The King Holds Court as the Knicks Lose Another Game at MSG
Jalen Brunson had earned the right to take the final shot last night. He earned it through his clutch play over the previous few minutes of that game (and this year) and by drawing that charge on AD.
With less than ten seconds remaining in overtime and the Knicks down six points, Jalen Brunson chased down Dennis Schroder to foul him after the Lakers inbounded the ball into the backcourt. As the other nine players on the floor made their way to the other end for the subsequent free throws, Brunson lingered by the opposite baseline, bent over at the knees and breathing heavily, finally succumbing to a taxing combination of exhaustion, frustration and disappointment.
How did we get here, you might ask? Well, let's start at the beginning…
The Knicks once again got off to a sluggish start on Tuesday night, scoring just five points in the first 7+ minutes of the game, allowing the Lakers to jump out to a double-digit lead halfway through the opening quarter.
This is the second straight contest New York has stumbled out of the gate. After Saturday's disappointing defeat in Brooklyn, Julius Randle told reporters the team wasn't prepared to fight from the opening tip. "I just think we weren't ready for some reason," Randle said Saturday. "No sense of urgency on both ends of the floor, defensively closing out the shooters, and offensively our spacing wasn't good from the beginning." Coach Tom Thibodeau also acknowledged that he didn't "know if we weren't quite ready."
As we know, the Knicks have a limited margin for error. They can't continue to come out flat.
However, the insertion of Immanuel Quickley and Isaiah Hartenstein shifted the energy level and changed the game in New York's favor on Tuesday. The Knicks cut the deficit in half by the end of the first and tied the score 29-29 less than two minutes into the second quarter.
Near the end of the half, New York had built an eight-point advantage, their largest of the game. Yet, LA outscored the Knicks in the third quarter and went up by seven halfway through the final frame. To their credit, New York battled back, despite not being able to knock down wide-open three-pointers.
Brunson did all he could down the stretch. He was 4-of-4 from the free-throw stripe in the final six minutes, and with the Knicks down six and 1:30 remaining in regulation, JB hit a driving layup. With just under a minute left, Brunson hit Grimes for a layup of his own to bring the Knicks within two points.
On New York's next offensive possession, Brunson drained a floater in the paint to even the match at 114 apiece.
The Knicks still need a stop to give themselves a chance to win, and guess who stepped up, literally. As Anthony Davis drove across the lane, Brunson slid over from the weak side help position and drew an incredibly gutsy charge on AD. The Garden erupted.
New York had the ball with 4.5 seconds remaining in a tie ballgame. The Knicks huddled up. Thibs would draw up a play to get the ball in Brunson's hands, right?
Wrong.
The play was designed for Randle to catch the ball 30 feet from the basket and isolate against 6'10" Anthony Davis, long considered one of the NBA's best defensive bigs. Despite Lebron leaving Brunson to come to double the ball, Randle decided to drive baseline against James and Davis. Unsrisunplgly, AD closed off the drive, forcing Randle to pivot away from the hoop, which ate up too much time. Inexplicably, and inexcusably, the Knicks didn't even get off a shot.
New York, having lost momentum, would go on to lose 129-123 in overtime.
After the game, much of the fans' ire was directed at the failure of that final play, and understandably so.
Not only had Brunson just drawn one of the most audacious charges you'll ever see, but he had also been far more efficient and effective than Randle in this game. Julius was 6-of-19 from the floor on the night heading into that final possession. Brunson had made back-to-back buckets and would finish the night with a game-high 37 points.
Moreover, Brunson has been infinitely better in late-game situations all year long.
In 2022-23, both Brunson and Randle have played approximately 120 "clutch" minutes (defined by the NBA as a point differential of five points or less within five or fewer minutes remaining).
Here are the stats for both players in those 120 minutes of action this season:
Brunson has scored 105 points (while shooting 47% from the floor, 39% from downtown and 84% from the free throw line) and has 12 assists vs. just three turnovers.
Randle has scored 56 points (while shooting 27% from the floor, 23% from downtown and 73% from the free-throw line) and has 13 assists vs. 11 turnovers.
The bottom line is Brunson had earned the right to take the final shot on National TV vs. the Lakers last night.
Brunson earned it through his clutch play over the previous few minutes of that game. And through his clutch play over the previous few months. He earned it by drawing a game-saving charge on Anthony Davis a few seconds earlier.
Even if Thibs, for whatever reason, didn't like the matchup of LeBron on Brunson, run some action (ANY ACTION!) to create space or a scoring opportunity. Have Brunson drag LeBron into a pick-and-roll with IQ, maybe?
On that final possession (in which iHart and Grimes were simply standing and watching from the far corner), Randle should have fed Brunson as soon as LeBron came to double.
