Get It to the Big Man: Brunson to Towns. NY 116 Miami 107

November 2, 2024 LouV 2024-25 0

Jalen Brunson made a correction from the previous game, where Karl-Anthony Towns only scored 13 points on 8 shots — and Fed the Big Man. From the start of the game to the end — and Towns responded with 44 points on 17-25 shooting (4-5 from 3, 6-6 in free throws) with 13 rebounds to lead the Knicks to a 116-107 win over the Heat in Miami on a Wednesday night. His counterpoint Bam Adebayo had 11 points and 3 rebounds.

The Knicks also laid down the Defense — especially in the 3rd quarter when they turned a 13-point deficit with 8:20 left into a 7-point lead heading into the 4th. The stretch featured a balanced Knick attack, with Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart, and of course Towns, scoring for NY.

Down the stretch it was more Defense and more Towns, with help from his friends in a balanced Knick attack.

“I thought Karl got off to a good start,” said coach Tom Thibodeau afterwards. “I liked the way the team generated shots; our volume — we got Karl going inside; our volume of 3’s went way up. We had good rhythm on that. And the defense got going a little bit in the 2nd half. Offensive rebounding late was very good as well.

1. Brunson-to-Towns from the Start

Jalen Brunson had said after the previous game when Towns got only 8 shots that “I’ve got to be better with it when it comes to that. I’ve got to adjust and I’ve got to see him.”

Brunson corrected things right away — feeding Towns inside on the first play of the game. Towns is a good passing center as well, and his presence inside opens things up for Knicks all over the court, as they use a passing game to attack from different directions.

OG Anunoby attacked the rim, Mikal Bridges hit a 3, Brunson hit a drive, and then it was back to Towns for a 12-8 Knick lead.

2. Miami Up by 6 After 1 Quarter

But Tyler Herro hit a 3 and a deuce and Miami was right back at NY. Nikola Jovic hit a 3, Tyler Herro kept hitting 3’s, and Jamie Vasquez added to the offense as Miami went up 29-23.

A Karl-Anthony Towns 3 near the end of the quarter was countered by a Duncan Robinson 3 and Miami was up by 6 heading into the 2nd.

3. Miami Up by 6 At the Half

The 2nd quarter was more of the same — Miles McBride entered the scoring for NY off the bench, while Jimmy Butler and Terry Rozier contributed to Miami scoring.

Towns had 10 points in the quarter for NY, after 12 points in the 1st quarter for 22 at the half.

Miami maintained their 6-point lead, with a 58-52 advantage at the half.

4. Knicks Take Control in 3rd

Bam Adebayo hit an inside J and Tyler Herro continued to drain 3’s as Miami increased their lead to 70-57 after a Nikola Jovic 3 with 8:20 left in the 3rd.

And that is when the Knicks started to lay down the DEFENSE and take control of the game.

Brunson and Mikal Bridges hit back-to-back 3’s, and then Bridges hit a drive and NY was down 5 just like that.

Anunoby hit a 3 to pull NY within 70-68.

A 3-point play by Towns inside countered a Jovic dunk, and then Towns countered a Herro drive with a 3 from the outside tying the game.

Then Brunson took over — with free throws off a drive, then a 3, then a 3 from Mikal Bridges and NY was up by 5.

Josh Hart stepped up — hitting a deuce, then a 3 at the end of the quarter and NY was up by 7, at 87-80.

Josh Hart was everywhere on Defense — finishing the night with 14 rebounds.

“Josh Hart defines a winning player who impacts winning,” noted NBA Analyst Ross Kreines during the game. “It doesn’t matter how many shots Josh gets as the effort is always the same; doesn’t need a 40+ vertical to beat you on the glass, he just wants it more, defends hard the entire possession, finds the open man and outworks all.”

5. Defense and Towns Dominate Down the Stretch

In the 4th — the Knicks went right back to Karl-Anthony Towns inside — he hit the first two buckets of the quarter for NY as they upped their lead to 9 points.

Towns got a brief rest, with Jericho Sims coming in for him — and a couple of Terry Rozier 3’s got Miami right back in it, down 93-89.

Towns was right back in the game — and the two teams dueled each other down the stretch: a Rozier jumper was countered by a Mikal Bridges 3, countered by a Herro 3, countered by a Towns drive inside, countered by a Jimmy Butler alley oop, countered by a Brunson 3. NY 102 Miami 96 with 5:58 left.

Jimmy Butler scored out of a time out, but the Knicks got even tougher on D — as the two teams went over 2 minutes without scoring until Brunson hit a 3 with 3:20 left for a 104-98 NY lead.

And then Josh Hart hit a drive, Karl-Anthony Towns hit an inside bucket and NY was up 108-98 with 2:08 left and in command.

Towns was guarded by Jimmy Butler down the stretch — the two have a history with each other, playing in Minnesota where they fought after Butler publicly called Towns “soft”.

Towns dominated the stretch against Butler — topping off his performance with a a 3 with 1:46 left, and a drive-and-1 for a traditional 3-pt play with 1:06 left. NY 114 Miami 102.

Ballgame.

The Boxscore

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401704688

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