Marathon of the “MLK Day” obliges, this match begins at the beginning of the afternoon in New York (1 p.m.). Unfortunately for the spectators present at Madison Square Garden, it does not smile on the Knicks.
Apathetic, Tom Thibodeau’s men are slow in all aspects of the game and are down 10 points (15-25) after 8 minutes. Despite the contribution of Julius Randle, author of 11 points, the locals are powerless against a huge Miles Bridges (22 points) and accuse (already) the blow at the end of the first quarter (23-34).
The sequel is no better. Despite a quick “run” to pick up 4 points (30-34), the Knicks are penalized by their defensive wanderings and the Hornets serenely widen the gap again. The boiling Miles Bridges scores 6 additional points, Terry Rozier catches fire (10 points at 4/4 in the second quarter) and the Knicks, despite a good RJ Barrett (13 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists), are dropped at halftime (44-62).
Nothing changes in the second half. The two teams engage in a fair third quarter (24-23 Hornets) but lackluster, and the gap stabilizes. The Knicks are better defensively, but their offense still isn’t keeping up except for Julius Randle and RJ Barrett. The fourth quarter is of poor quality: 12 points scored in aggregate by the two teams in 6 minutes. In a “MSG” invaded by a cathedral silence since the return from the locker room, the Knicks bow, at the end of a soulless match.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Miles Bridges. The Hornets strong winger has made the Garden… his garden. Very quickly in the “zone”, he took advantage of his time in the Big Apple to establish his new career record: 38 points at 14/20 on shots, adding 12 rebounds and 5 assists. A huge card on the most prestigious of stages which will not go unnoticed in the middle of the voting period for the next All-Star Game.
✅ terry rozier. In a role of lieutenant of Miles Bridges, the back delivered a full game: 22 points (8/18), 6 rebounds and 7 assists. In LaMelo Ball’s absence, he took on creative responsibilities with flying colors.
✅ Immanuel Quickley. The leader was one of the (very) rare satisfactions of the Knicks on this meeting. As so often, he brought a spark off the bench (12 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals), a touch of madness to a sadly apathetic team in attack. The more the matches pass, the more the former Wildcat imposes itself as the sixth regular man of the Knicks.
⛔️ Evan Fournier. The roller coaster continues for the Frenchman. After two good outings against Dallas then Atlanta, he failed to pass three and was transparent (6 points at 2/9). If the Knicks collectively sank in attack, the former Magic and Celtics was certainly the most in difficulty.
THE FOLLOWING
New York (22-22): return to MSG tomorrow for the second game of a “back-to-back” against Wolves
Charlotte (24-20): trip to Boston, Wednesday
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