The New York Knicks lost to the Phoenix Suns 116-113. The Knicks played catchup all night long and were a Brunson three from overtime.
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The New York Knicks blew a golden opportunity as they lost to the Phoenix Suns 113 to 116. The Knicks played against a depleted Suns team, missing Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal.
Whether the Knicks underestimated their under-manned opponent or had an off night, they turned in a lackluster effort. The Suns out-rebounded New York, beat them in transition, and made more threes. Jalen Brunson’s spectacular effort and second-half help from Julius Randle and Immanuel Quickley turned a blowout into a neck-and-neck race. But Devin Booker drained an unbelievably difficult three that ultimately put New York away.
It’s rare to see the Knicks outworked so thoroughly. But enough players stepped up to take this competition down to the wire. Let’s see who stepped up with a review of every performance.
A star performance from Jalen Brunson carries the Knicks’ starters
Jalen Brunson: 35 PTS (15/25 FG, 5/10 3PT, 0/2 FT), 8 AST, 6 REB, 3 STL, 1 BLK, 3 TO in 38 mins
Jalen Brunson put New York on his back for most of the action. He scored 20 points while his teammates were sleepwalking in the first half. He created for others and even led the team in rebounding at one point in the third quarter. Brunson led by example, working hard to preserve a chance at winning.
Brunson did show a few signs of shoulder pain. He winced after his first basket and missed the only 2 free throws he took. It’s notable because this was an exceedingly physical game, with the refs allowing plenty of contact in the paint–making Brunson’s scoring performance even more impressive.
I can’t hold anything against Brunson. He played a near-perfect game. The Knicks’ star came dangerously close to tying the game on a catch-and-shoot three with a second on the clock. If anyone had shown up to help him earlier, the Knicks would have won. Brunson gets a 4.5 out of 5 for nearly stealing this victory.
Quentin Grimes: 3 PTS (1/5 FG, 1/3 3PT), 2 AST, 3 REB, 1 TO in 20 mins
Quentin Grimes shot poorly again while working with limited touches. The Knicks barely found him along the perimeter, which meant that Grimes had to assert himself to get attempts up. The young defender made a few nice moves to get midrange jumpers off, but they rimmed out. His three-pointers were also cold, though he cashed a quick three in response to one of Eric Gordon’s.
Grimes’ demonstrated his value while guarding Devin Booker. No Knicks made Booker work as hard as Quentin Grimes. The Knicks’ defender locked Booker down for the first half but couldn’t keep the star scorer contained all game. Once Grimes’ defense lost its luster, he found himself sitting.
We’re getting minor hopeful signs amid Grimes’ continued struggles. The fact that he had to take matters into his own hands might be good. His shot will fall if he takes command of possessions and finds a rhythm. Grimes gets a 1.5 out of 5 for good defense but weak production.
RJ Barrett: 9 PTS (3/11 FG, 0/2 3PT, 3/4 FT), 1 AST, 2 REB, 1 BLK in 31 mins
RJ Barrett struggled to get going as the refs let plenty of contact go in the paint. Barrett’s jumper regressed to the mean, leaving him with few options other than driving. He had a couple of excellent finishes, including a reverse layup, but the developing player was blocked as much as he scored.
Barrett’s lack of production everywhere else is frustrating. He’s coming off a tremendous rebounding effort, which would have helped in this contest. This season, we’ve seen RJ create for others when teams wall off the paint. But he forced the issue and ran headlong into Jusuf Nurkic on multiple possessions.
I’d call this “last season’s RJ,” but there’s a big exception. The big wing played some quality defense down the stretch, contesting Devin Booker throughout the fourth quarter. Booker had the last laugh, but Barrett’s showing signs of genuine development on defense. RJ gets a 1.5 out of 5 for his rough night.
Julius Randle: 28 PTS (10/21 FG, 1/4 3PT, 7/8 FT), 2 AST, 5 REB, 2 TO in 36 mins
Julius Randle needed a full half of basketball to wake up. He was frustratingly passive in the first half, with a defensive effort that felt like it dragged the rest of the team down. But at some point in the third quarter, Randle realized that he could bully everyone on the Suns in the post. He overpowered Chimezie Metu and Nassir Little for easy finishes and and-ones.
However, even when Randle started scoring, his defense didn’t pick up. He never showed the playmaking touch that typically boosts his offense, and he tied a season-low for rebounding. This was a poor effort from Randle, barely masked by hot scoring in the second half.
Without Randle’s late heroics, this game becomes a blowout. His scoring explosion was crucial to the win. But I have trouble giving him credit because his effort elsewhere was miserable. The Knicks need more from their second star. Randle snags a 2.5 out of 5 for his late scoring.
Mitchell Robinson: 3 PTS (1/2 FG, 1/4 FT), 1 AST, 11 REB, 1 STL, 1 BLK, 1 TO in 34 mins
Mitchell Robinson got off to a rare slow start. He let Jusuf Nurkic win position battles under the rim, and Nurkic grabbed boards and scored inside. But Mitch was a different player in the second half, imposing his will similarly to the rest of his season.
