The New York Knicks demolished the Brooklyn Nets 142 to 118. Jalen Brunson led the team to victory with an efficient 39-point performance.
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The New York Knicks controlled the action for a third-straight game, beating the Brooklyn Nets 142 to 118. In the process, New York took off with 47 points in the first quarter and 81 in the first half. In addition, Jalen Brunson scored at will while the entire team shot lights out from three. And for the entirety of the game, the Nets never found an answer on defense as they watched the Knicks shoot 60.7 percent from the field and 57.1 percent from three.
The Knicks were having fun on the offense, as demonstrated by their fluid ball movement and sharpshooting. However, the wheels appeared they might fall off in the third quarter, considering New York’s defensive rotations started to slip. But even though the Knicks allowed a career night from Cam Johnson, they kept everyone else at bay.
New York was clicking on all cylinders. So let’s look at this victory, one performance at a time.
The Knicks’ starters fire away behind Brunson’s 30-point half
Jalen Brunson: 39 PTS (15/18 FG, 5/6 3PT, 4/4 FT), 6 AST, 5 REB, 3 TO in 36 mins
Jalen Brunson put together one of the best first halves I’ve ever seen from a New York Knick. He knocked down 10/12 attempts, stepping into threes and midrange jumpers as comfortably as possible. He carved Brooklyn’s defense to pieces, which was especially impressive because Mikal Bridges guarded him for most of the night.
The Nets responded by throwing double teams at Brunson throughout the second half. But the star point guard could still score at will while not forcing things against the double. Brunson picked his moments for most of the second half, reducing his shot attempts and dissecting the Nets’ defense with smart passing.
Brunson might have got 50 if he kept shooting. But his efficiency wouldn’t be so incredible, and his assist total would slip. Despite having many hot hands, the rest of the team would have been reduced to spectating. But the best FA acquisition in Knicks’ history showed his leadership by feeding everyone else. Ultimately, Brunson gets a 5 out of 5 for his impact on an incredibly efficient night.
Quentin Grimes: 22 PTS (8/12 FG, 6/9 3PT), 1 AST, 3 REB, 1 TO in 26 mins
Quentin Grimes played a bit of a Robin role during Brunson’s big half. Julius Randle continually fed Grimes cross-court passes, and the sophomore knocked down long-range bombs consistently. The sharpshooter kept firing away in the second half as the Nets failed to close out on him. We didn’t see his first step or drive-and-kick action as often, but that’s because Brooklyn let him shoot the lights out instead.
Grimes’ defense didn’t stand out, mainly because the lead and pace combined to make those individual performances less noticeable. He still did plenty of little things to make everyone click. But he did get caught jumping at some passes, which led to a few passing sequences that ended with an open Nets three. I don’t mind those risks with a considerable lead, but they can hurt in a tighter game.
Grimes snapped out of his slump. His shooting was unstoppable. The Knicks looked for him early, and he found a rhythm that never left. For near-perfect shooting, Grimes grabs a 4 out of 5.
RJ Barrett: 15 PTS (5/11 FG, 2/2 3PT, 3/5 FT), 1 AST, 2 REB, 2 TO in 28 mins
RJ Barrett put together a quality, albeit reserved, performance. He picked his spots to attack and turned in his third efficient scoring night of the past four games. He’s shooting 57 percent from three during that stretch to help his cause. He also flashed some of the offense we’re hoping to see develop: Finishing a right-handed layup in traffic and attempting a midrange jumper.
But I think the best development of Barrett’s recent action is defensive effort. He’s visibly more active, deflecting passes and rotating hard to close out on shooters. Unfortunately, he lost Mikal Bridges on an early cut, and it stood out because he hasn’t had too many of those blatant slip-ups recently.
RJ also cut back on turnovers in this game. He had 5 TOs in the previous game, which came down to dribbling himself into traffic with nowhere to go. I’ll take 15 efficient points with a good defensive effort over 20 points with extra turnovers and lousy defense any time! Barrett grabs a 3 out of 5, improving past recent struggles.
Julius Randle: 21 PTS (7/15 FG, 4/8 3PT, 3/5 FT), 8 AST, 8 REB, 4 TO in 35 mins
Julius Randle’s best contributions came in the form of dimes. He used post-ups to draw attention and whip passes to shooters. On one particularly lovely pass, he dribbled Royce O’neal in circles before delivering a dump-off pass to Mitchell Robinson for an easy slam. Regardless that Randle finished the first half with 6 points, his performance was still impressive because of his passing.
That doesn’t mean he didn’t score pretty easily, though. Randle started the game by knocking down a ridiculous three while fading out of bounds. He would then continue to shoot well from a distance all night, beating the Nets with jumpers since they wouldn’t concede the paint.
But Randle’s performance had two downsides. For one, he turned the ball over more than usual because his passing-heavy approach included some tricky attempts, like a behind-the-back pass that sparked a Nets fast break. On top of that, Julius also got pulled middle often, leading to some of Cam Johnson’s open looks. His performance still earned a 3 out of 5 for doing more good than bad, but he can be even better.
Mitchell Robinson: 13 PTS (6/6 FG, 1/3 FT), 1 AST, 10 REB, 1 STL, 1 BLK in 26 mins
Mitchell Robinson completely outplayed Nicolas Claxton. He repeatedly caught alley-oops when Claxton chased slashers, and Mitch somehow found 3 offensive rebounds despite fewer opportunities than normal. The big man’s overwhelming night is all the more satisfying because Claxton ran his mouth about beating the Knicks a couple of matchups back.
