On Monday, the Knicks (26*-18) were embarrassed by the Dallas Mavericks in their fourth-straight loss. That capped an awful 2-9 stretch that had us reeling. Dropping another one, to the Brooklyn Nets (12-30) no less, would have unleashed madness and mayhem upon the city. Thus, obliged to do their civic duty, New York opened up their biggest can of whup-ass of the season (apparently ever) and pulverized Brooklyn at Madison Square Garden, 120-66.
That, my friends, is a record for New York—the largest margin of victory in team history.
The Knicks finally started a game with fire and desire. It’s been weeks since they played with such intensity of pace and defense. Led by Karl-Anthony Towns, they attacked Brooklyn’s front court relentlessly; of their first 18 points, eight came in the paint and five from the free throw line. By the middle of the frame, they had held the Nets to six points and ripped off 14 unanswered points.
Through the quarter, Jalen Brunson scored 11 points and set the pace for the starting five. New York got nice bench support, too. Mitchell Robinson was a monster, recording four rebounds, three points, a steal, and a block in five minutes, while Landry Shamet made both three-point attempts, then added a steal and an assist. New York shot 67% from the floor, crushed the glass (14–5), and moved the ball well (nine assists). Their rivals tried a diet of long, contested threes and missed 67% of them. When 12 minutes were up, New York sat on a 38-20 lead.
In Q2, the thrashing continued as the home team went up by 27 and never let Brooklyn get within 15. Focused defense forced the Nets into seven first-half turnovers and squandered possessions. Michael Porter, Jr. supplied a three, a layup, and a trip to the line, but that was the extent of an offense that managed just 18 points in the quarter. Robinson returned to the fray for six more minutes of hellraising, while Bridges played an active role on both ends of the court. Completing their best defensive first half of the year, New York entered intermission ahead, 59–38.
Through the half, Brooklyn converted barely a third of their shots, while the Knicks shot 55% overall and 50% from deep. The home team ruled the backboard (outrebounding the Nets 28–16), won the paint 22–14, and had a 14–4 edge in fast-break points. Time and again, they attacked before the Nets could set their defense and looked vastly more engaged than they did on Monday. Brunson led all scorers with 12 points, and Porter had nine for the villains.
Proving their first half energy was no fluke, the ‘Bockers came banging out of the locker room with a 10-6 run to reach 70 points. By the middle of the frame, they’d gone up by 30. A little later, it was 37. Ziaire Williams scored five straight for Brooklyn while the Knicks caught their breath, but our heroes still carried an 88-56 advantage into the final frame.
A 16-0 stretch to start the fourth gave New York a 48-point lead, their largest of not just the night, not just the season, but in franchise history. Some of those points came from Shamet, who made all six of his three-point attempts tonight. Meanwhile, Brooklyn missed their first eight shots of the quarter and, with seven minutes to go, they looked impatient for the buzzer. Tyrese Martin hit a 31-foot three, Day’Ron Sharpe chipped in with two free throws, Terrence Mann scored a layup, and Danny Wolf drained a longball as the clock wound down. That’s it. Those were the only Nets buckets in a fourth quarter that New York won 32-10.
Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 20 points and five assists. Towns was a force in limited minutes, pouring in 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting while grabbing eight rebounds. Josh Hart delivered one of his most complete all-around games—11 points on a perfect 5-for-5 and nine rebounds—while Mikal Bridges pitched in 11 points and four assists. OG Anunoby didn’t need to score much but finished a +28.
Everybody got the memo! New York’s bench showed up, too. Miles McBride exploded for 14 points, four assists, and a game-best +34. Shamet delivered 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting and scorching from deep. Mitch controlled the paint with seven points, seven rebounds, and two blocks, while Mohamed Diawara provided some good minutes, too.
KAT had committed five fouls in each of his last four games. Consider that streak over. And so ends the skid! With tonight’s win, the Knicks snapped a four-game losing streak and avoided a nuclear meltdown. Up next, Professor Miranda will summon his brilliance to the page for you lucky bums. As for New York, they’ll travel to Philadelphia for a matinee on Saturday. Storm’s comin’. Safe travels, Knickerbockers.
* Should be one more, but the Cup final doesn’t count.
