Like sands through an hourglass, so slipped away another Knicks near-win

After scoring the bucket that put the New York Knicks up two, completing a 22-point second-half comeback, Josh Hart “fouled” Coby White on a 3-point attempt, leading to three free throws and a 124-123 Chicago lead. That set Jalen Brunson up for a game-winning attempt that went in and out of the net. Hart giveth, Hart taketh away? 

Not so fast.

The Knicks put down Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers Tuesday in convincing fashion down the stretch. When the team decided to apply some defensive pressure, any hopes of a Philly comeback were shot down with gusto. Wednesday night was much different. Down 22 in the third, nothing was going right for the Knicks – until Karl-Anthony Towns did. 

He scored 14 in nine minutes that quarter, driving a 37-12 run that trimmed the deficit to just five entering the final frame, where he put up an even more impressive 17 on 7-of-11 shooting, including two threes. New York’s second-half defense was night and day from the first. But you know how the story ends. I wrote all that to write this: Wednesday night’s loss was about so much more than a “shoulda, woulda, coulda” foul on a three.

We hear so often about good teams “playing with their food,” playing down to the competition until the talent disparity ultimately gives the nod to the better club. That’s not what this was for the Knicks. It was far too late when they decided to eat, and as a result managed just a few bites before the plate was taken away. New York isn’t good enough (yet) to give bad teams the time of day: it’s either stomp them out, like they did earlier this month against Detroit, or get your heart stomped on, like they did last night courtesy of Chicago.

Notes

• We have found the situational premise for Tom Thibodeau’s ideas of rotation expansion. On the second night of a back-to-back he played nine guys, with Matt Ryan getting five minutes of run early in the first half. Mikal Bridges is the only Knick who logged more than 40 minutes, and he needed every one as he continues adjusting to life in New York. Bridges finished with 20 points, six rebounds and five assists in one of his better starts this season, and his efforts in the fourth were commendable. He played all 12 minutes and took only one shot, which he made. His defense was disruptive, and his offensive woes were not for the Knicks.

• Shoutout to Cam Payne, as much a part of New York’s comeback as any Knick not named Towns. 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting to go with three steals, two assists and a block in 16 minutes and a team-leading +11 – and rightfully so. When he touched the ball in big moments, good things happened. I’m very interested in watching him and Miles McBride continue playing alongside each other. It seems Payne is a better fit for initiating, while McBride can get the early jump on disrupting teams on the other end. It’s a nice fit in theory, if nothing else.

• Jalen Brunson isn’t playing poorly. But he is struggling. Both can be true. 24 points on 20 shots and eight assists to two turnovers. New York needed him in the fourth and he delivered, outside of the game-winner gone awry. As long as that trend continues, I see no need to smash the panic button.

• Patrick Williams hive, where ya at? When the Bulls drafted him fourth overall I got front row seats to his development, covering Chicago for the entirety of his rookie season. I liked him as a player then for all of the things he did against the Knicks on Wednesday: 18/6/2 with 2 steals. His defense against Brunson left a lot to be desired (or discussed amongst coaches), but everywhere else he was a high-functioning member of the Bulls’ early onslaught. Injuries disrupted the early days of his career. Rest assured when he’s truly healthy, this is what he can be for Chicago.

• Keeping things on the away side of the court, let’s talk about Zach LaVine for a moment. Despite Chicago’s best efforts to trade him last summer, they’re stuck with the 11th-year guard thanks to $89 million owed him this year and next plus a $49 million player option for 2026-27. But is that the worst thing? Objectively bad players are at their best when they’re most comfortable, being embraced and encouraged by those around them and the cities they play in. LaVine looked good against the Knicks: 31/8/7, two steals and a block.

• After averaging 20 on 52/48/88 shooting his last six games, OG Anunoby came down to earth a little bit in this one: 14 on 5-of-14 shooting (2-of-7 from deep). I think it’s pretty clear Thibs and company were playing it safe with Anunoby on the second night of a back-to-back. Based on his performance, I think it’s all well that they did. 

• Towns looks the part of this team’s engine early on, befitting since that term had been long reserved for Julius Randle. The 46/10/3 and three steals performance will be etched into a special Mount Rushmore alongside other notable Knicks who were heroic in defeat: Carmelo Anthony’s 45 in a quadruple-overtime loss to the Hawks in 2017, Jalen Brunson’s 61 in an overtime loss to the Spurs last season, and Frank Ntilikina’s 20-point, 10-assist effort in a 2020 loss to the Wizards all sting in the same ways. (Ed. note: Bernard King scored 60 in a Christmas Day L)

The word “catastrophe” comes from the Greek katastrephein, “to overturn,” originally used to describe the climax or final act of a drama; other connotations include “unhappy conclusions” or “disastrous ending.” New York’s loss to Chicago was a Katastrophe. But it’s not the end of this drama. Not even close.