No Brunson; No McBride; No Problem. NY 119 Utah 103

January 2, 2025 LouV 2024-25 0
Cam Payne -- photo courtesy NY Knicks.

The Knicks were without point guard Jalen Brunson, given the night off to rest his calf; and without reserve point guard Miles McBride, who tweaked his hamstring just before the game in warmups — but still had no problem beating Utah, 119-103 on a Wednesday night — New Year’s Day — at Madison Square Garden.

Cameron Payne started at point and filled in well with 9 assists in 36 minutes, and Tyler Kolek, who had just scored 36 points with 11 assists in 40 minutes in a G-League afternoon game for Westchester, did well at the backup point position — with 2 pts, 4 assists, and a +11 in 12 minutes with his best defensive showing yet.

And the Knicks as a team beat Utah — taking a 10-pt halftime lead and pulling away in the 4th quarter. OG Anunoby did a JOB on Lauri Markkanen, forcing him into 6-22 shooting (1-10 from 3) while OG went 10-16 himself for 22 pts. Mikal Bridges joined OG with efficient scoring up front — 12-17 shooting for 27 pts. Josh Hart was the engine — 15 pts, 14 rebounds, and 12 assists. And Karl-Anthony Towns Dominated with monster dunks and big rebounds all night — 31 pts and 21 rebounds — often taking it right to Walker Kessler, the #2 shot-blocker in the NBA.

“Credit to (Payne) for being ready,” said coach Tom Thibodeau afterwards. “Our bench gave us really good minutes. Tyler played well, Landry (Shamet) played well; and then the starters were terrific –  they all stepped up; Mikal was great; OG was terrific; key steals at the end of the game; and then KAT a monster game, and Josh a triple double again. A hard fought win; just find a way to win.”

“They do a good job; inverted pin-downs with smalls,” added Thibs about Utah. “So there’s a lot of reads that have to be made. There’s a lot of delayed isolations; they’re very good off the dribble as well. But OG was just all over the place; disruptive. I thought our ball pressure was good. The defensive activity got us into the open floor; got us some easy baskets; and that’s key for us.”

NY wins its 9th in a row and improves to 24-10; Utah falls to 7-25.

1. Cam Payne Starts at Point; Kolek Backing Up

The Knicks have a heavyweight matchup Friday against old friend Isaiah Hartenstein and the NBA West-leading Oklahoma City Thunder, so Jalen Brunson was given the night off to rest his calf, which has been giving him mild soreness recently. Miles McBride tweaked his hamstring in the shootaround before the game, so Cameron Payne was pressed in as the starting point guard.

Cam started off by missing his first 3 shots and turned the ball over, but then started dishing and by end of the evening had 8 pts on 2-9 shooting (1-3 from 3) with 9 assists and a steal. He had a steal and then hit a 3 midway through the 2nd quarter to put NY up 41-33.

“It was New Year’s Eve last night, popping Champagne. Right now it’s popping Cam Payne, said Alan Hahn on the broadcast.

Tyler Kolek, fresh off an afternoon game at Westchester where he scored 36 pts with 11 assists in 40 minutes, was pressed in as the reserve point guard — and had his best game in the NBA so far, penetrating the lane, orchestrating, and playing frenetic defense.

2. Knicks Take Control in 2nd Quarter

Kolek was actually in the game when the Knicks started to take control at the start of the 2nd quarter. Utah was up by a point after 1, when Precious Achiuwa began the 2nd quarter with a steal and full-court slam — a highlight of the game.

By the end of the quarter, Karl-Anthony Towns was lighting it up, with a quarterback pass to OG Anunoby for a dunk, and consecutive 3’s — the second one a 3-and-1 that put NY up 50-38.

3. OG Does a JOB on Markkanen

OG Anunoby meanwhile was doing a JOB on Lauri Markkanen, who had lit the Knicks up the last time NY played Utah. OG stuck to Markkanen all night like glue, causing Markkanen to miss shot after shot. Markkanen finished with 6-22 shooting (1-10 from 3). OG was also picking up steals off the ball, leading to open court drives for NY. OG was all over the place on D, and hitting his shot on offense as well (22 pts on 10-16 shooting).

4. The Good, Bad & Ugly of Clarkson

Collin Sexton kept Utah in it with 25 points on 10-13 shooting, and Keyonte George had 15 pts on 6-13 shooting.

Jordan Clarkson scored 25 pts for Utah in his usual enigmatic fashion — spectacular scoring drives offset by spectacular turnovers and poor shot selection. Clarkson scored 25 pts on 8-19 shooting (3-6 from 3). There have been rumors that Clarkson is on the trade block and the Knicks might be a team interested — after this game, one would think there is no way NY would trade for a player seemingly consumed with taking his own shot.

5. Knicks Put It Away in 4th

And then there is Josh Hart, the glue all night for NY — their hidden point guard, and hidden rebounding power forward, and scoring guard. Hart put the peddle to the metal in the 4th, with a floater in the lane off a Tyler Kolek assist, and then two straight drives to the bucket — the first resulting in free throws and the second giving NY a 97-81 lead as NY started to pull away.

“Josh Hart plays with a purpose, plays to win and fills a stat sheet not by chasing them but rather by chasing every 50/50 ball along with outworking you on the glass, finds the open man all while not hunting shots or stats but rather hunting wins,” noted NBA Analyst Ross Kreines. “Josh comes to play and plays to win.”

Karl-Anthony Towns continued to take it to the RIM — right at Walker Kessler — as the Knicks won easy.

“New York definitely has unlocked a different KAT,” noted former NBA center and current analyst Kendrick Perkins. “He’s been on some other shit since he arrived in the City.”

The Boxscore

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401705024

 

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