The problem with Robinson picking things up in the second half is that teams can chase him off the floor of a close game. The Suns switched to Hack-a-Mitch tactics with minutes to go in the fourth quarter. Robinson only converted 1 attempt in 4 tries, which means he missed enough free throws in the closing minutes to have tied the game himself.
This can be a friendly reminder that Robinson can’t afford to take days off. He’s a dominant big, but that’s because he out-hustles his opponents. He fell asleep for one-half and got outperformed by a run-of-the-mill big man. Mitch gets a 2 out of 5 for showing up too late.
New York’s second unit hits a snag
Immanuel Quickley: 18 PTS (4/11 FG, 3/6 3PT, 7/8 FT), 1 AST, 2 REB, 1 STL, 1 BLK in 29 mins
Immanuel Quickley gave life to an otherwise listless second unit. He wasn’t successful inside the arc, going 1/5, but IQ made some timely threes and led the team in free throws. New York needed every bit of that production, with the rest of the offense asleep at the wheel.
IQ’s tertiary production looks limited, but he boosted the defensive play. Quickley’s off-ball instincts helped to cover ground as the Knicks continually sent doubles at Devin Booker. For most of the action, the Suns’ role players punished the Knicks by making threes, but Quickley curbed that.
Until Randle returned in the fourth, Quickley played the complementary role to Jalen Brunson. He provided a genuine second threat that allowed Brunson to make plays late. We’re seeing IQ close every game, and on most teams, he’d be pressing for a starting role by now. But the Knicks’ roster construction makes that difficult to pull off without hurting the bench. IQ gets a 3.5 out of 5 for his two-way effort.
Donte DiVincenzo: 6 PTS (2/6 FG, 2/3 3PT), 1 REB, 2 STL in 14 mins
Donte DiVincenzo got his three-pointers to fall but had an uncharacteristically quiet night. He barely grabbed boards and never clocked an assist. Even DiVincenzo’s steals ended in disappointment, as the Suns’ transition defense kept Donte from converting steals into points.
I’d have liked to see DiVincenzo seek to shoot more aggressively. Things were tough for the second unit because the Suns cheated off Josh Hart. But there was space for DiVincenzo to get greedy and take a few more jumpers. Besides that, he had a quiet night, so he gets a 1.5 out of 5.
Josh Hart: 4 PTS (1/3 FG, 0/2 3PT, 2/2 FT), 2 AST, 3 REB in 24 mins
Josh Hart’s poor shooting proved costly for the second unit. The Suns got back in transition and then defended away from Josh Hart in half-court defense. That kept Hart’s offense at bay as he missed his jumpers and failed to get easy looks in transition.
To his credit, Hart’s effort wasn’t the issue. He tried to get things going off the dribble, chased some boards, and provided good defense. But Hart was a liability for the offense, and the only solution would be to convert a few jumpers. Hart saw fewer minutes than usual as a result. He gets a 2 out of 5 for the slow night.
Isaiah Hartenstein: 7 PTS (2/3 FG, 3/4 FT), 1 AST, 5 REB, 1 BLK in 14 mins
Isaiah Hartenstein had some excellent moments and produced in his 14 minutes of action. But it felt like his impact was smaller than the numbers suggest. He had a nice second-chance dunk and got to the free-throw line. But most of that came from the fact that 4 out of his 5 rebounds came on the offensive glass.
That’s not to complain about good offensive rebounding but to point out that New York’s backup center grabbed just 1 defensive rebound in nearly 15 minutes of play. At the same time, Jordan Goodwin repeatedly stole rebounds around the basket from the entire Knicks’ team. I-Hart did well enough for a 2 out of 5, but I was disappointed in his defensive presence in the paint.
Tom Thibodeau makes an intelligent adjustment that backfires
Tom Thibodeau made a decision I liked, but the Suns made him pay for it. Thibodeau sent early double-teams at Devin Booker, threatening with traps and help defenders all game long. It was a wise decision with the Suns missing Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal.
But Eric Gordon made 6 threes, while Chimezie Metu and Nassir Little made 5 threes combined. Those players all shot well above their season averages. Part of that is lackluster effort and closeouts from the Knicks’ defense, and part of it is pure dumb luck. Either way, I liked Thibodeau’s strategy, but it backfired.
Closing Thoughts
This loss is frustrating. I’d penciled it in as a tough night, but that was before Kevin Durant officially wouldn’t play. Once KD was out, this felt like an opportunity to steal a win. Instead, the Knicks played hangover ball and let the Suns back-ups outperform their norms.
This wasn’t a must-win, but it is a shoulda, woulda, coulda kind of game. The Knicks had every opportunity to take the win but didn’t kick into gear until it was too late. Hopefully, it reminds them they can’t afford to take nights off in this league.
New York plays the Hornets next with in-season tournament implications. The Knicks should take the wild-card spot for the East with a dominant win. But they can’t afford to underestimate Charlotte as they did the Phoenix reserves. I’ll see you after the game to discuss the action, Knicks fam!
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