Big Night For Brunson In Atlanta
Photo: Special to the NY Beacon
By Andrew Rosario
Brown Ties Riley With 51 Wins
Photo: Michael Henriquez – NY Beacon
Madison Square Garden
The New York Knicks (50-28) totally embarrassed an inept Chicago Bulls (29-50) team last Friday night at Madison Square Garden 136-96 led by forward OG Anunoby scoring 31 points. It was the first time all year that all 15 players would get on the scoreboard. The knockout punch came early as New York outscored Chicago 20-1 before the Bulls made their first field goal. The much needed win came after the Knicks had lost their 3 previous road games after winning 7 in a row. Said first year head coach Mike Brown of the rout and the start of the game, “l thought our guys were good to start the game. One of the things we’ve been talking about is our starts, and our guys were really good and it doesn’t matter who we’re playing, at the end of the day it’s about us and l thought our guys were really good with that.”
The Knicks looked to carry over that momentum when they went on the road Monday night to face the Atlanta Hawks. It was a back and forth game all night but in the end, New York came away with a 108-105 win. Hawks guard CJ McCollum converted a 3-point, half court shot, that would have tied the game. Upon review, the basket was overturned after being reviewed by the refs, showed he did not get the shot off before time expired.
4 of the 5 Knicks starters scored in double figures, led by Jalen Brunson’s 30 points. New York had no answer for Atlanta’s guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker who torched the Knicks for a game high 36 points. New York’s back-up center Mitchell Robinson continued to be a force on both sides of the floor grabbing 12 rebounds, 4 of them offensive.
With the Knicks up 3 (108-105) Atlanta had the ball with 1.5 seconds left and had to go the full length of the court to get off the shot which would have tied the game. Brunson was all over McCollum as he dribbled up the right side. McCollum got the shot off as it hit the backboard before going in. Upon review, the basket was nullified, giving New York the win. Said Brown on the decision not to foul right away, “it’s tricky. If he misses it, obviously it’s a long heave. But if you foul him on the rebound or you foul him when he’s turning to heave it, now they get 3-free throws. It’s something we’ve talked about before. It’s a toss up situation. The whole thing was at worst they’ll tie it and we’ll go to overtime. Lesson learned on a couple possessions down the stretch.”
The win for Brown tied him with Pat Riley for the most wins in his first year as head coach of the Knicks with 51. He can pass Riley Thursday night when they host the Boston Celtics.
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