The New York Knicks won their first NBA Cup game of the 2025-26 season on Friday over the Miami Heat. Karl-Anthony Towns' 31 first-half points powered the Knicks to a halftime lead. Landry Shamet, however, had a career-high 36-point night that won them the game.
The Knicks needed a win to remain competitive in Cup Group C. Unfortunately, OG Anunoby left the game five minutes in. Jalen Brunson was already out. With two starters out for most of the game, the odds were suddenly stacked against New York.
Towns scored eight second-half points for a total of 39 after seeing adjusted coverage from Miami in the second half. Shamet, who had six first-half points, took advantage of the opportunities that created for New York's other players.
Despite another 75-point half for the Knicks, their lead was clearly not safe. The Heat outscored the Knicks 64-62 after halftime. Shamet, however, scored 30 of his 36 points in the second half to reach the new career-high point total. His red-hot shooting allowed New York to survive Miami's late pushes.
Mikal Bridges called Shamet's breakout in March
Last season, Mikal Bridges made headlines by telling media that he and Tom Thibodeau had disagreements regarding starters' minutes. Thibodeau's Knicks infamously led each year's minutes-played reports. In early March, Bridges went as far as to make his case against that trend to reporters.
"Sometimes it’s not fun on the body...sometimes I think [Thibodeau] just gets in his ways and he gets locked in...sometimes you’ve got to tell him, like Landry, for example, or somebody: keep him out there, they’re playing well," Bridges told Stefan Bondy.
While Bridges' point about the starters needing more rest was seen as valid, regardless of which reserves, mentioning Shamet by name was a loud endorsement. The two had played together on the Suns along with Cam Payne, an ex-Knick Bridges would also have been happy to see play more.
Bridges assisted Shamet just once against Miami, unsurprisingly on a 3-point shot. Josh Hart fed him all night long on his way to a 12 point, 12 rebound, 10 assist triple-double. He assisted Shamet six times for 16 Knick points.
Head coach Mike Brown's belief in the veteran has been apparent since the start of the season. With OG Anunoby set to miss at least two weeks, the Knicks could use more games like this from Shamet. Wing depth is not a particular strength of this roster, even when fully healthy. They'll need all they can get from the 28-year-old sharpshooter. A career-best night was a spectacular start.