The Knicks returned to the scene of their opening night defeat and pulled out an exhilarating win behind strong play from RJ Barrett, Mitchell Robinson, and more. Jon Schulman recaps the game that got the Knicks back to .500 (again).

The season is still young and Tom Thibodeau’s minutes distribution could chip some of the paint off by games 15-20, but for now we’re starting to see this young team learn how the light and shadow plays in the room. After an opening night loss to the Pacers, New York came back and scraped out a tight one. With the game in the balance, the Knicks starched up their defense knickers and drove the Pacers into the pit. Two critical defensive plays by Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson turned into buckets and sealed a rugged affair that was sloppily officiated.

Whatever unruliness has gotten into Julius, it has been a wondrous development. His intensity has helped set up the dominoes for a team that is unwavering. The help on the front line has given Mitchell’s impact some much-needed assistance around the rim, as evidenced by the 51-32 rebounding edge.

Coupling that top-down identity with Thibodeau’s willingness to rotate the rotation — feeding the hungry, benching the sick — has put an exciting team on the floor, despite their flaws. Things still sputter from time to time, but a little kick start will get them rolling again in no time. The schedule only gets harder, but the Knicks are looking like an annoying team to face these days, as opposed to a team you can sleep in for as you dawdle to a 20-point road win.

Notes

• RJ Barrett found his form tonight, going 4-5 from deep and 5-6 at the line. In total, 25 points from Barrett, who has to find a medium one of these days and dig out some consistency from there. The good news is that Randle made the effort to consistently seek RJ, barreling into the lane and firing it to him with no hesitation. It likely helps when the other weak side “shooter” is Elfrid Payton, but getting rid of the ball to hit the open man is a better decision 95% of the time. Good on RJ for capitalizing; taking good looks and seeking out better shots when the defense tried to get their hooks in him.

• One good thing about Randle skipping Elf to hit RJ that’s nice is: at least Payton is preserving the space to be an option as opposed to cutting in over the top of the driver, crunching the space and adding a set of arms to the passing lane.

• Tonight’s cash injections were courtesy of Austin Rivers and Immanuel Quickley who, together, connected on 4-8 from deep and added a speediness that isn’t available otherwise. The threat of their shooting also allows them to cut their way into the paint. Too many turnovers for their limited minutes.

• Minutes watch: RJ (38 MPG) got 42 and Julius (37.7 MPG) got 37 tonight. They are currently the league leader and tied for two in minutes per game, respectively. Thibs is known for his drip dry technique, leaving guys out on the line, until they have to be brought in. Is that going to be the killer by the end of this flick? The next in line for minutes is Reggie Bullock with 30.3 per.

• With Rivers and Quickley back in the mix, Thibs immediately expanded his rotation from eight to nine. When Alec Burks returns, it should logically expand to ten. When Frank Ntilikina returns… well, he’ll have to obliterate everyone on the practice court and then bring that same heat to game days.

• About the minutes distribution, Thibs seems tied to whoever is performing. He coached this game like a man desperate to win every possession. Switching offense/defense, getting a free throw lineup to try and ice the game — even trusting the rookie, Quickley, to be the guy the out of bounds plays were drawn for. He also yanked Bullock at the end for Austin Rivers.

• All night, the Pacers did a good job heating up the ball, and Elfrid just didn’t want to be a scoring threat. On the other end, Malcolm Brogdon loved this matchup. Calmly taking advantage of Payton time and again. No problems, just shuffle around a screen and putter into a three. Jab step to scare the devil out of Elf then calmly raise up at the top of the key. Casually curl around a pick and do the Rockaway into a floater. Brogdon also had no trouble finding space off the catch to launch freely, with Elf hanging too far off.

• Something switched at halftime. Elfrid came out and burned the Pacers in the paint. Going right at Domantas Sabonis every time and getting five buckets in the paint, in the third quarter alone, including a pair of and-1’s. A little trickle of something.

• This play stuck out in particular, because I love the transition swing to the hit ahead by Randle, leading into some pistol action. That minimal amount of togetherness engages two defenders ball side, and as Payton drives, it pulls Sabonis off Randle several steps. The whole time, Sabonis is waiting for his chance to retreat back to Randle, and the Payton ball fake shakes him off for an easy floater. If the Knicks aren’t going to be a lights-out shooting club, they’ll need to apply pressure as quickly as they can to get easy looks. If you keep seeking, you’ll find a crack in the dam.

• Speaking of waterworks, Mitchell Robinson had a “nature break” according to Clyde Frazier. I always called it a natural break, but Clyde has a way with words. Mike Breen seemed to have not heard of such an event, is he not a broadcaster?

• More Mitch: Five tip-ins in the first half, the guy is a menace on the offensive glass. The effort to get there seemed a little more concerted, perhaps Robinson was not worried about beating Myles Turner back down the floor. He also didn’t seem concerned with him behind the arc, granting Turner as many looks as he could get. Maybe if Turner ultimately beats you shooting 3-9 from deep with gobs of space, thats the plan you’re happy to live with.

• Despite getting a late hook, Bullock’s defense has been solid, if unspectacular. That plus the threat of his shooting (whether you believe in it or not) has opened the court just a twinge, and the Knicks desperately need any amount of spacing they can get.

• The combination of Rivers and Burks adds a lot more spacing and intuitive creation than Marcus Morris did as a small forward. Don’t let people criticize these additions when you talk Knicks with them. Not to mention the dollar difference, this new duo makes a ton of sense. Just gotta keep ‘em healthy.

• Kevin Knox is on the verge of being a perfectly legitimate rotation player. He isn’t doing anything astounding, I wouldn’t want to press him into a starting role. But he is doing a lot of stuff on the margins that helps you win possessions.

• As the Pacers played zone, Knox made an effort to move to the open middle and he generated a decent look off of it. Knox also gave Brogdon a little more trouble than Payton did, using his length to stay connected and force up tougher shots.

• Austin Rivers had three turnovers. Two were awful passes, one was… not a turnover?

• IQ is drawing fouls like a man possessed. He does an excellent job pressing tight up to screeners to snake a pick and roll, then feels for contact and uses the defender’s momentum against them. He also gave TJ McConnell a taste of his own medicine, excitedly picking him up for 94 feet. Quick brings the gusto and exuberance to keep the second unit rocking.

• Thibs got his first tech as head coach of the Knicks. New York had a four point lead at the time with 69 points. Very nice. 

That Randle steal and slam to give the Knicks a four point lead with 90 seconds left is part of the KP trade.

This win is definitely dedicated to RJ Barrett being a supervillain in Indianapolis. Next game is Monday against the Hawks, another young team. Can the Knicks get above .500? Tune in next time, crime starters!