Robinson continued his tone-setting on defense. He sent a layup attempt flying and came close to pinning a Finney-Smith floater to the backboard, but that was called a goaltend. Robinson added his fourth steal in four games back as well.
This was Robinson’s fourth double-double in a row, a career-high. Also, he’s been shooting 95 percent from the field since returning by dunking everything. In addition, Mitch has averaged over 1 block and 1 steal per game in his return. This might be the best we’ve ever seen from Robinson, and he was already great before. “Mitchy ain’t no snitchy,” and that’s truer with each performance, so he gets a 4 out of 5.
New York’s second unit continues to make a difference
Immanuel Quickley: 15 PTS (6/12 FG, 2/5 3PT, 1/2 FT), 2 AST, 3 REB, 1 STL, 1 TO in 22 mins
Immanuel Quickley continues to make his offense look easy. He got wherever he wanted against the Brooklyn Nets, taking jumpers from close and hitting threes on the move. He keeps his dribble well and has mastered give-and-go actions with Hartenstein. Everything has combined to turn IQ into an unstoppable scorer with double-digit points in 30 of the last 33 games.
IQ does all of the little things that we appreciate. His defense is excellent, with ball pressure on handlers and closeouts on shooters. He chases long boards and pushes the pace off defensive rebounds. We see it nightly, so I won’t linger on it, but Quick’s doing a little bit of everything.
Thanks to garbage time starting early, Quickley only played 22 minutes. But that was all he needed to produce 15 points and tag all the tertiary stats. He played great basketball, which is increasingly the norm this season. IQ gets a 3.5 out of 5 for leading the bench.
Josh Hart: 4 PTS (2/3 FG, 0/1 3PT), 5 AST, 4 REB, 2 STL, 1 BLK, 1 TO in 26 mins
Josh Hart turned 4 points into a massive impact performance because that’s who he is. The workhorse started the game by throwing some beautiful dimes and playing tremendous defense. Then, he turned defensive rebounds into transition drive and kick dimes. Even when the team led by over 20 points, he wrestled a ball away from Day’Ron Sharpe because his effort never wanes.
Hart finished at the rim on his couple of attempts. However, he did attempt a pull-up three-point attempt that missed, which shows more confidence in his jumper than I saw throughout his time in Portland this season.
Hart’s effort is a spark for everyone he plays with. He’s a joy to watch and picks up a 3 out of 5 for another impact performance.
Obi Toppin: 2 PTS (1/4 FG, 0/2 3PT), 1 AST, 1 REB, 1 STL, 2 TO in 13 mins
Obi Toppin played solid ball despite not shooting well. He missed his first fast-break dunk attempt but quickly made up for it on the next try. I spotted Obi defending Cam Johnson better than most of his peers. But his limited minutes meant similarly limited production, so we’ll hold off on an impact score.
Isaiah Hartenstein: 8 PTS (3/6 FG, 2/2 FT), 3 AST, 8 REB, 1 BLK, 1 TO in 19 mins
Isaiah Hartenstein bounced back from his previous lackluster game. He entered the first quarter with two floaters and multiple stops against Claxton inside. His defense against a super-athlete in Claxton stood out remarkably.
Hart also tallied three assists, working well in two-man situations with Quickley. In addition, he feasted on rebounds and probably would have had a double-double with more time. Nevertheless, Hart gets a 3 out of 5 for helping New York to have 48 full minutes of interior dominance.
Trevor Keels: 3 PTS (1/2 FG, 1/2 3PT), 1 REB in 3 mins
The clean-up crew included 19-year-old rookie Trevor Keels. He knocked down the first bucket of his NBA career, so I’m giving him a shout-out and congratulations.
Tom Thibodeau’s competitiveness is sometimes crazy but consistently effective
Tom Thibodeau might be competitive to a fault. He challenged a call with the Knicks up by 25 points and around 5 minutes left in the matchup. The game was over for most of the fourth quarter, but Thibs stuck with his rotation until 3 minutes left. That’s a bit crazy but also refreshing because we live in the load management era.
That said, Thibodeau’s approach is a double-edged sword. We can praise it while everything works out, but a late-game injury could quickly change the narrative. Nevertheless, the vibes are too good to dwell on negative hypotheticals, so we’ll give Thibodeau a 3.5 out of 5 and celebrate this winning streak instead.
Closing Thoughts
There’s magic brewing at the Garden. It feels like ages since I was stressed about New York playing better basketball on the road. The Knicks look comfortable in front of the raucous home crowd, and their gritty approach feels like a throwback. I wonder if opposing stars will still be psyched to play at MSG, considering the tough defense thrown at them right now.
New York is at the tail-end of their most brutal stretch of schedule. They’ll play the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics in the coming days, but their remaining strength of schedule is ranked 20th, according to Tankathon. They didn’t just escape the challenges; they’ve thrived. This team has something special cooking.
There are 18 games left in the season. It’s enough time to chase homecourt advantage. I’m just hoping the Knicks maintain the momentum they’ve built, but it’s hard to picture it fading. As Alex said on the postgame, this team is getting hot at the right time.
Miami is next, and they’re always tough at home. But that’s a chance to add an exclamation point to a fantastic run by New York. I’ll be here to tell you all about it after, so 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 Grammy Award-winning rapper, Cormega!
