The New York Knicks fall to the Los Angeles Lakers in overtime 123-129. New York had a moment for a game winning shot, but they collapsed.
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The New York Knicks dropped a competitive matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers 123 to 129. The Knicks looked sluggish out of the gate despite two days off. But a great effort by Jalen Brunson, aided by the second unit and abysmal three-point shooting from the Lakers, helped New York to a 1-point lead at halftime.
The Lakers took off to start the third, but the Knicks made runs to keep things close. Julius Randle made shots early in the fourth, and Brunson came through in clutch situations to give New York an attempt to win with three seconds left. But the Knicks failed to get a shot off and faded in overtime.
The overtime loss especially hurts because the Knicks were well rested while the Lakers had played a night earlier. But we saw some promising performances, so let’s see how each Knick contributed.
The Knicks’ starters get a huge boost from Brunson
Jalen Brunson: 37 PTS (13/29, 2/7 3PT, 9/9 FT), 6 AST, 2 REB, 1 STL, 1 BLK, 2 TO in 44 mins
Jalen Brunson kept the Knicks in this game while most starters struggled. He did that by playing the same game he’s shown us all season. His interior scoring and midrange pull-up worked to perfection, and he snuck in a few clever dimes to keep the defense on its toes. Brunson made the right play even when it meant passing with the game on the line. He scored consecutive baskets late in the matchup but still had the wherewithal to find Quentin Grimes for a game-tying layup with time running low.
Brunson’s defense also deserves a shoutout. He’s picked up a few blocks in recent games, which are pleasant surprises from the diminutive point guard. In addition, Brunson took over the top spot for drawn charges during the action. He did that by drawing a charge from LeBron James during the same late possessions he spent carrying the offense. So, Brunson put the offense on his back and still had the energy and heart to draw a charge.
The performance had some flaws. Brunson threw a few shaky passes that led to a pair of turnovers early. He also took a couple of three-pointers that felt like pressing to gain momentum for the sluggish team. However, none of that is enough to take away from his 37-point performance or his incredible work to close regulation. Brunson gets a 4.5 out of 5 for nearly stealing a game from the great LeBron James.
Quentin Grimes: 12 PTS (6/12 FG, 0/5 3PT), 3 AST, 4 REB, 2 STL in 40 mins
It’s hard to believe that Quentin Grimes had a strong performance while missing all five of his three-point attempts. But he pulled that off by carving the Lakers up with baseline drives. Grimes took the baseline for acrobatic layups, high-flying dunks, and a couple of assists. He made things happen there, although he didn’t create much from anywhere else on the floor.
Grimes’ defense faced a tricky matchup. He battled Russell Westbrook often, and Westbrook threw everything at the sophomore defender. Grimes gave up a layup off a spin move and a few midrange jumpers, but he also picked up steals and challenged shots. The sophomore picked up Lebron in a handful of moments and held his own with that matchup as well.
Grimes gave the starters a boost in areas of need. He consistently found the right place at the right time to cause positive impacts. But his game lacked the three-point punch that would’ve put him over the top. Grimes gets a 3 out of a 5 for helpful play that could be great with better shooting.
RJ Barrett: 13 PTS (5/13 FG, 0/3 3PT, 3/4 FT), 2 AST, 3 REB, 1 TO in 27 mins
RJ Barrett started the game brutally. He air-balled a jumper and followed that with a few misses at the rim. Barrett never found his long-range jumper, though he knocked down a pull-up mid-range. The slashing wing struggled with Los Angeles’ length inside, particularly Anthony Davis’ help defense. There were signs of Barrett heating up in the fourth after he scored a few transition buckets to get going. But Barrett turned the ball over and went quiet for a couple of minutes before being benched the rest of the way.
The Canadian transplant didn’t add much to tertiary production either. He threw a nice dime to Brunson for a baseline three, but Barrett’s passing options rarely opened up beyond simple swing passes. On top of that, he didn’t help in terms of rebounding, and his defense wasn’t terrible but didn’t stand out for any good reasons, either.
