Nets 111, Knicks 106: It can always get worse
In the latest of rock bottoms reached by the New York Knicks this season, they blew a 28-point lead at home to a depleted Brooklyn Nets team and lost the contest, 111-106.
I didn’t pay to watch Wednesday night’s game.
In fact, I was paid to watch it, if you think about it.
For three hours out of my nine-hour shift at work, I was glued to the television behind the bar, as I managed the restaurant for what was (thankfully) a slower evening and dinner service.
But you know what? I still want my fucking money back.
The latest 20-plus point lead lost by the New York Knicks was inarguably the most embarrassing, given that it came against a Ben Simmons/Kevin Durant/Kyrie Irving-less Brooklyn Nets team, and on both national television as well as their home court at Madison Square Garden.
Julius Randle and company walked into this game in desperate need of a win prior to the NBA’s All-Star break. And for a moment, it looked like they might get one.
New York came out in the first quarter firing, particularly from three.
Randle and rookie Quentin Grimes combined for 16 points on 6-6 shooting from the field, and 4-4 shooting from deep to help the Knicks out to a 26-13 lead.
They were playing with pace, not hesitating on their open jumpers, and keeping Brooklyn honest on the defensive end, playing some of their best basketball this season.
Grimes himself scored eight points in the first quarter, flashing every bit of potential that lead to him being considered untouchable in New York’s trade talks with Atlanta for Cam Reddish.
That’s an absolutely filthy move by Kemba Walker there — the handle and the pass.
Amongst the remaining highlights from the first 12 minutes was this steal off the inbounds pass and subsequent make from deep by Immanuel Quickley.
With no resistance from the Nets, the Knicks finished the first quarter with a 38-18 lead.
They hit on eight attempts from deep and held Brooklyn to 22% shooting from the field — two things that, if upheld, likely would have seen this one turn out differently.
The second quarter followed suit, with the Nets missing a bunch, and the Knicks, well, not.
Except for this next 12-minute stretch, it was the kids who led the way, not the starting five.
New York walked into the break with a 21-point lead, after leading by as many as 28.
Yet while the vibes were high, those of us who’d seen this film before made sure to filter some skepticism into our halftime hopes.
All leads are meant to be lost, after all, aren’t they? Or is it just this team that does that?
Unfortunately, we were right to do so.
Brooklyn opened the third quarter with 14 points to the Knicks’ four, and six of those coming from newest addition Seth Curry, who hit two quick threes.
Head coach Tom Thibodeau responded with plenty of Kemba Walker and Taj Gibson – which five years ago would have been a worthwhile countermeasure.
In Thibs’ defense regarding Taj, Mitchell Robinson collected his fourth foul within seconds of the second half’s start, so in his mind, he had to play Gibson. As for Kemba… we’ll get to that later.
It took the Nets just six minutes to bring the deficit to single digits, and it was, bizarrely, Taj who got them there.
But with Quickley back in the game, New York was able to steady the ship.
After surviving their hiccups in the third, the Knicks entered the fourth with an 87-73 lead.
Quickley continued his masterclass to jump things off, with this lob pass to Robinson.
This is the last highlight tweeted by the New York Knicks’ team account on Twitter. They didn’t clip anything from the final 11 minutes of this game.
Because, well, Cam Thomas happened.
The rookie guard scored 16 of his 21 points on the night in the fourth quarter, including this 3-pointer with seconds remaining to put New York away on their home court.
Their latest loss is the Knicks’ third game in which they’ve blown a lead of 20 or more points and lost the contest. Not on the season, however. That’s just in the last 11 days.
Unacceptable.
Notes
Julius Randle continues to play improved basketball. He finished with 31 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and one steal. This was only his sixth game with four or more makes from downtown this season, and his first since the Christmas Day win over the Atlanta Hawks. He had 16 games meeting that criteria last year. Randle is averaging 27.7 points, 12.7 rebounds, and 7.1 assists in the month of February. But the fact that the Knicks have won just one game out of seven this month shouldn’t go unnoticed.
Immanuel Quickley — welcome back. The young POINT GUARD put together one of his best games of the season with 18 points, six rebounds, four assists, and one steal.
That being said, Tom Thibodeau’s refusal to play him from the 5:57 minute mark of the fourth quarter until the 1:16 minute mark very well cost the Knicks this game. Quickley had been New York’s engine in this one, and without him, their offense went flat. Brooklyn outscored them 13 points to four during the stretch he sat on the bench.
Seth Curry was a great pickup for a Brooklyn Nets team that, whether this year or the next, should be right back in the title conversation despite trading James Harden. He knocked down six of his nine attempts from deep on Wednesday and is shooting a better 3-point clip (39%) than his older brother (38%) on the season.
Mitchell Robinson remains an enigma. Despite grabbing seven rebounds and collecting three blocks and a steal, he couldn’t have been any less engaged in this one. The inconsistency in his game should headline any conversations about a potential extension this summer between the Knicks and his agent.
Quentin Grimes was as solid as they come. He continues to campaign for a starting job (Evan Fournier’s specifically) for whenever RJ Barrett makes his return. Grimes’ eight points all came in the first quarter, but his defense kept him on the floor for 32 minutes.
This loss brings the Knicks’ record to 25-34 on the season with 23 games to go. FiveThirtyEight projects them to finish with 34 wins total and is giving them a 0.9% chance at making the playoffs. Somehow, both numbers feel generous right now.
Alec Burks, Evan Fournier, Kemba Walker, and Taj Gibson combined to score 34 points on 12-35 (34%) shooting from the field. They each played 20-plus minutes in this one, which leads me to my next (and final) point.
Tom Thibodeau’s officially overstayed his welcome in New York. As someone who lobbied for him during a majority of the lower points this season, even I can no longer argue with what the eye test is confirming — his personnel decisions and rotations are costing the Knicks not only the games in which they’re taking place, but in some ways are also damning the bright future of both the team and its younger prospects. Why is Miles McBride, who Thibodeau lobbied for in the 2021 NBA Draft, putting on windmill dunks en route to dominating any and everyone who crosses him in the G League? Was it actually detrimental to the team that Obi Toppin recorded all of eight points, four rebounds, an assist, and a block in just 10 minutes of play? Why did Jericho Sims log zero minutes on a night where Taj Gibson had to play 25? Did he really watch Immanuel Quickley’s spirited return to form and think that Alec Burks would offer the team more down the stretch of a game that was quickly getting away from them? And as much as Cam Reddish has often looked very unpolished since arriving, why is he being frozen out on offense, left standing in the corners for entire possessions, as one of the team’s best shot creators and leaders in free throw attempts?
This loss to a depleted Brooklyn Nets team should be the ultimate reminder for a New York Knicks team on a perpetual downhill slide that it can always get worse.
But from here, I’m not sure what worse even looks like.
