After a frustrating week, can The NY Knicks bounce back?

NY Knicks’ Highlights

Here’s what caught my eye from each game:

Miami Heat (98) vs NYK (88)

NY had a strong start in this one (in particular their 27-point second quarter) and took a 7 point lead into halftime. But an awful third quarter in which they gave up 39 points and only scored 21 of their own sealed their fate. Jimmy Buckets took control for Miami and New York didn’t have much of an answer.

Randle put up his usual numbers (22points, 8 rebs, 3 assists) – albeit not his most efficient night (41% FG and 33% 3P), and Nerlens Noel once again filled in admirably for the injured Robinson with 8pts, 11 rebs,

and 4 blocks.

But the highlight goes to Derrick Rose, who in his second game back from a 10 game absence (covid protocols) provided a spark off the bench with 16 points (3/5 from deep) and a nice block on Tyler Herro:

NY Knicks (101) vs Minnesota Timberwolves (102)

After a loss to the heat at home, the Knicks traveled to Minneapolis to face the worst team in the league.

There’s not much to say about this one except it’s a game they should never have lost. Up 11 going into the 4th…

Despite the result, the Knicks got strong scoring games from both RJ (23 points, including 3/4 from deep) and Julius (26 points on 55% shooting).

Something that has impressed me all year is RJ’s hot shooting from the left corner three – he’s up to 48.6% from that spot for the season. For comparison, he only shoots 28.6% from the right corner on only marginally more attempts.

Anyway, here’s RJ letting it fly from the corner confidently:

Dallas Mavericks (99) vs NY Knicks (86)

This was a game that the Knicks were well and truly in for three quarters, despite off scoring nights for both Randle (14 points on 25% shooting) and Barrett (8 points on 27.3% shooting).

As has been the norm of late, Alec Burks had another strong game off the bench scoring 20 points, including 4/6 from three. – The Knicks should really consider re-signing him in the offseason.

The highlight of this game for me came in the second quarter, where we saw Obi Toppin have perhaps the most encouraging stretch of basketball of his young Knick career. Obi scored all of his 9 points during a second-quarter run that included this put-back dunk that got the 2,000 strong Garden crowd on their feet:

Most importantly, it was a stretch of play in which Toppin looked more confident and aggressive than we have seen him all season long.

NYK (125 ) vs Detroit Pistons ( 81)

After three consecutive losses, it was a timely matchup against the Pistons to help get back on track. New York came out firing on all cylinders, scoring 41 first-quarter points on the back of some hot shooting from Julius Randle (20 points – 4/5 from deep) and Reggie Bullock (14 points – 4/6 from deep). The duo continues to build some excellent chemistry – I’ll be writing more about that later in the week – stay tuned.

This one quickly turned into a blow-out as the Knicks ran away 44 point winners. Randle finished with a game-high 29 points and Bullock finished with a season-high 22 points, including 6/10 from deep. Kevin Knox even got some burn in the final 5 minutes, draining 3 three-pointers in quick fashion to remind us that he does still have potential as a shooter.

The highlight of this game was undoubtedly the first quarter effort from the team as a whole on the second night of a back-to-back: