Kristian Winfield: Karl-Anthony Towns posts triple-double as Jalen Brunson-less Knicks snap 3-game skid
· Yahoo Sports
With one second left in the third quarter of Wednesday’s road matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies, the Knicks ran an after-timeout (ATO) inbounds play that in many ways encapsulated their entire season under coach Mike Brown: Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns cut to the same place outside the 3-point line, Tyler Kolek was a second late finding Landry Shamet open under the rim, and by the time Kolek saw Shamet, the closest defender applied enough pressure for the play to result in the most appropriate manner:
A wedgie at the buzzer.
Visit grenadier.co.za for more information.
The Knicks went on to defeat the tanking, depleted Grizzlies handily, a 130-119 win good enough to snap a depressing three-game losing streak against the Charlotte Hornets, Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder. But it’s clear this Knicks team is all out of sorts.
And with just five more games on the regular-season schedule before the win-loss column reverts back to 0-0, they’re running out of time to find the type of championship form capable of propelling the franchise to its first NBA Finals appearance this century.
It’s a carbon copy of the dialogue that surrounded last season’s team under Tom Thibodeau before the Knicks — almost miraculously — survived a first-round playoff series against the Detroit Pistons, stunned the Boston Celtics in the second round courtesy of a pair of series-opening 20-point comebacks, then fell short and had their flaws exposed in the Eastern Conference finals against the Indiana Pacers.
That might be the saving grace for this Knicks team, on pace to crack 50 wins for a third season in a row and tie or surpass Thibodeau’s mark of 51 victories last year.
And Wednesday night was a step in the right direction. Because with Jalen Brunson sidelined due to ankle soreness, the Knicks — and largely Josh Hart — aggressively sought Towns on the offensive end. As a result, Towns triple-doubled for the fourth time in his career, his second time with the Knicks, both instances occurring in games Brunson has missed due to injury.
Towns finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists and seven turnovers in 29 minutes of action on Wednesday. He has 38 points over his last six quarters. It’s a drastic, but necessary turn of events for an underutilized star who took just 17 shots combined in the losses to Charlotte and OKC, then just two shots in the first quarter of Tuesday’s loss in Houston.
The Knicks led by as many as 22 points in the second quarter, as expected against a Memphis team with most of its opening night rotation
With Robinson sidelined, however, the Knicks struggled in minutes Towns spent on the bench, particularly minutes in the head coach Mike Brown’s decision to go center-less in the third quarter. Brown went to a lineup with OG Anunoby at the five with Jose Alvarado, Josh Hart, Landry Shamet and Mikal Bridges alongside him.
Memphis cut New York’s 22-point lead to nine four minutes into the third. The Grizzlies went on to make it a three-point game with three minutes left in the third quarter before Shamet nailed a 3 to make it 93-87.
Shamet was fouled on the play and missed the and-one free throw, but second-year backup big man Ariel Hukporti grabbed the offensive rebound to create a second shot opportunity.
Shamet missed the ensuing 3, but the possession opened the floodgates. The Knicks grabbed three offensive rebounds their next trip down the floor, then forced a turnover. In the blink of an eye, the Knicks were back up 10, courtesy of a 7-0 run to close the third quarter, before Cedric Coward made a 3 with under a minute to go. The Knicks took a 99-90 lead into the fourth quarter.
OG Anunoby scored a game-high 25 points, Mikal Bridges added 24 points and Shamet, in his first game back on the court since March 20, scored 13 points in 31 minutes off the bench.
All five Grizzlies starters scored in double figures.
The Knicks now have five games left on their regular-season schedule. They play the Chicago Bulls (29-46) on Friday, then get two days of rest — and another much-needed practice — before traveling to Atlanta to face the No. 5 Hawks on Monday. They will then close out the season with a three-game home stand: a Thursday-Friday back-to-back against the No. 2 Boston Celtics (51-25) and No. 6 Toronto Raptors before the April 12 season finale against the No. 8 Hornets.