By Derrel Jazz Johnson
After being up by as many as 17 earlier in the game, the Detroit
Pistons were about to cut the lead down to just four with 80 seconds
left. After Wednesday’s disastrous loss in Brooklyn, the New York
Knicks needed this game and got it. The team scored 7-straight to put
the game out of reach and won 121-112. RJ Barrett exploded for 20 in
the first half and finished with a season-high 30 points. Jalen
Brunson added 26 points and 7 assists, while Julius Randle added 21.
After being up by as many as 17 earlier in the game, the Detroit
Pistons were about to cut the lead down to just four with 80 seconds
left. After Wednesday’s disastrous loss in Brooklyn, the New York
Knicks needed this game and got it. The team scored 7-straight to put
the game out of reach and won 121-112. RJ Barrett exploded for 20 in
the first half and finished with a season-high 30 points. Jalen
Brunson added 26 points and 7 assists, while Julius Randle added 21.
Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said after the game, “I think the start of the game was good.
The thing that was different about this game is we still didn’t shoot
the ball great, but I thought we made a lot of unselfish plays that
helped get high-quality shots. I thought everyone was focused on
helping the team first and we ended up scoring 120 points.”
Thibodeau praised the play of Barrett. “Great downhill, attacking the basket, a lot of
pressure on the rim,” he explained. “We’ve been terrific with scoring in the paint all year
long, and a big part of that is the pressure he puts on people. I
thought guys made unselfish plays. I thought Derrick (Rose) played
with a lot of energy, got into the paint, made plays. I thought Jalen
(Brunson) had timely buckets in the fourth quarter. Julius (Randle) with big time rebounds at the
end in traffic. We had a lot of guys step up. I thought Isaiah
(Hartenstein) played really well over the course of the game.”
After getting trashed by the Orlando Magic at Madison Square Garden
long, and a big part of that is the pressure he puts on people. I
thought guys made unselfish plays. I thought Derrick (Rose) played
with a lot of energy, got into the paint, made plays. I thought Jalen
(Brunson) had timely buckets in the fourth quarter. Julius (Randle) with big time rebounds at the
end in traffic. We had a lot of guys step up. I thought Isaiah
(Hartenstein) played really well over the course of the game.”
After getting trashed by the Orlando Magic at Madison Square Garden
Last Sunday afternoon 145-135, the Knicks embarked on a 6-game West
Coast Trip. It began Tuesday night against the Utah Jazz followed by the
Denver Nuggets, Golden State, Phoenix Suns, Oklahoma City Thunder before
finishing up in Portland.
Sports Editor Andrew Rosario contributed to this article.
