After getting thoroughly outclassed by the Detroit Pistons just a couple of days earlier, the New York Knicks looked like they were well on their way to a Defcon 1 loss at the hands of the Houston Rockets Saturday night. They won instead. Because they erased an 18-point deficit. And because just about everyone contributed during a 33-13 closeout run. But also because Mike Brown had Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, and Mitchell Robinson all on the bench during crunch time.
With about 5:04 remaining in the fourth quarter, New York’s head coach subbed in Jose Alvarado for Bridges. The Knicks’ trade-deadline savior then proceeded to pick up three steals over the next three-and-a-half-minutes, while creating offensive havoc with his dribble penetration and pace-pushing.
Though New York’s comeback was well underway when Brown made this decision, finishing with both Alvarado and Landry Shamet instead of Bridges represents an inflection point. To be sure, Bridges was largely fine. He had some big plays in the fourth quarter. But Brown wanted physicality and chaos to close the game, so he put two players earning under $7 million combined alongside Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, and OG Anunoby.
Meanwhile, Hart and Robinson tallied a combined six seconds in the final frame. All of those brief ticks went to Hart.
Sometime down the line, this might be worth a larger conversation about the starting lineup, and about New York’s pecking order of importance writ large. For now, it is a masterstroke. Because make no mistake, the Knicks needed this game.
The Knicks restored some goodwill
It would not be a stretch to say New York was facing another existential crisis if it lost to the Rockets. Yes, Houston is a quality team. There’s no shame in losing to could-be contenders.
Yet, these games are also litmus tests for the Knicks’ own status as contenders. They failed their previous one against the Pistons, prompting a ton of uncomfortable questions and sentiments. After leading for much of the first half versus Houston, the wheels appeared to be coming off again by the time they headed into the locker room.
Frustration and panic settled in once the Knicks fell behind by 18. “Here we go again” was no doubt a common refrain among fans. New York battled against that current. And while Mike Brown’s boldness was the cherry-atop their comeback sundae, the Knicks were only in a position to win thanks to everyone.
Towns defended his butt off in the fourth quarter. Shamet played with reckless abandon, including on the offensive glass. Brunson was smothered by the Rockets for much of the night, but parlayed fewer ball screens into a trademark crunch-time annihilation. Anunoby made life a living hell for Kevin Durant. Alvarado made the Rockets’ clutch offense look even sloppier and more aimless than usual.
Near the end of it all, Brown delivered his finishing touch. He has shown few qualms about benching key players down the stretch of tight games in the past. But this was a whole other gamble.
Three of the Knicks’ perceived top-six players—Bridges, Hart, Robinson—were watching from the bench during crunch time. With Brunson being blanketed beyond comprehension for much of the night, such a decision could have led to a death sentence. It instead helped start and complete New York' s best comeback of the season.
Even more importantly, it spared the Knicks from facing an unrelenting gauntlet of general skepticism and doomsday spin. They have not answered all of their questions. Not even close. But this game, with this decision from Mike Brown, is evidence of Shamet’s importance, of Alvarado’s value, of the team’s overall depth, and above all, of the many options and (best-case) outcomes these Knicks are capable of reaching.