The Deuce Is Loose

Miles McBride powers the shorthanded Knicks to a much-needed victory.

Game Recap: Knicks beat the Rockets, 116-103

There is so much negative news in the world right now. We are seemingly inundated with a tsunami of ominous information on a daily basis. Even sports, which we often use as an escape hatch, has frequently been unable to provide shelter from a storm of late, as every other tweet from Woj or Shams is about another star player testing positive for Covid-19. 

For that reason, I think it's crucial for our collective mental health to celebrate small victories. Smile at dumb memes if they are funny. Retweet cool dunks. When possible, spread joy on your timeline. 

In the grand scheme of things, a basketball game is meaningless. Especially one played on a random Thursday night in December. But the Knicks had lost four straight contests and the 2021-22 season seemed to be slipping away. The team desperately needed a victory to buoy their hopes, as did the franchise's fans. So, while it would be foolish to overreact to a win against an undermanned Houston team ten games below .500, there's also absolutely nothing wrong with enjoying a hard-earned victory by your favorite team.

Furthermore, some wins hold more weight than others due to the way the victory was secured.

Last night, for instance, was a coming-out party for Miles "Deuce" McBride. Playing the first meaningful, extended minutes of his young career, the rookie out of West Virginia scored 15 points (on 6-of-11 shooting) and dished out nine assists (vs. zero turnovers) to go along with four steals, three boards and two triples across 36 minutes in Thursday's win.

McBride was brilliant in the first half, tallying 11 points and competing tenaciously on the defensive end. Then, at the start of the third quarter, we learned that Derrick Rose was dealing with a sore right ankle and had been ruled out. Coach Tom Thibodeau decided to lean heavily on McBride, playing the youngster the entirety of the second half. 

Deuce did not disappoint, leading NY to the easy win. In the process, McBride joined former ROY Mark Jackson as just the second rookie in Knicks franchise history to tally at least nine assists and four steals without committing a single turnover. In fact, according to Basketball-Reference, McBride is just the fourth rookie in NBA history with 15/9/4 and no turnovers in the same game, and the first player ever to notch those numbers in one of the first ten games of his career.