Ja Morant put pressure on the Knicks Defense, and NY surrended a ton of offensive rebounds in the 4th quarter as the Grizzlies swatted the Knicks 120-108 at Madison Square Garden on a Wednesday night.
The Knicks seemed to be down by 12 points the entire game but did pull to within 5 points with 9 minutes left in the game after Immanuel Quickley scored 7 straight points — including a 3 that pulled NY to within 5 with 9 minutes left in the game. But Memphis then reeled off 9 straight points to jump back on top by 14 and NY never challenged thereafter.
SEVEN STRAIGHT @IQ_GodSon POINTS 🥶 pic.twitter.com/TTo3wXCuYg
— KNICKS ON MSG (@KnicksMSGN) February 3, 2022
1. Robinson 8 Blocks
Mitchell Robinson had a monster game — dominating with 8 blocks. He looks fully healthy and in groove now, after the foot surgery that cancelled the second half of last season for him. He came into the year playing well but not jumping as well as he had in the past — but now looks fully back.
MITCH BLOCKS JA ➡️ RJ BARRETT AND-1 pic.twitter.com/rvyNFpTYIo
— KNICKS ON MSG (@KnicksMSGN) February 3, 2022
Robinson was 7-8 from the floor for 14 points and 11 rebounds as well. He is on track to blow out his own record for highest Field Goal Percentage in a season — he is currently at .789 — but doesn’t yet qualify. You must make 300 field goals on season to qualify for field goal pct lead. That’s 3.66 field goals made per game. Robinson has raised his average to 3.6 field goals made per game.
.@23savage____ workin' the boards for the AND-1 💪 pic.twitter.com/gRsAaHultk
— KNICKS ON MSG (@KnicksMSGN) February 3, 2022
2. Fournier Continues to Prosper
Evan Fournier continued to be in groove for the Knicks — scoring 30 points on 11-18 shooting (8-12 from 3). As coach Tom Thibodeau said afterwards, teammates are looking for him and finding him, and that is causing the whole offense to flow better.
EIGHT @EvanFourmizz THREES NOW
👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌 pic.twitter.com/0mNAYKUpwn
— KNICKS ON MSG (@KnicksMSGN) February 3, 2022
3. Barrett, Randle Good
Julius Randle had a good game — 18 points (on 7-18 shooting, 1-6 from 3) 12 rebounds, and 9 assists. The 3 remains the one part of his game that is missing from last year.
RJ Barrett had a solid game — 7-17 shooting (1-4 from 3) for 23 points. Importantly, he shot 8-11 from the free throw line, which raises his average back close to .700.
4. Morant Felt He Played Poorly
Ja Morant said afterwards it was the worst game he ever played — trying to impress the Madison Square Garden crowd. “I felt like I played terrible,” Morant said. “If you asked me that was probably one of the worst games I played in my career.”
Yet Morant finished with 23 points on 9-27 shooting (although 0-6 from 3), and as Thibodeau said afterwards, pressured the NY defense all evening.
Jaren Jackson Jr killed the Knicks inside with 26 points (8-14 shooting, 4-7 from 3) and 10 rebounds. Steve Adams hurt NY on the boards with 13 rebounds, and 6’9 shooting guard Ziaire Williams killed the Knicks with 21 points on 9-11 shooting (3-5 from 3).
The Boxscore
https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401360595
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