For the half, New York outrebounded them 21-6! The Grizzlies could never close the gap. Score at intermission: 79-62. That’s the first-half season-high for our heroes.
The Knicks shot a ridiculous 71% from the field (29-for-41) and 70% from three (7-for-10) while the visitors scraped by at 56% and 45%. What’s easy to miss amid all the buckets is New York’s dominance of the paint (40-20) and the boards (8-2 offensive). The Grizzlies hadn’t led once. Bridges topped all first-half scorers with 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting. KAT was on his way to a triple-double. Three Bears had 10 points (Walter Clayton, Jr., Jackson, and Burton).
The Grizzlies opened the third frame on a 14-6 run, cutting the Knicks’ lead from 17 to 9. Jackson scored or assisted on nine of those points. With three minutes left, a Shamet turnover and an Adama Bal triple cut the differential to three. It would get no smaller.
The Knicks went on a 14-3 run across the end of the third and start of the fourth quarter, turning a three-point game into a 14-point lead. The Grizzlies had three turnovers and made just one shot during this stretch. The key was execution and extra possessions: OG Anunoby crashing the glass and protecting the rim, Bridges knocking down a three, and Karl-Anthony Towns dishing a run of assists.
From there, OG put it away with a pair of late threes, while Towns cleaned the glass and kept adding to his assist total. Bridges’ scoring and activity rounded out the effort, and Jose Alvarado chipped in with timely plays to keep things organized. Fairly easy win, as it should have been.
Up Next
New York heads home to face the Bulls on Friday. Safe travels, Knickerbockers.
