3. Tim Hardaway Jr.
This win didn’t feature the quintessential Tim Hardaway Jr. of the first eight games. He never took over, and the scoring output was spread through the rookies, bench players and Damyean Dotson. However, it still resulted in a fine night on the road.
At 18 points — tied for third — on 7-for-17 shooting, it neared his shooting average of 43.1 percent. Not the most efficient mark, but also on a high volume of attempts; Friday marked just the second time he totaled fewer than 19 shots in 2018-19, as his frequent contributions have been needed amidst Kristaps Porzingis‘ injury recovery.
Hardaway delivered across the stat sheet, however, with a 4-for-11 tally on three-pointers, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and a 10 Plus/Minus. It worked out better than guarding Victor Oladipo, who torched him in a defensive test, on Halloween.
Granted, this game saw Dotson defend Luka Doncic and keep Hardaway on Dallas’ lower-profile players, since they play better at the opposite end of the floor without him, per NBA Advanced Stats, but it was still a positive showing for the New York Knicks’ leading scorer.
Against the turbulent Washington Wizards, Hardaway should regain form and find another strong scoring night. They’re arguably the NBA’s coldest team, and that may pay dividends for New York.