It doesn’t take much new York Knicks To regain some energy and bounce back, but they have become very comfortable being flexible this season.
They erased a 15-point deficit and then a 17-point deficit to stun cleveland cavaliers with one on Christmas Day 126-124 Win at Madison Square Garden.
The Knicks trailed 107–91 with eight minutes remaining in the final quarter, en route to what head coach Mike Brown called “probably our best win of the season.” Michelle Robinson on glass, jordan clarkson Going on a shooting binge and tyler kolek Everyone conspired to get the Knicks back into contention after having one of their best stretches of the season. A handful of his eight offensive boards on the day, along with consistent offensive rebounds by Robinson led to several 3-point shots for the Knicks and the deficit suddenly dwindled to six.
Kolek hit three triples in the fourth and laid down a key layup on the Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell A crucial coaching challenge at the last minute turned it around. Clarkson scored seven of his 25 during the comeback, including consecutive 3-pointers.
Knicks spoil Cavaliers’ comeback comeback evan mobleyWho missed the last two weeks with half the stress, as well darius garland Mitchell joined in for the first time this season in a game reminiscent of his performance last season.
“Our bench basically won the game for us,” Brown said. “They put us in a down position.”
Brown mentioned starting at forward josh hart Speaking off the bench after the recent loss to Minnesota, he said the reserves need to hold the starters accountable and change plays – and it appears they took his challenge to heart.
Hope was lost when Hart went down with a lower leg injury and the underperforming Cavaliers looked set to deliver a season-turning win. But it didn’t take long for the Nixes to get to work, and soon they were confident Jalen Brunson to score 14 of his team-high 34 in the fourth.
“It’s probably our best win because of the circumstances,” Brown said. “There’s all kinds of things to make this game fun, but for our guys to keep fighting and not give up in any situation – there may be a lot of nagging and finger-pointing, but everyone kept talking about finding a way.”
Robinson, who is among the league leaders in offensive rebounding despite playing 18 minutes per game, kept playing small and light jarrett allen out of the way. Robinson played 4:46 in the fourth and grabbed a total of eight rebounds.
“When the game’s getting that tight and you need a little energy, you crash the glass,” Robinson said. “I just keep crashing. Sometimes I figure it out.”
The Knicks hit 21 3-pointers at a 48% clip, with Brunson hitting six of them, including three in the fourth when New York took complete control.
“We kept fighting; several times we said we didn’t have it tonight,” Brunson said. “It starts with Tyler, Jesse and Mitch. They were the reason we won.”
It looked like the fourth quarter would end up being a duel between Brunson and Mitchell, who also scored 34.
“It was ugly, but we found a way,” Brunson said. “We don’t want to be down by 17 even once, let alone twice. But it shows you what type of team we are. We’re growing as a team and this is a big step for us.”