But we know from 3+ years of experience that Randle does not shine in those situations. He over-dribbles and doesn't see the floor well. So while Randle deserves blame, it's the head coach's responsibility to put his players in a position to succeed. Thibs didn't do that. And it's not the first time Thibs' lack of X-and-O acumen has bitten the Knicks in the butt.
(One other issue related to the Randle-Brunson dynamic. When the Lakers were called for a three-second violation early in the first quarter, Randle stepped to the stipe to take the technical free throw. Randle is shooting below 75% from the free-throw stripe this season. Brunson, who made 33 FTs in a row early this year, is shooting over 85% from the line. Brunosn should take every technical FT when he's on the floor. If Randle has a problem with that, Thibs has to step in and resolve it.)
About Last Night:
🏀 Quickley finished with 19 points (6-of-12 FGs, 5-of-6 FTs), three rebounds, a team-high eight assists, one steal, and two 3-pointers in 39 minutes in Tuesday's loss. As noted above, the whole tenor of the game changed when he checked in. It is important to keep noting how incredibly valuable IQ is to this team.
🏀 On the other end of the spectrum, RJ Barrett shot just 5-of-13 from the field, ending with 13 points, three rebounds and two assists. As inefficient as he was offensively, RJ was worse on the defensive end, allowing several straight-line drives. Barrett sat the last 11:51 of action (including overtime) and declined to speak to the media after the game. We'll see if this develops into a bigger issue next time RJ addresses the media but sitting Barrett was 100% the correct call by Thibs. You could argue that Barrett should have eaten into some of Grimes' minutes because Grimes missed some open looks again, but there was no way RJ should've replaced IQ. The defense Thibs gets from Quickley and Grimes is imperative late in games. At some point, we might have to talk about whether or not Barrett is better suited to serve as the Knicks' sixth man - but that's a complicated conversation for another day.
🏀 I love the complete game Grimes brings to the table (he had another incredible dish to iHart off a drive in the 4Q last night), but he has got to start making open shots. Over the Knicks' past five games, Grimes is 18-of-37 from the floor (38%) and 7-of-31 from downtown (23%). During this stretch, he has missed eight of his nine 3PT attempts in the 4th quarter or OT. It seems he has had at least one back-breaking miss each game.
🏀 Isaiah Hartenstein's turnaround of late has been remarkable. He logged a season-high 40 minutes vs. the Lakers, tallying 16 points (7-of-10 FGs, 2-of-2 FTs) and 13 rebounds. Over his last four games, iHart is averaging 8.0 points and 8.3 boards while shooting 73.7%. On the flip side of the coin, Hartenstein was on the floor for 40 minutes Tuesday because Jericho Sims was completely outclassed. Sims was a -16 in his 13 minutes.
🏀 Obi Toppin logged less than ten minutes once again. It's becoming clearer by the day New York should trade him before the deadline if they can get value in return. There's no place in NY for Toppin with Randle/Thibs in the picture.
🏀 Obi's lone bucket of the night was a three-pointer from the corner with 2:30 left in the third quarter. Incredibly, that would be the last three-pointer the Knicks made the entire night. New York missed the final ten treys they attempted over the final 19:30, including overtime. Very hard to win basketball games like that.
🏀 New York is back in action Thursday night when they host the Heat. Miami's impressive road victory over the Cavs on Tuesday, coupled with the Knicks' loss, pushed the Heat two games ahead of NY in the East standings. Thursday's game is the first of four contests between these two teams over the two months. If the Knicks hope to capture the sixth seed, they probably need to win three of these four games.
🏀 Only two of the Knicks' next 14 opponents have a losing record, and those two teams are the suddenly surging Magic and Wizards (who own the NBA's longest current win streak at six in a row). Eight of NY's next 12 are at home, but the Knicks are two games below .500 at MSG this season.
🏀 That LeBron James guy is pretty good, huh? James racked up 28 points, 11 assists, and ten rebounds vs. New York, becoming the first player in NBA history to record a triple-double in his 20th season (or later). Oh, and LeBron, who will become the NBA's all-time leading scorer in a few days (he's just 89 points behind Kareem), moved into fourth place on the NBA's all-time assists list, passing both Mark Jackson and Steve Nash on Tuesday.
Inexcusable last play in regulation. Randle has played great but IMO, he has an ego that marches to “legend in his own mind”. Does Brunson ream him out in the locker room after the game? I hope so. Randle needs to understand he needs to be a team player, he thinks he is but he really isn’t. Unfortunately, Thibs keeps reinforcing it. I agree about trading Obi but, honestly, the best one to dump is Julius Randle.