Grizzlies 115, Knicks 112 (OT): Thud — in a good way
Unlikely heroes abounded in Cam Reddish and Julius Randle as the Knicks staged an unlikely fake comeback vs. the Memphis Grizzlies in the first game of the 2022-23 season.
The New York Knicks lost their season opener in Memphis in overtime, 115-112, a performance that started and ended with a thud. They trailed by 15 at the half and as many as 19 in the third quarter. The etymology of the word “thud” traces back to the Old English words “thydden,” meaning “to thrust or push, and “thoden,” meaning “a violent wind.” The Knicks landed with a thud in the first half, then pushed the Grizzlies around in the second with a comeback that very nearly blew everyone’s expectations away.
After an offseason met with mostly positive reviews, New York entered stage left and fell flat on their face. On offense there was none of the zip and intent witnessed during the preseason. The defense played like a wounded animal, so reflexively reactive to any Grizzly even looking at the paint that they surrendered one open 3-pointer after another. It did not help that Ja Morant was looking verrrry Ja Morant.
At the half the Grizzlies were +18 from beyond the arc, RJ Barrett continued his cold open to seasons by missing 11 of his first 12 shots, several of a highly questionable nature, and Jaren Jackson Jr. gave Morant all the support he’d need with 18 and 11 to go with a game-high +18. Oh, sorry. Did I say Jaren Jackson Jr.? Those numbers came courtesy of Memphis rookie Santi Aldama, who sounds like a resort town but who brought the Knicks nothing but stress.
The third quarter arrived and so did the Knicks. Behind an encouraging and efficient performance by Julius Randle and an exemplary outing from Cam Reddish, New York clawed their way back. As the contest neared endgame it was Jalen Brunson who donned a cape, scored in the paint and the midrange and even grabbed a crucial offensive rebound in the final minute to find Isaiah Hartenstein for a three-point play that cut the gap to one. With Mitchell Robinson going retro in a 13-minute, five-foul bleh, Hartenstein played 40 minutes and mostly played well.
Down three in the closing seconds, the Knicks came out of their last timeout with a beautifully scripted play, having Reddish start in the strong side corner, sprint all the way across the baseline to the other corner and catch and shoot for a 3-pointer. Cam had 14 points on seven shots in the fourth quarter and overtime.
Was that a spoiler? The game got to overtime thanks to Brunson drawing a charge on Morant with half a second left; props to the officials for getting it right when it would have been verrrry easy to appease the home crowd by calling it a blocking foul. Those fans wouldn’t need to wait long to have something to cheer about: Randle fouled out on the Knicks’ first possession in OT.
A Tyus Jones 3-pointer in the final minute would prove to be the difference, though not without more drama. The Knicks had almost taken a well-earned lead shortly before Jones’ shot, but those same refs I praised before missed Morant fouling Brunson and goaltending his shot on a chasedown block. I mean, they’re human and it was athletically spectacular. I suppose anyone could get lost in it.
Brunson missed a number of fairly open corner 3-pointers in the extra session. When Reddish missed a hero-ball long bomb, it looked like Memphis and their merry band of offensive rebounds were in the clear. But Jones improbably missed two free throws with four seconds left, giving the Knicks another chance. But Evan Fournier couldn’t connect from the same corner Reddish had at the end of regulation, so the Knicks leave town with nothing.
Or do they? Hartenstein was a revelation working out of the high post; some of his passes were positively Jokić-esque. Randle was quicker with his actions, didn’t force bad shots and didn’t appear to lose his cool when the refs made a bad call (they made many). Barrett . . . didn’t quit shooting, which is better than the alternative. Brunson is so much better than any point guard ‘round these parts in many moons. Cam was a two-way presence who showed you why he was a lottery pick and why it cost the Knicks a first-round pick to get him.
It may seem odd that Immanuel Quickley and Obi Toppin both barely played. But their play, particularly IQ’s, was uninspiring. The Knicks season begins with an L, a familiar feat. But having the depth to be without Quentin Grimes and surviving RJ/Obi/IQ shooting a combined 4-for-27 well enough to take a Western powerhouse to their limit? That is new, and nice. The Knicks were a violent wind blowing through Tennessee and very nearly upended a consensus. May their depth and relentlessness continue to push them over games 2-82, and beyond.
