The New York Knicks thrash the Portland Trail Blazers 105-93, behind an MVP performance from Jalen Brunson and stifling team defense.
The New York Knicks held their fourth straight opponent below 100 points as they thrashed the Portland Trail Blazers 105-93. Jalen Brunson’s MVP-like performance on offense and OG Anunoby’s shutdown defense led the way.
Brunson immediately propelled New York’s offense, while the rest of the Knicks started slow. Meanwhile, New York’s defense smothered Portland in the half-court, only showing blemishes in transition. The Knicks forced the Blazers into 17 turnovers before the night ended, and Portland barely shot 40% from the field.
The game stayed close in the first quarter, but Deuce McBride led the bench unit to a nice run at the top of the second. For the rest of the night, New York played with a double-digit advantage and never had much to worry about.
The Knicks started their West Coast road trip with a win and some momentum. But there are some warning signs, namely poor three-point shooting. Let’s have a closer look at the action.
The Knicks’ starters make it look easy in Portland
Jalen Brunson: 45 PTS (14/30 FG, 2/10 3PT, 15/17 FT), 4 AST, 1 REB, 1 STL, 1 BLK, 5 TO in 38 mins
Jalen Brunson dropped 12 points on the Blazers before anyone could blink. He danced into the lane for and-one finishes repeatedly to set the tone for a big night. His scoring never let up, as he eventually mixed in a couple of threes and a handful of midrange pull-ups. All Portland could do was bump and prod at him, which led to more fouls.
Brunson’s uncharacteristically high turnovers result from second-half physicality. With New York’s comfortable lead, it felt like the refs decided to let up on their whistles. That left Portland free to bump and prod at Brunson like a 90s defense, while New York’s MVP looked visibly frustrated. He finished the night with more turnovers than assists, a rare occurrence.
Even the high turnover-to-assist ratio can’t erase Brunson’s monster performance. He ran roughshod over the Blazers’ young defenders. He ran cold from deep but still nearly managed 50% shooting on a 45-point night. Brunson gets a 4.5 out of 5 for pouring on the points.
Donte DiVincenzo: 12 PTS (4/12 FG, 2/8 3PT, 2/2 FT), 3 AST, 5 REB, 2 STL, 1 TO in 37 mins
Donte DiVincenzo’s on a cold streak from three, which has defanged his scoring. He’s cracked 30% from three once in the past five games while taking 56 tries from deep. The Blazers game was no different, as he got plenty of looks we trust him to make but fell victim to the law of averages.
The Big Ragu found ways to contribute off the dribble and defensively. He attacked the lanes and finished a couple of shots in the paint, then added some assists by feeding off-ball cutters. His relocation behind the arc was on point, and it looks even tougher to guard with Josh Hart and OG Anunoby constantly cutting to the rim and dragging defenders with them.
DiVo’s cold streak doesn’t concern me. He did everything else well in this game, picking up his performance. He was bound to cool off at some point, and I’d rather he get this out of his system before we get to April. The Big Ragu gets a 2.5 out of 5 for a decent night.
Josh Hart: 7 PTS (3/8 FG, 0/2 3PT, 1/1 FT), 2 AST, 15 REB, 3 STL in 42 mins
Josh Hart is a magnet for loose balls. He comes flying in for any ball that’s within reach and even some that aren’t. There were occasions when I didn’t even see Hart on screen until he sprinted into sight and came away with the rock. His rebounding is unbelievable.
Hart’s loose ball gravity carried into steals as well. If a ball-handler dribbled too far from himself, Hart would sneak in and snatch it. Surprisingly, the Josh Hart transition show didn’t take off as usual, but I credit the Blazers’ youth and athleticism for limiting him there.
Hart might be the only player who could make me ignore a night of more field goal attempts than points. He did so much outside of scoring that I can give a poor shooting night a pass. Hart gets a 3.5 out of 5 for his great effort.
OG Anunoby: 12 PTS (5/11 FG, 1/4 3PT, 1/2 FT), 2 AST, 9 REB, 2 STL, 2 TO in 36 mins
OG Anunoby looked great, as long as we ignore all the times he grabbed at his elbow. Anunoby looked especially strong off the dribble and drove past defenders for baseline dunks and reverse layups. But he seemed hesitant to shoot early and missed all but one three-point attempt. He hit the deck and grabbed his elbow at least three times.
But, of course, OG’s true value shined on defense. He may have only clocked two steals, but he was a constant disruptor in help defense. He broke up passes, stopped driving players in their tracks, and consistently cheated off his man to ruin whatever action the Blazers tried.
But I’ll be the first to admit that the elbow scared me. His worst patch of plays came late in the game, as he turned the ball over and grabbed at his surgically repaired elbow while staring at the refs. His impact is so clear that I’m nervous about losing our shutdown defender again. Anunoby gets a 3.5 for another game-changing defensive performance.
Isaiah Hartenstein: 9 PTS (4/6 FG, 1/1 FT), 2 AST, 9 REB in 24 mins
Isaiah Hartenstein looked strong offensively. I mention this often, but his ability to bail out teammates from a short roll or cut along the baseline to a post position is huge. His passing out of those receiving positions enhances the constant off-ball movement of the starters. You can count on one or two give-and-goes per game while I-Hart plays, and sometimes more.