The Knicks’ most recent highest-drafted player sat for most of the fourth quarter and all of overtime. When New York needed defense, Tom Thibodeau benched Barrett. That left Barrett frustrated after the game. We’ve recently seen RJ step up in challenging moments, so it’s a coaching decision worth exploring. But with a 1.5 out of 5 for impact, I understand Thibodeau’s choice to leave Barrett on the bench.
Julius Randle: 23 PTS (6/19 FG, 2/9 3PT, 9/11 FT), 5 AST, 12 REB, 4 TO in 43 mins
Julius Randle never found much rhythm in his offense. He shot poorly from three and failed to get much going inside. But Randle powered his way to 11 free throws that salvaged his efficiency somewhat. The big man also came through with some jumpers early in the fourth quarter.
Randle’s night is most memorable for mistakes on offense. The big man turned the ball over when attempting to post up Russell Westbrook (twice!) and picked up another costly turnover in overtime. But his biggest blunder was that he failed to get a shot off after receiving an inbound pass with 3 seconds left and the game tied. He mixed some nice assists and rebounding in, but his costly mistakes are easier to recall.
The big man has played great ball this season, but this performance was lackluster. He sometimes pressed for offense and never established his ability to score from the field. Randle still made important plays and grabbed vital rebounds, but not enough to compensate for his poor shooting. As a result, the Knicks’ leader gets a 1.5 out of 5 for his struggles.
Jericho Sims: 0 PTS (0/0 FG), 1 AST, 3 REB, 1 STL, 1 BLK in 13 mins
Jericho Sims faced Anthony Davis and struggled with the elite competition. Sims challenged Davis’ jumper, but the Los Angeles star knocked shots down regardless. When Sims tightened up his defense, he also picked up fouls. That kept Sims off the floor for long stretches of the action.
To his credit, Sims made some nice plays on defensive rotations. But his foul trouble and tough time against Davis meant a short leash. Sims picks up a 1.5 out of 5 for taking on a tough challenge and struggling but showing reasonable effort.
The Knicks’ second unit makes contributions
Miles McBride: 0 PTS (0/1 FG, 0/1 3PT), 1 AST, 1 STL, 1 BLK in 9 mins
Miles McBride only played nine minutes, but they were eventful. He made plays on defense, harassing ball handlers and even creating a loose ball while rotating to Lebron James. McBride turned that loose ball into a transition score for the Knicks with a hockey assist.
But McBride’s limited minutes don’t give us enough to gauge his impact. His lone jump shot was ugly, but that was the only blemish in his short time.
Immanuel Quickley: 19 PTS (6/12 FG, 2/6 3PT, 5/6 FT), 8 AST, 3 REB, 1 STL, 1 TO in 39 mins
Immanuel Quickley stepped up and covered for lack of efficiency from New York’s second and third options. He entered the game while the starters struggled and immediately made an impact. IQ’s scoring always seemed timely, with big three-pointers and some clever attacks inside the defense.
But Quickley’s efficient scoring is only half the story. The other half is playmaking, as IQ led the team with 8 assists; his chemistry with Hartenstein has developed into real value for the second unit. Quickley also added ball movement to a starting unit that often felt stagnant.
But Quick also fell to the wayside of that starting unit’s offense. He settled into watching Randle and Brunson work for most of his minutes in the fourth quarter and overtime. I’ll blame that on IQ playing 20 minutes straight from the third quarter through overtime.
Quickley kept his value up even when the touches faded. He did that by playing his distinctive brand of quality defense. Tom Thibodeau gave a seal of approval by playing IQ over Barrett for most of the fourth and overtime. Quickley missed a chance to tie the game in OT, but so did three other Knicks in the same possession. IQ was great otherwise, and earned a 3.5 out of 5 for his contributions.
