Attack; Spray; Hit the 3. NY 133 Memphis 120

November 12, 2025 LouV 2025-26 0
OG Anunoby with a reverse slam.

The Knicks new high-energy, attack-attack-attack-spray-and-hit-the-3 offense under Mike Brown looked good again as NY waltzed over Memphis for most of the game in a relatively easy 133-120 win at MSG on a Tuesday night.

‘Relatively’ because NY was up by 20+ points most of the evening, until Memphis sprayed-and-hit-some-3’s of their own in the 4th quarter to pull within 10 with 5 minutes left. But the uneasiness was quelled by Jalen Brunson hitting a 3 with 3:31 to ice it.

Memphis Star Ja Morant was terrible, as he has been most of this season so far — while feuding with new Grizzlies coach Tuomas Iisalo. Morant had 7 turnovers in his first 14 minutes of action, and finished with 16 pts on 4-14 shooting with 8 turnovers in 34 minutes.

Jalen Brunson far outshone him with 32 pts on 11-19 shooting (6-9 from 3) and 10 assists.

The Knicks hit 22 of 55 attempts from 3, a 40 percent clip that was marred by OG Anunoby going 1-10 from 3. OG had a good game anyway, making 6 of 7 buckets inside for 16 points including a reverse slam, and then of course the defense. Mikal Bridges had 22 pts and Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 pts and 12 rebounds.

“I thought the first half tonite we were really good,’ said coach Mike Brown afterwards. “The floor was spaced, we played with pace, we had plenty of ball reversals, we touched the paint multiple times, we sprayed it. I thought offensively we looked really good in the 1st half tonite.

“The 2nd half,” Brown continued, “we didn’t move the ball as much, we didn’t space the floor as much. We had a couple of snap drives, and when we drove we got past our guy but we had one of our teammates and his defender in the paint — so instead of just finishing over one guy — your guy – now you’re trying to finish over your guy, your teammate, and his defender.”

“So our spacing was not good in the 2nd half,” continued Brown, “Our decisions weren’t quick in the 2nd half, we didn’t play with great pace and variety of the 2nd half — we kind of gave them the same dose of the same thing most of the 2nd half. We just kind of thought it was going to happen very easily. So we played good basketball offensively, we played some decent basketball in spurts tonite — you talk about 47 field goals made and 35 of those were assisted. So we did do some things right, but I know and I think the guys in the locker room feel we could’ve done better.”

NY improves to 7-3, including 5-0 at home; Memphis falls to 4-8.

1. Knicks Start 19-0 Run at End of 1st Quarter

The game was 30-30 with 2:15 left in the 1st quarter when the Knicks scored 10 straight points to end the quarter, and begin a 19-0 run.

NY increased its defense and attacked, attacked, attacked on offense — sprayed and hit the 3.

It started with:

  • A Josh Hart drive-and-1 for 10 straight points and a 40-30 NY lead.

2. NY Extends Lead to 23 Pts at Half

The Knicks kept coming at start of the 2nd — scoring the first 9 points:

  • An OG Anunoby driving dunk off a Ja Morant turnover,
  • A KAT drive off an OG assist,
  • A McBride 3 off another Ja Morant turnover for a 49-30 NY lead. Memphis timeout.

Morant Discombobulated

Ja Morant was completely discombobulated during the run — part of it was the Knick defense, part of it was Morant.

Morant has been terrible this season — and some have question whether some injuries have robbed him a little bit of his once immeasurable athleticism. He was recently suspended by Memphis for 1 game for “conduct detrimental to the team,” stemming from a post-game argument with coach Tuomas Iisalo after a loss to the Lakers. Morant has of course a history of off-court issues due to showing off his guns on social media posts.

NY Continued to Attack

Jaren Jackson Jr. hit a drive to break the 19-0 NY run but the Knicks were up 17 and in command.

Memphis pulled back to within 11 with 5 minutes left in the quarter, but NY amped up the offense again and kept firing up, and making, 3’s.

Josh Hart was part of the attack — playing D and hitting teammates with passes.

Jordan Clarkson hit a floater and a 3 for a 16-pt NY lead. Jalen Brunson hit a drive, Mikal Bridges hit a finger roll and a dunk, Josh Hart hit a 3, and Brunson hit a pullup and NY was up by 23 at the half — 77-54.

3. Knicks Go Up by 28 Late in 3rd

The Knicks kept pushing it in the 3rd — attacking, passing, shooting and hitting 3’s and playing pretty good defense.

OG slammed off a Josh Hart assist and NY was up 90-68. KAT continued to score at will inside.

And KAT was hitting outside as well — he hit a trailing 3 to put NY up 108-81 with 2:29 left, then Jordan Clarkson hit a 3 to put NY up by 28 points at 111-83 with 1:56 left in the quarter.

4. Memphis Scores 10 Straight Pts Late in 3rd

And then — just like that — Memphis starting hitting 3’s of their own, scoring 10 straight points to  pull back into it.

5. Knicks 22-Pt Lead Early in 4th Cut to 10 with 5:45 Left

NY pushed back — Mikal Bridges hitting a 3 to end the 3rd quarter, putting NY up 21 to start the 4th at 114-93.

NY maintained that lead for the first 4 minutes of the 4th — a Jalen Brunson 3 put NY up 19 with 7:55 left.

But Memphis made another run — this one a 7-0 run — a Santi Aldama drive, and a 3 and a drive by Jaylen Wells and it was a 124-114 ballgame with 5:45 left.

6. Brunson Dagger 3 with 3:31 Ices It

The teams went back and forth in a 10-pt game for 2 minutes until Karl-Anthony Towns missed a 3, but Mikal Bridges got the offensive rebound and kicked it to Jalen Brunson who hit a 3 for a 13 pt Knick lead with 3:31 left to give the Knicks breathing room.

Towns Great Defense in Final Minutes

Karl-Anthony Towns played tremendous defense down the stretch, blocking shots, making steals, and pulling down big rebounds. He blocked a Jaren Jackson Jr.shot with 3 minutes left, and grabbed an offensive rebound with 2:53 left which helped NY waste clock — and an important defensive rebound with 2:07 left.

The Boxscore

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401810063

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