Games like this come out every now and then. The season is long, and it doesn't feel any longer than it did in mid-January when the snow started falling, and there are three full months between now and the playoffs. Demonstrates long-hitting power. He had fallen into a slump. He gets beaten up.
Losing games that you don't need to lose. It happens.
The Knicks shouldn't have lost this game against the Magic on Monday afternoon. The MLK Day matinee was sold out. The line of celebrities burst into life. Jalen Brunson missed two games in a row, but Orlando also lacked playing opportunities. The Knicks had the advantage for most of the game. They kept threatening to clean it up. They never put it away and went to the cold North Pole. It looked like he was shooting free throws with his feet. Magic roared back.
And that was it.
Magic 98, Knicks 94.
“It was a volatile game,'' Knicks manager Tom Thibodeau said. “They are a very good defensive team, but we should have been in a position to win the game. We have to be better offensively.”
“It's stagnant,” Julius Randle said. He gritted his way through 38 minutes despite hurting his right ankle, missing 13 of his 18 shots from the floor. “We were too stagnant.”
The sold-out crowd grumbled, stomping their feet, because even if you accept that sometimes games like this are available, when you're actually going to the game, when you're putting your own money in and testifying… Because I don't want to get it. . He also appeared to be complaining when Knicks left the floor. Even in a long season, he can kick himself for letting one person escape. They let this guy escape. It wasn't easy on the eyes at all.
In fact, the Knicks were extremely lucky to escape Saturday night's game in Memphis. At that time, the Grizzlies were playing primarily against the winner of the open tryout and were still leading in the third quarter. That game and this game certainly remind us that Brunson is a reminder of what the Knicks are and who they are — and there are people who need a reminder. If so… Especially on days when Randall doesn't really shine. Randle played poorly on Saturday, but on Monday he twisted his ankle early and was in doubt for the rest of the game.
For the second game in a row, Deuce McBride was great (20 points, 4 threes). He's clearly embraced the dueling opportunity afforded to him thanks to the Immanuel Quickley and Brunson bulky calf trades. But at this point in his career, it's clear that McBride's sweet spot is being an energy player off the bench. He is by no means solely responsible for the Knicks' offense falling behind in the final innings.
But he's not a game controller like Branson. Very few people are. And Branson is made of a lot of things: grit, toughness, competitiveness. He's not made of iron. He's not made of steel. In some cases, the Knicks may have to win without him.
“It's tough because Jalen is a big piece for us, but he's good enough to win the game,” Randle said. “We just didn’t tighten it up as hard.”
Randle looked confused, and Thibodeau looked confused.
“We have more than enough to win the game,” he said.
Again, one game. long season. You can get games like this. There are days like this. But this is the part of the season where the Knicks must focus on racking up wins and gaining separation from a plethora of teams with similar records in the East. This is the first of 13 games the Knicks will play in New York City, 12 of which will be played at the Garden and one in Brooklyn. It's part of the schedule and you never expect to run the table. I have hiccups. A cold wave is coming.
The Knicks had some hiccups on Monday. They matched expectations with a late-game performance early in the week when the mercury in New York City was barely breaking out of the low 20s. It happens.
It doesn't happen very often. That is not the case in the East this year. Not if you want to leave something to play with when the sun comes back in full force.
