Coming off the heels of a disappointing loss to the Toronto Raptors in which the team only scored four points in the final two minutes, the Knicks managed to blow it yet again down the stretch, but this time to the Chicago Bulls thanks to a DeMar DeRozan game-winner.
The Knicks had every opportunity to seal this game, however, we all know it can’t be that simple. Whether it was poor offense, poor defense, or the complete lack of an ability to make a free throw, New York somehow managed to lose this game.
Knicks’ inability to hit free throws haunts them in brutal loss to Bulls
In good news, RJ Barrett had undoubtedly his best game of the season as he scored an incredible 44 points, seven rebounds, and four assists, shooting 14-of-20 from the field, 6-of-6 from three, and 10-of-13 from the free throw line.
Barrett simply couldn’t be stopped no matter where he shot the ball, making for a truly unforgettable performance. Without him, the Knicks likely would’ve lost this game by a wide margin, as outside of him and Julius Randle, New York struggled offensively.
Speaking of Randle, he had himself a day as well. While he struggled to start the game and had some questionable shots, he managed to scrape together a very good game. He dropped 29 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, and had two blocks, shooting 11-of-22 from the field and 5-of-10 from behind the arc.
These two players were the reason for this game being close. Both players have looked fantastic throughout the Knicks’ last 15 or so games and have been the biggest reasons for the team’s success.
The most disappointing player of the night was undoubtedly Jalen Brunson, who had 12 points and nine assists, however, he shot 5-of-15 from the field, 1-of-3 from three, and most importantly, just 1-of-4 from the free throw line.
Brunson was called upon to take the biggest shots of the game from the free throw line with just 6.1 seconds left in the game with the Knicks up one. Normally, you’d think these shots would be guaranteed, as Brunson is shooting 89.1% from the stripe this season, however, he missed both which led to DeRozan’s game-winner.
This is the second game in a row in which Brunson has struggled. While this game wasn’t nearly as atrocious as Wednesday’s game, Brunson still didn’t show up when the team needed him to, which is a rare occurrence for this season.
As a team, New York shot 15-of-26 from the free throw line, which is absolutely unacceptable. It is such a simple part of the game yet it seems like the Knicks have struggled with it over the last couple of seasons.
Even outside of Brunson’s two misses at the end of the game, Quentin Grimes, who is shooting 82.1% from the line, missed two of his own with 1:06 left. If these two players hit their free throws, we would be talking about this game in a very different way.
The Barrett and Randle masterclass was a beautiful sight, but at the end of the day, this is a terrible loss. Entering the Knicks’ Christmas Day matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers, these players must step up. Joel Embiid and James Harden are two players who can take over the game at any second so the Knicks stars must keep up in any way they can.
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