One more night on the NBA planet, and one more crazy game at Madison Square Garden. While the meeting between Knicks and wolves deprived ofAnthony Edwards And Karl Anthony Towns did not particularly inspire excitement on paper a priori, the evening was however absolutely crazy on the boards of the “World’s Most Famous Arena”.
In a huge attacking match, where the defenses were therefore obviously left in the locker room, Chris Finch’s men thus won a very precious victory in the race for the “play-in” after three consecutive losses (140-134).
Engulfed at the start of the first quarter by an attack by Wolves with absolutely lunar efficiency (42 points at 73% on shots), the residents of the “MSG” were up to 17 points behind in the second quarter- time, before finally managing to reverse the “momentum” in the second period. Particularly in the third quarter during which a Julius Randle exceptional scored 26 of his team’s 38 points, in addition to the 26 points he had previously scored in the first period. After three quarters, the Knicks All-Star therefore had 52 points, his new career high!
The last act was slower for the n°30, physically burned and who only added 5 points. In his image, it was the entire New York formation that broke down in attack at the worst moment: “only” 26 points scored in the last act, even if New York was leading by 5 points less than five minutes from the start. end… But the Wolves managed rare defensive stops when necessary, and then added, through the intermediary of Mike Conley and a Taurean Prince in superstar mode (35 points at 12/13 on shots), the decisive baskets against a bad Knicks defense until the end.
In the end, if the outcome is certainly disappointing, it is not a dramatic defeat for Tom Thibodeau’s men since the result has no impact on their 5th place in the Eastern Conference. The regret is rather not to have offered a victory to Julius Randle after such a performance, and especially to have displayed such an unworthy defensive level…
On the other hand, on the Wolves side, the stakes of this success are colossal since the Minnesota pack is breathing new life into the race for the “play-in” after three defeats in a row, and thus remains in contact with Golden State and Dallas. in the still keen quest for 6th place in the Western Conference.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– Despite the loss, Julius Randle in Knicks history. If the evening was not perfect for him since the Knicks lost the match, the fact remains that the strong wing of the club delivered a stratospheric performance, which gives him a place of choice in history. of the franchise. With his 57 points scored, he thus holds the third best mark in the history of the Knicks, after Carmelo Anthony’s 62 points in 2014 and Bernard King’s 60 points in 1984, but also the fifth best mark in the history of the Knicks. Madison Square Garden. Not to mention the best mark for the number of points scored in a single quarter, since he planted 26 points in the third quarter alone. A legendary night for the New York franchise record books.
– Taurean Prince and the “Madison Square Garden Syndrome”. It is a truth as established as that of the sky which is blue, of the water which is wet or of the fire which burns: each season, a “role-player” comes out of his box and completely chars the “MSG” in a totally unpredictable and almost irrational. This season, the winner is Taurean Prince, author of an absolutely lunar performance on the boards of the hall of Penn Plaza, which definitely continues to inspire the four corners of the league. While only pointing to 5.6 points on average over his last five games, the Wolves winger scored 35 points at 12/13 on shots, without missing a single shot behind the arc (8/8)! !! Including THE decisive shot which gave his team a two-possession lead, less than a minute from the end of the match. An evening as implausible as it is impressive, from the veteran.
TOPS & FLOPS
✅ Mike Conley. In relay of a Taurean Prince suddenly decided to play like Kevin Durant, the veteran point guard did a very good job, in particular in management: 24 points and 11 assists for only 2 ball losses. In control of the pick-and-roll, he easily found flaws in a Knicks defense that paid homage to France by striking. By offering in particular 11 passages on the free throw line.
✅ Jalen Brunson. If Julius Randle logically takes all the light, “JB” was more sober but just as valuable with his 23 points (9/18) and 10 assists. Only “criticism”: perhaps he should have taken things more in hand in the “money-time”, when the “momentum” left the Knicks camp while the Wolves knockout seemed close…
⛔️ The Defense of New York. What else, in the “flops” section? For some inexplicable reason, given that they had had three days off and Wolves were playing without their top two forwards, the Knicks did not defend in this game. Quite simply. Coverage on pick-and-roll and closeouts was particularly poor and all too often offered shooting positions close to a pick-up game context for Minnesota players. Added to this very poor defense was the fact that their opponents were simply having a very, very, very big night in attack, with 62% on shots, including 58% from behind the arc! The recipe for disaster, clearly, even if the Knicks weren’t that far off. But this inability to defend, and in particular to capture this defensive rebound with less than 20 seconds from the end which could have offered a chance to equalize, was fatal.
THE FOLLOWING
– Knicks (42-31): trip to Miami, Wednesday night to Thursday (12:30 a.m.).
– Wolves (36-37): reception of the Hawks, on the night of Wednesday to Thursday (01:00).
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