The streak is over. Unexpectedly.
Playing as if hungover from their double-OT thriller two nights earlier, the Knicks collapsed Tuesday night time in opposition to the lowly Hornets, malfunctioning as an offense down the stretch of a 112-105 loss at MSG.
The Knicks (39-28) managed simply eight factors within the closing eight minutes, sending a surprised Garden crowd to the exits in silence.
“Just ran out of gas,” mentioned Julius Randle, who was visibly exhausted within the fourth quarter.
The Hornets (21-46) had misplaced three straight and have been lacking their finest participant, the injured LaMelo Ball, however the Knicks simply went by means of the motions whereas blowing a 16-point halftime lead.
It snapped New York’s successful streak at 9, or one in need of its longest stretch within the final decade.
“I think every game is a trap game,” Tom Thibodeau mentioned. “But it’s human nature, too. You let your guard down a little bit, you’re going to slip. This league is too good.”
Randle, recent off being named the Eastern Conference’s Player of the Week, shot a depressing 5-for-17 with 16 factors. He appeared spent. Immanuel Quickley was additionally low-energy whereas filling in for the injured Jalen Brunson, lacking 11 of his 16 makes an attempt. The Knicks jacked up 40 3-pointers however made simply 27.5%.
Josh Hart, who misplaced his first recreation as a member of the Knicks, forged apart the drained excuse.
“It’s a reality but the reality is also our job is to play basketball,” Hart mentioned. “You bought folks getting up at 6 a.m. doing 12-hour shifts. Those guys are drained. For us, we’re taking part in a recreation and we’re lucky sufficient to be taking part in a recreation like this however we have now to maintain these in perspective.
“So we need to play lively and with energy every time we step on the court. That’s the biggest thing. I don’t think we can blame this on fatigue.”
On Tuesday, the Knicks took management on the finish of the primary half, once they used a 23-11 run to carry their 16-point lead on the break. Quentin Grimes capped the half with a breakaway reverse lay-up with 0.4 seconds remaining, driving the gang to its loudest cheers of the night.
Then it was all downhill. The Knicks’ lead dwindled to 2 by the beginning of the fourth quarter. Kelly Oubre Jr., Terry Rozier and Gordon Hayward all scored no less than 23 factors for the Hornets. RJ Barrett led the Knicks with 27 factors.
Before the sport, Thibodeau introduced Brunson would sit with a sore foot, the identical harm that sidelined the purpose guard in Sunday’s double-OT thriller over the Celtics. Thibodeau, who’s Bill Belichick-ian in his lack of harm updates, wouldn’t present a timetable however mentioned Brunson will journey with the workforce on the Western Conference street journey.
“We love our depth. The next guy, get in there and get it done,” Thibodeau mentioned. “We have more than enough to win.”
Quickley, who dropped a career-high 38 factors in opposition to the Celtics, began at level guard once more Tuesday however couldn’t duplicate the magic. Hornets coach Steve Clifford mentioned Brunson’s absence creates a domino impact that negatively impacts the Knicks.
“I think they’re a lot different because you don’t have both of them,” Clifford mentioned. “It’s not one or the other. Forty-eight minutes is a long time. So it does impact their depth. He was great the other night [in Boston]. He started off well. And then the end of the game and overtime. He had that stretch where he scored seven straight points and he’s played like that in stretches like that before. I would say Jalen to coach against is obviously one of the two guys you concentrate on. But certainly Quickley is capable of a big night and they have other guys, too.”
The Knicks are actually 3-3 document with out Brunson, the reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Month.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com