The Knicks are without their superstar floor general Jalen Brunson for at least two weeks after he suffered an ankle injury during Thursday’s loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
It is a sizable loss to contend with at this point in the season. With just 18 games to go, the Knicks hold a 4.5-game lead for the No. 3 seed in the East over the Milwaukee Bucks and have been simply mediocre of late, going 5-5 in their last 10.
But Monday night in Sacramento against the Kings, the Knicks played a relentless, tactically precise brand of basketball that has been so very difficult to find consistently this season. And they did so without their star man in Brunson.
Their sputtering defense clicked on all cylinders in the 133-104 victory. Sixteen turnovers translated into 24 points. They held Sacramento to just 41.9% shooting from the field and 29.4% from three-point range.
When the defense made those stops, the transition game was pristine. New York recorded 26 points on the fast break, compared to Sacramento’s eight. It also did not hurt that the Knicks shot 22-of-40 from three-point land, but that is not the sustainable part of Monday’s performance that head coach Tom Thibodeau’s men can rely on without Brunson.
“For us, that’s got to be our way,” he said. “We’re not replacing Jalen individually. We can’t. But we can do it collectively. If we play like that, we’ll have a chance.”
This is the type of basketball the Knicks were built for, anyway.
OG Anunoby is one of the premier lockdown defenders in the game, and he played the part on Monday, holding DeMar DeRozan to 4-of-10 shooting while racking up five of his team’s 13 steals.
In Brunson’s absence, Deuce McBride not only went 6-of-10 from the field for 15 points, but he had seven helpers, two steals, and a defensive rating of 105 — a noticeable step up from his previous season average that was over 110.
The return of Mitchell Robinson has bolstered the front court, supplying the Knicks with an elite rim protector and rebounder, too.
It takes significant pressure off Karl-Anthony Towns, who can focus more on picking up the scoring load with Brunson shelved. He did just that against the Kings with 26 points and nine boards.
“It just sets the table,” Towns said of his team’s defense. “We come out focused, ready, and we get some good defensive stops, good defensive possessions. Even if they hit some tough shots, it gives you defensive confidence. It gives you momentum.”
