The New York Knicks defeated the Orlando Magic 102-98. Jalen Brunson, Julius Randle, and Immanuel Quickley came to the rescue!
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The New York Knicks spent most of the night trailing but staged a fourth-quarter comeback to beat the Orlando Magic 102 to 98. The Magic pressed ball handlers early and often, forcing the ball out of Jalen Brunson’s hands. The Knicks struggled with this look early, turning the ball over and going through cold stretches. Through three quarters, the Knicks’ only lead was 2 points off the game’s first basket.
But the second unit provided a spark. They mounted a comeback from the end of the third to the middle of the fourth. And by the time Jalen Brunson and the rest of the starters returned to the floor, New York was protecting a slim lead. They closed the game strong by making their free throws and hanging on.
Let’s take a closer look at the Knicks’ victory through the efforts of each player.
Jalen Brunson and the starters closed strong
Jalen Brunson: 25 PTS (9/13 FG, 3/6 3PT, 4/5 FT), 5 AST, 2 REB, 2 STL, 1 TO in 39 mins
The Magic attacked Jalen Brunson by pressuring him above the three-point line and with early double-teams. That forced Brunson to get rid of the ball faster. In this scenario, the offense floundered for a while. But eventually, his teammates began moving the defense and getting the ball back to him with more space to attack individual defenders.
And once Brunson had opportunities to attack individual defenders, it stopped mattering who was in front of him. Brunson stepped into threes against bigs that gave him space and put smaller defenders in a blender near the rim. He picked apart a Magic team loaded with defensive talent; his onslaught included buckets and dimes that kept and built the lead in crunch time.
Brunson ran into defensive issues against Markelle Fultz. But I’ll let it slide because Fultz got buckets through switches on Quentin Grimes and Immanuel Quickley as well. The Magic forced Brunson to move the ball early and wait to attack, but he trusted his teammates, and it worked out. Brunson gets a 4.5 out of 5 because the Magic focused on but couldn’t contain New York’s lead guard.
Quentin Grimes: 9 PTS (4/8 FG, 1/4 3PT), 1 AST, 4 REB, 1 BLK, 2 TO in 30 mins
Quentin Grimes might have lost faith in his jumper (he made only one of his three-point attempts), but he put together a productive night using his pump fake and drive tactic. Grimes had space to launch a few more threes but passed up the opportunities. He still found middling success thanks to his quick first step, but he also turned the ball over or gave it to teammates without much time to act.
I’m not sure why Grimes spent more time on Gary Harris than Franz Wagner, considering Wagner gave RJ Barrett trouble. Maybe the Knicks felt that Wagner had too much size for Grimes. Either way, New York’s sophomore defender didn’t get as many opportunities to stand out as he usually does.
I’d like to see Grimes continue to shoot when he’s got space. His ability to beat defenders with straight-line drives is fantastic, but the spacing will suffer if that’s all he relies on. We got an inkling of that in his muted numbers last night, although he still played a solid game. Grimes receives a 2.5 out of 5 for a decent performance.
RJ Barrett: 15 PTS (5/16 FG, 3/8 3PT, 2/4 FT), 3 AST, 2 REB, 1 STL in 35 mins
Through three quarters, RJ Barrett was on track for a nightmare outing. The Magic’s pressure on Brunson and Randle put a spotlight on Barrett early. RJ received multiple opportunities to shoot in space or drive at weak side defenders, and the Maple Mamba failed to convert. By the third quarter, Barrett looked hesitant on his jumper but managed to knock down his first three-pointer.
Then by the fourth, Barrett opened the quarter by firing a wayward three that somehow banked in. That seemed to spark his confidence, and clutch-Barrett arrived. RJ would knock down another pair of baskets and find Jericho Sims on a lob. Barrett found his rhythm with the second unit, helping them take the lead that New York would keep until regulation ended.
I won’t linger on the fact that Barrett had another tough night defensively. New York can deal with his streaky offense, but he has to improve as a defender on a night-to-night basis. That said, his bounce back on offense was commendable. He came up big when it counted most, salvaging an otherwise awful night to finish with a 2 out of 5 for impact.
Julius Randle: 22 PTS (7/15 FG, 4/10 3PT, 4/6 FT), 6 AST, 14 REB, 4 TO in 34 mins
Julius Randle got extra work on-ball, thanks to the Magic’s pressure on Jalen Brunson. As a result, he received more looks in space, responding with 4 three-pointers and some excellent face-up finishes. Randle also threw his share of nice passes, but the extra touches also led to some ugly turnovers. But we know that about Randle, he’ll produce with more usage, but his efficiency starts to slip.
I wouldn’t blame Knicks fans for becoming spoiled by Julius Randle’s rebounding. We practically expect a double-double from the big man these days. But his 14 rebounds against Orlando’s super-sized rotation is an impressive feat. The Knicks won the rebounding battle 43-41, showing Randle’s importance on the glass.
While Brunson was forced off the ball and RJ struggled, Randle felt like the steady hand of the offense. He seemed to make plays in a timely fashion amid scoring streaks for everyone else. Randle’s evolution has been fun to watch, as he’s gone from a ticking time bomb last season to a reliable leader this year. However, in this game, he lost his cool for a second but composed himself and finished strong. Randle gets a 3.5 out of 5 for another solid performance.
Jericho Sims: 8 PTS (4/5 FG, 0/1 3PT), 1 AST, 9 REB, 2 STL, 2 TO in 35 mins
Jericho Sims has had it rough lately. He’s struggled with defensive match-ups and foul trouble, relying on Isaiah Hartenstein to lead the center spot. So it was nice to see Sims step up on a night that Hart struggled.
