Towns Double-Double Paces Knicks
Photo: Special to the NY Beacon
By Shara Talia Taylor
The New York Knicks clinched the #3 seed in the NBA Eastern Conference after a 112-95 win over the Toronto Raptors Friday night at Madison Square Garden.
The victory marked the 53rd win of the season, the most wins by a Knicks head coach in their first season. Jalen Brunson led New York with 29 points, Karl-Anthony added a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Jordan Clarkson, Jose Alvarado, and Mikal Bridges were praised by Coach Mike Brown for their defense and being effective on both ends of the floor.
“I thought we started the game the right way tonight,” Coach Brown said. “Everybody that played contributed.”
Brown said Bridges was their defensive player of the game. “His physicality defensively was huge, and he guarded different guys,” he said. “Sometimes he guarded point guard, sometimes he guarded Ingram (Brandon), other times he guarded Scotty Barnes and he did a really good job.”
Bridges added 13 points and led the team with three steals. He made the first shot of the night, a layup with an assist from Towns. New York was ahead 7-3 at the first timeout of the game and 22-21 by the end of the first quarter. The Knicks dominated the second quarter, outscoring the Raptors 29-15. They led 51-36 at halftime and 79-64 at the end of the third quarter. Both teams scored 28 points in the third quarter and New York bested Toronto 33-31 in the fourth quarter. New York forced 18 turnovers in the game and had 12 of their own. OG Anunoby suffered a left ankle injury in the game.
Brown, with his 52nd win Thursday night against the Boston Celtics, surpassed Pat Riley’s record for the most wins by a Knicks head coach in their first season. Riley had 51 wins during the 1991-92 season. “I just expected to try the best I can to win at the highest level,” he said in his pregame interview about how he judged this year.
He said that he had hoped for the team to be connected by the time of the playoffs. “The group has been connected for a while now and that’s a lot of fun to see,” he said following the game when asked if the recent wins sparked confidence and connection ahead of playoffs. “Any time you win, it helps with the belief, especially if you win doing the things that you talked about trying to do.”
The Knicks will face the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs.
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