Knicks 120, Kings 109: When less is more
The New York Knicks overcame a 21-point first half deficit, dethroning the Sacramento Kings 120-109 last night in their best win of the season – so far. The win snapped a three-game losing streak, a mark they’ve only reached twice before this year. The other two came before and after the Knicks brought in new players – OG Anunoby and Precious Achiuwa after a pre-New Year’s stumble, Bojan Bogdanović and Alec Burks before a four-game slide the first week of February. This latest stretch? Nobody’s walking through that door, neither to lend them a hand nor a shoulder to cry on.
Speaking of shoulders, the win came hours after the announcement that Julius Randle is done for the season after trying for months to rehab and return from his dislocated right shoulder. Randle told Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes he did everything he could to get back on the court, but suffered a setback during full-contact work.
“My shit wasn't stable,” he said. “I felt like I was in the same state when I first dislocated it, and It's been an uphill battle ever since.” This is obviously bad news: the mythological “healthy Knicks” we dreamed of for months isn’t happening, and with that their season’s ceiling goes from cathedral to Victorian. The Randle-less Knicks could reach the East’s final four, but as much as Milwaukee’s staggering to the finish line, it’s tough seeing New York match the firepower of a team with two stars, even if one’s looking more and more like a red (green?) giant.
The Randle news may have paid dividends yesterday, though. The Knicks have been in a holding pattern most of the calendar year, first adjusting to the Toronto trade, then losing OG, then the Detroit trade, then OG returned, then OG was gone again, then Mitchell Robinson returned, and now Randle is done. The energy of a group waiting on reinforcements is not the same as one who knows it’s all on them. Last night several Knicks – at least after falling behind by 21 – looked free. Freer. Maybe with the Randle news being a worst-case scenario, there was the sensation of a brief rock-bottom. Nowhere to go but up.
Jalen Brunson was up for it. The MVP-level guard led the way scoring and dining — hardly news. What was newsworthy was when and how Brunson delivered. In the first half the Kings couldn’t contain him; he drilled 6-of-8 from the field and got to the line five times. In the second half, particularly the fourth quarter, the defense did what a lot of playoff defenses are gonna do to the Randle-less Knicks: ramp up the ball pressure on JB, force him to give it up and force the other Knicks to beat you. Sacramento was reminded that the dimmer points of light in the sky are still stars.
Brunson had eight assists after the break, and if the NBA tracked hockey assists he’d have given Connor McDavid a run for his money. The Kings repeatedly blitzed and doubled Brunson as soon as he crossed halfcourt, a.k.a. the Steph Curry Treatment. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a Knick guard command that level of attention and respect that far from the basket. I know I’ve never seen one so good bounce-passing out of double-teams – and these weren’t just “break glass in case of emergency” passes, where the defense re-sets after one or two rotations. Brunson was putting English on them, changing their altitude and at times seemingly their density to avoid the hungry hands of the Kings defenders, leading his teammates so that when they got the pass they were in position to immediately hit the seam in the defense.
That’s one way you end up with this statistical nugget: Brunson, Josh Hart and Isaiah Hartenstein each had 8+ assists last night. That’s only the seventh time in club history three Knicks had that many in the same game, the first since Derek Harper, John Starks and Greg Anthony in 1994. Hart was the binary star to Brunson, pouring in his Knick-career high 31 in addition to the usual gumbo of rebounds, assists, steals and minutes. At his best Hart is an amalgam of Charles Oakley and Anthony Mason, if the two were transplanted into the body of a 6-foot-4 guard. Especially when Hart plays with confidence.
It’s hard to remember sometimes, given Hart’s public persona and easy charm, but he’s looked unsure of himself lately, or at least his shot. One of the striking sights from the Miami loss Wednesday was how often Hart, the release valve after a Brunson double-team, would drive to the paint only to retreat before attempting a floater, a pull-up or a runner of any kind. Right before New York acquired him from Portland, the Trail Blazers were mystified by something similar: after Hart was shipped there in the CJ McCollum deal, he took more than six threes a game, making 37%. The next season his 3-point attempts fell by 70%, and you can chicken-or-egg whether that led to his accuracy falling to 30% or vice versa.
The Blazers were likely stumped and a little more than pissed after they sent Hart to the Knicks last year only to watch him make 51% from deep. That pro’ly won’t happen again, but If the aggression and shooting he showed last night is here to stay, the Knicks will feel better about themselves heading into the postseason. If Hart’s mouth is any indication of his confidence, there’s reason for hope.
Subplots of note: Hartenstein putting up 7/7/9 in 29 minutes, only the second time he’s played that many in two months, and Donte DiVincenzo, Miles McBride and Bogdanović combining to shoot 10-of-22 shooting from deep. Willing to go out on a limb and say that’s the best-shooting night the Knicks have ever had from three players with alliterative names.
We’re in the stretch run now, with the next game tonight in Chicago. For so long now Knick fans have been trying to do the math in our heads of who this team will be come playoff time. The Randle news robs them of their best look and us of our biggest dreams. Last night we saw the license that exists once limitations are defined. These Knicks have been delivering the same message to the league for a while now – don’t worry about who we aren’t. Worry about who we are.