Hartenstein’s defense wasn’t bad, but DeAndre Ayton was a handful. Ayton’s a rare big that could capitalize on Hartenstein’s drop coverage with consistent shooting from midrange while still creating problems on the glass. Hartenstein competed well against the versatile former first pick of the draft, but Ayton got the best of the match-up.
It looks like I-Hart’s coming along nicely. He’s moving well and playing effective basketball despite limited minutes compared to the other starters. We know what to expect from him at this point, and he hasn’t disappointed. Hartenstein gets a 3 out of 5 for a nice night.
New York’s second unit gets a boost from Deuce
Miles McBride: 6 PTS (3/6 FG, 0/1 3PT), 3 REB, 1 STL, 2 TO in 22 mins
The Knicks went through an ice-cold stretch in the first quarter. Everyone was missing shots until Deuce McBride entered the game. He took an elite defender, Matisse Thybulle, off the dribble and drained a pull-up jumper near the basket. McBride wouldn’t put up a ton of production after that, but his presence sparked everyone.
Deuce’s defense isn’t subtle as long as you’re not locked into the statline. He may have only tallied a single steal, but McBride’s harassment of lead ball-handlers was impactful. Teammates’ multi-steal performances came from players sliding over while Deuce stuck to a ball-handler directly.
The backup PG has discovered plenty of ways to contribute. His defense shined in this game, along with a pretty putback. But on other nights, his shooting or passing might carry the day. He’s coming into his own and gave New York a nice spark early. Deuce gets a 3 out of 5 for the night.
Alec Burks: 5 PTS (2/5 FG, 1/2 3PT), 1 REB, 1 TO in 4 mins
Alec Burks hit two tough shots that once again flashed his potential. But I don’t think he passed up a single shot after dribbling through a screen. Burks launched five shots in only four minutes while everyone else embraced ball movement and off-ball cutting. It’s odd that he seems like a square peg in an offense he’s thrived in before.
Burks got benched after four minutes, and I assume it’s due to his shot-happy tendency.
Bojan Bogdanovic: 5 PTS (1/6 FG, 0/2 3PT, 3/3 FT), 1 AST, 1 TO in 14 mins
Bojan Bogdanovic never got much going as a shooter. His sole field goal came on a traipse to the basket, and he picked up a few extra points drawing fouls in a similar manner. But without his jumper, Bojan couldn’t impact the game like he normally might.
I’ll avoid beating up on Bojan for the rest of his game being forgettable. He didn’t get a lot of touches to be creative, and I’m glad he adjusted to poor shooting by attacking the basket a few times. But his performance doesn’t warrant much else to say. I’ll give him an incomplete instead of a bad impact score.
Precious Achiuwa: 4 PTS (2/3 FG), 2 AST, 7 REB, 2 STL in 24 mins
Precious Achiuwa is as fun off the bench as he was starting. But he didn’t get many opportunities to score, thanks to the Detroit acquisitions shooting everything they touched. So, Precious had to create his opportunities by grabbing offensive boards, including a putback off a missed free throw.
Precious’ defense picked his game up despite the few touches. He and McBride are enough to make the bench unit formidable. He stayed on the floor with starters at times, and centered a small-ball lineup that I love. Achiuwa does a bit of everything, making him a fantastic utility option for Thibodeau.
Precious gets a 3 out of 5 for making a great combo with Deuce.
Tom Thibodeau’s defense is stifling opponents
Tom Thibodeau has leaned into defense, and it’s working to perfection. The Knicks are shutting opponents down, and Thibs’ rotations have gotten interesting. This was the second game in which Thibodeau paired Brunson and McBride for backcourt minutes, and it’s a fun tandem thanks to their complementary skillsets.
I’m also a fan of Thibodeau leaving OG Anunoby on off-ball players. It frees OG up to use his seven-foot wingspan to disrupt any attempts to drive to his side of the floor. Now opponents must deal with a trailing defender, OG helping, Hart and DiVo in the passing lanes, and Hart or Achiuwa at the rim. Nowhere is safe!
Put another way, Thibodeau has cooked up the best defense of his Knicks’ coaching career.
Closing Thoughts:
Now comes the hard part. New York has had a fairly soft schedule for the past five games. But they’ll spend the next week on the road, out West, playing three playoff teams.
If OG’s elbow holds up and the shooting kicks back into gear, the Knicks can still come away with good results. By taking the easy game in Portland, New York only needs to beat one of Sacramento, Golden State, or Denver. It’s never easy to beat any of those squads, so this is still a tall task.
I expect New York’s defense to hold up, but shooting will make or break them. They’re still susceptible to transition attacks, so missing too many long jumpers will give opponents a chance at momentum. Hopefully, the jumpers get back on track because they’ve only gotten away with poor shooting nights thanks to a cupcake schedule.
The Kings are next, which means they’ll face one of the fastest players in the league, De’Aaron Fox. Now would be a fantastic time for DiVincenzo’s jumper to return. We’ll see how it goes and discuss it afterward. See you next time, Knicks fam!
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