NBA News NBA News, Match Reports and Updates
In a meeting of crosstown rivals, the Knicks hung on to defeat the Brooklyn Nets 124-122 in New York’s second NBA Cup Group Play matchup on Friday night at Madison Square Garden.
Here are some takeaways…
– The Knicks have already been playing without some of their key pieces early on this season and they were even more shorthanded in this one, as star center Karl-Anthony Towns (knee) and sixth man Miles McBride (illness) were ruled out after attempting to go through pregame warmups.
– Even with their leading scorer sidelined, the Knicks were able to get off to a hot start offensively, as all five starters found their way onto the stat sheet and they knocked down six of their first nine shots. New York spread the ball well and took advantage of the smaller Nets lineup, recording 16 points in the paint in the opening frame.
The Knicks pushed the lead up to as many as six, but Brooklyn’s leading scorer Cam Thomas was doing everything he could to keep things close, knocking down all seven shots he took including a stretch of five consecutive three-pointers to finish with 18 first-quarter points.
– With Jericho Sims slotting into the starting lineup in place of Towns, Tom Thibodeau was forced to expand his rotation a bit and he leaned on the rookie trio of Tyler Kolek, Ariel Hukporti, and Pacome Dadiet to play alongside Josh Hart and Cam Payne in the second unit.
While they’ve had limited opportunities thus far this season, Hukporti and Dadiet stepped up in a big way on both ends of the floor to help the Knicks push their lead during the second. The dynamic young duo combined to record seven points, five rebounds, three assists, three blocks, and a steal as they closed out the first half strong.
– Thomas again was keeping the Nets in this one early in the third quarter, when the Knicks finally started to pull away, as Mikal Bridges knocked down a pair of buckets and later connected with OG Anunoby for an alley-op to push the lead all the way up to as much as 21.
– As has been the case all season, though, the Knicks struggled to put things away. The Nets refused to go down quietly as they opened the fourth with a big run…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/jalen-brunson-mikal-bridges-play-033414774.html
Author : SNY
Publish date : 2024-11-16 03:34:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