Hartenstein’s foul trouble pushed Sims into long stints on the floor against Paolo Banchero and some athletic bigs behind him. But Sims looked brawny and more mobile than all of them. Sims shut down Mo Wagner’s fourth-quarter scoring run, then went a run of his own with offensive putbacks, alley-oop dunks, and a late baseline finish that sealed New York’s victory.
There are two reasons why we can be patient with Sims’ development. One is that he’ll always have more sound players covering the center role while he sits, thanks to Mitch and Hart. The second is that Sims gives us some tantalizing performances, like his fourth quarter against Orlando. The kid is a ridiculous athlete in a giant’s body and gets a 2.5 out of 5 for barely missing the double-double.
IQ returns to the second unit and gives it an edge
Miles McBride: 0 PTS (0/2 FG, 0/1 3PT) in 9 mins
Miles McBride didn’t knock down his looks from the field. That meant quick hooks in both halves, with just 4 minutes in the first and 5 in the second. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough time to take any important notes about the performance.
Immanuel Quickley: 18 PTS (7/15 FG, 4/9 3PT), 4 AST, 3 REB, 1 STL in 32 mins
Immanuel Quickley stepped up as a defacto third-option while RJ struggled and Grimes hesitated on jumpers. Quickley’s three-point shot was locked in, and he continually punished the Magic for overextending their help defense. If he wasn’t hitting the three, he was attacking closeouts with floaters or drive and kicks.
IQ’s return to the second unit allowed him to find a faster rhythm. He played aggressive ball early, then helped RJ Barrett reclaim the lead in the fourth. Quickley also balanced his scoring and passing, chipping in 4 assists by making sharp decisions with the ball.
Let this be a lesson for teams: Don’t give Immanuel Quickley space. He picked up the offense while the other wings struggled. The Magic dared someone other than Brunson or Randle to hurt them, and IQ leaped at the opportunity. Quickley gets a 3.5 out of 5 for stable contributions as the sixth man.
Obi Toppin: 3 PTS (0/6 FG, 0/4 3PT, 3/4 FT), 1 AST, 6 REB in 14 mins
Obi Toppin failed to convert on any of his 6 attempts. His attrition from the field paired poor shooting on good looks with struggles to drive at the Magic’s lengthy defenders. But Toppin gave us some optimism, with a flash of potential in a couple of face-up drives into the chest of defenders. Those attacks off the dribble are starting to show up once or twice a game, and they got Obi to the free-throw line in this one.
Nevertheless, Toppin should get credit for 6 rebounds in less than 15 minutes. The big man had to stay home to complete defensive possessions against Orlando’s size. He showed discipline by grabbing plenty of boards or collecting tip-outs against centers.
We need more from Obi, so he’s getting a 1.5 out of 5 for his impact. But his work on the glass and flashes of face-up offense gave me a silver lining on a tough night.
Isaiah Hartenstein: 2 PTS (1/1 FG), 3 REB, 1 BLK, 1 TO in 13 mins
Isaiah Hartenstein had trouble with the Magic’s big men. They combine length, shooting, and mobility into a package that’s perfect for countering Hartenstein’s strengths. In the end, the big man struggled with foul trouble throughout the game, then gave up 8 points in quick succession to Moritz Wagner.
I’ll chalk this bad game up as a tough match-up. We’ve seen what Hart can do in recent games, but this one got away from him. Hartenstein receives a 1 out of 5, but I’m not putting too much weight into it.
Tom Thibodeau gets results again
Tom Thibodeau’s 9-man rotation seems more reasonable now that he’s getting more out of the bench unit. He kept all but one of his starters at 35 minutes or less of action. Thibodeau trusted his second unit deep into the fourth quarter, and they repaid him by taking the lead. Then Thibs’ starters returned and had enough legs to finish free throws for a change.
I chuckled at Thibodeau calling a timeout in the final minute of action. The Knicks had gotten a stop and could have kept the clock running. But Thibodeau made sure New York was wise enough to foul with a three-point lead and time winding down. Unfortunately, the team failed to foul the Los Angeles Clippers in a similar scenario and lost that game in overtime.
Thibodeau stuck to his script and managed everyone’s minutes well. As a result, he gets a 3 out of 5 for another game in the win column.
Closing Thoughts
I was taken aback by the empty feeling in Orlando. It must be tough to go from a raucous Garden crowd to a lifeless arena. I wondered if that’s why the Knicks seemed flat early. But when New York made a second-half push, the Amway Center began to buzz.
I don’t think there’s a fanbase matching our community. The Knicks fans took over an arena a thousand miles away from home (Editor’s note: 1,074.5 miles away to be exact!). The team responded with an incredible effort to overcome a Magic team that has quietly played good ball for the better part of the past 30 games.
I could take more time to discuss the future of the Knicks or the approaching trade deadline. But let’s quiet all of that for a moment and appreciate the Knicks fans. It’s great to be a part of this group of passionate fans and discuss each game with y’all.
The Philadeplhia 76ers will be out for revenge this Friday. I’m excited to see how the Knicks handle the rematch against an elite opponent. Then, we’ll meet back here and talk ball, any trades that happen, and more. I’ll see you then, Knicks fam!
Stay tuned to KnicksFanTV.com for the latest Knicks news, rumors, and recaps throughout the NBA season. And in case you missed it, check out CP’s interview with The Legendary Chuck D to discuss Knicks and how hip-hop changed the world!