Obi Toppin: 3 PTS (1/2 FG, 1/2 3PT), 5 REB, 1 TO in 10 mins
Obi Toppin shares a similar story to Miles McBride. He hit the floor, grabbed a few nice rebounds, and knocked down a baseline three. But Toppin’s effort didn’t earn him more than a few minutes in the second half. Toppin’s benching is frustrating because Randle had a tough night, while Obi never got a chance to make up for Randle’s difficult time. I guess the goal was to match Randle with Lebron as much as possible, but Obi deserved more opportunities.
Isaiah Hartenstein: 16 PTS (7/10 FG, 0/1 3PT, 2/2 FT), 1 AST, 13 REB in 40 mins
Isaiah Hartenstein finally showed out with a big double-double against a tough matchup. He filled in for Jericho Sims due to foul trouble. Hart dunked the ball on an early putback and continued to chew the Lakers up in the paint. He hit an improbable floater late and even finished a drive to the basket for a layup against Thomas Bryant.
Hart’s rebounding deserves mention as well. He created extra opportunities all game and even allowed New York to steal momentum in overtime. Hart created three consecutive opportunities for second-chance points, but the Knicks missed each chance with rushed three-pointers.
Hart played a fantastic game of basketball. He’s starting to look like the player I expected when New York signed him. We’re getting flashes of his passing and ability to create from further out. His chemistry with ball handlers has grown, and they’re getting him the ball in better spots. Best of all, he’s finally showing comfort in the defensive scheme, leading to more stops and rebounds. Nevertheless, Hart gets a 3.5 out of 5 for his crucial play.
Closing continues to be a problem for Tom Thibodeau and the Knicks
The Knicks looked sluggish despite extra rest, which immediately took me back to discussions about minute allotments. The starters continue to play extensive minutes in a nine-man rotation that’s typically closer to six or seven because the eighth and ninth men barely get playing time. It’s hard to say what toll that has, but four players hit the 40-minute mark last night, and the team clearly ran out of steam in overtime.
Whether we blame fatigue is beyond the point, closing is an issue. The Knicks blow big leads, collapse late, or otherwise lack the punch to make comebacks. This game had a particularly frustrating sequence to end regulation. Brunson had scored or assisted on consecutive possessions to bring New York to a tie. They moved to inbound the ball with 3 seconds on the clock, and Brunson was the inbound man. That seems like an obvious mistake because Brunson never had time to get the ball back, and Julius Randle didn’t get a shot off.
I won’t hit Thibs too hard or nitpick about the rest. But late-game execution is a season-long problem that I don’t see Thibodeau even close to resolving. Thibodeau gets a 2 out of 5 for at least getting the game to OT.
Closing Thoughts
I’m frustrated by every loss for the Knicks, but this one is particularly painful. It felt like a chance for the Knicks to steal a game they had started sluggishly. Three seconds could have turned a frustrating night into a celebration of Jalen Brunson’s fantastic play. But instead, we watched Brunson inbound to Julius Randle, who continues to struggle in late-game situations. Thibodeau took the ball out of Brunson’s hands and gave the game away.
This gets more interesting because RJ Barrett was frustrated after the game. He sat with seven minutes left in the fourth and never played again. I think there’s a message about stepping up defensively in that benching. But the statement left an undue amount of time for Immanuel Quickley to play without rest. I like the idea of pressing Barrett to earn his minutes on the defensive side of the ball, but it shouldn’t shield Thibodeau from criticism about his team constantly fading in games.
The schedule is challenging moving forward. The following ten games will feature nine teams in the play-in hunt or better, with most teams fitting the latter descriptor. So it’s put up or shut up time for the Knicks, Tom Thibodeau, and this front office. Let’s see what these guys are made of and pray that Mitchell Robinson heals fast because the defense won’t be the same until he’s back.
The Miami Heat are next, holding the sixth seed, so this is a big game for the seventh-place Knicks. New York constantly struggles with Miami, so consider me nervous, but I’m hoping for a statement win. I’ll see you after the matchup to discuss it all here, Knicks fam!
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