PHILADELPHIA — Desperation lastly bought Tom Thibodeau to strive it.
The beginning middle, Mitchell Robinson, was out because the second quarter with a sore knee. The deficit reached 12 factors with about 11 minutes remaining and the offense was sputtering.
Thibodeau required offense and the Sixers have been undersized as a result of Joel Embiid sat with the flu.
So for the primary time in his Knicks tenure, Thibodeau gave the Julius Randle-Obi Toppin frontcourt a authentic likelihood. It was a smashing success and spurred the Knicks to a 106-104 victory Friday evening in Philadelphia, snapping a three-game shedding streak.
“That’s one of the first times [I saw the Toppin-Randle frontcourt],” mentioned level guard Jalen Brunson. “I found it worked.”
Toppin was the catalyst with 13 of his 17 factors within the fourth quarter, together with a go-ahead trey with about 90 seconds remaining. Thibodeau prefers a conventional middle, whether or not it’s Robinson or Isaiah Hartenstein, however the circumstances of the deficit and the Sixers enjoying small pressured the coach out of his consolation zone.
If it’s a lineup Thibodeau embraces, it clears a hurdle towards one of many greatest conundrums of his tenure: discovering extra enjoying time for Toppin, the thrilling fan favourite whose minutes have been restricted as strictly Randle’s backup.
“We talked about getting the opportunity to do it,” Thibodeau mentioned. “If it presents itself, we’ll do it.”
“We had the need. They were small, so the speed of the game and we were behind — I thought that was a way we could speed the game up a bit.”
Brunson, who scored eight of his team-high 23 factors within the fourth quarter, was a fan of the configuration. Removing the middle unclogged the paint and opened the driving lanes.
“We scored points and we won the game. I think that’s pretty special,” Brunson mentioned. “Different dynamic, different look and we were able to flow through it and came out with a win.”
Thibodeau, coming off three blowout defeats, combined it up past the fourth-quarter frontcourt. He tried a brand new beginning lineup with Quentin Grimes changing Evan Fournier. Then he tried an 11-man rotation.
But the changes have been largely duds till the fourth quarter, when the Knicks (4-4) outscored the Sixers (4-6), 32-18, over the ultimate 10 ½ minutes.
“We got in a hole. I liked the competitive spirit of the team, the fight,” Thibodeau mentioned. “They put a lot of pressure on us with dribble penetration. I thought our closeouts were better. We got down the floor, got them spread out and we got some good looks.”
The Sixers (4-6) are thought of pseudo-contenders when wholesome, however they have been ripe for selecting off Friday with out James Harden (out for a month with a foot harm) and Embiid (flu).
Thibodeau countered with Grimes at small ahead.
The Knicks starters with Fournier had struggled within the three earlier contests, all lopsided defeats. Thibodeau was hesitant to make lineup adjustments in his first two seasons with the Knicks, preferring consistency even throughout downtrends and baffling play at level guard.
But a backcourt of Fournier and Jalen Brunson was at all times problematic given their defensive deficiencies. Thibodeau labeled Grimes’ likelihood as an analysis.
“Each season’s different, each situation’s different. So you just take it by — you’re looking at everything,” Thibodeau mentioned. “You’re studying your team. You want to take a look at something. We didn’t have an opportunity to get a look at Quentin in the starting lineup in the preseason. We were going to evaluate it then. So this gives us an opportunity to do it now.”
The ‘evaluation’ didn’t final lengthy within the first half. Grimes was subbed out after two fast fouls and didn’t return till the third quarter. He completed with simply two factors in 20 ineffective minutes.
“There’s nothing set in stone,” Thibodeau mentioned concerning the lineup. “It’ll be game by game, get a look at different guys.”
The large adjustment was unleashing Toppin.
MITCH INJURED
Robinson limped to the locker room within the second quarter and was dominated out for the rest with a “sore knee,” in accordance with the Knicks. Robinson, who missed 51 video games the final two seasons (most of them due to a fractured foot), was scoreless in 12 minutes Friday with three fouls.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com