The New York Knicks captured their second win in three nights against the Brooklyn Nets, 114-104. This marks the first time this season that the Knicks have won two games in a row, as they were led by center Karl-Anthony Towns, who scored 26 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and added six assists in 34 minutes of action. Here are a few takeaways from the win:
OG Anunoby stepped up offensively once again
OG Anunoby was the second-highest-scoring Knick with 24 points and eight rebounds. He shot quite efficiently at 52% from the field and 42% behind the 3-point line, capturing three 3-pointers in total.
This is the second consecutive game where Anunoby has scored more than 20 points, and it is the fourth time in the last five games that he’s scored 24-plus points as well. Anunoby has found an offensive rhythm recently, and it is a delight to watch. The small forward has developed a strong presence in the restricted area and is currently shooting 68.8% on the season when taking shots within those parameters.
He’s been using his strength and agility to actively cut through lanes and get open for a shot near the rim. Anunoby has been taking a variety of shots lately between 3-pointers, which he is shooting 37.3% on, mid/long-range shots, and his specialty that I alluded to earlier, which is shots less than five feet from the rim. That includes 23 dunks so far.
It’s especially significant that Anunoby has been providing scoring recently with guard Jalen Brunson in an offensive funk. Brunson scored just 12 points on Sunday night, severely struggling from the field and the 3-point line. Despite his struggles, Anunoby and others stepped up to provide the much-needed scoring and get the Knicks a win.
Marvelous ball movement
Yet again, all of the players in the starting lineup for the Knicks scored in double figures, with four men putting up 20 points or more.
We’ve seen this pattern many times so far, as the Knicks broke a franchise record on Nov. 8 after their seventh consecutive game in which all five starters scored in double digits. This is the result of having a startling lineup with many options to go to on offense. This team is seeing offensive outbursts from multiple players, including Anunoby, forward Josh Hart, who scored 20 points on Sunday against Brooklyn, and guard Mikal Bridges, who added 21 points.
Outside of Towns, who has proven to be the main focal point of the offense thus far, the Knicks are heavily stacked with two-way players who can provide scoring if needed. One factor that truly uplifted the Knicks’ offense against the Nets was their ball movement. The team put up 33 assists in total, which is the sixth time this season they have posted 30 or more helpers. In those six games, their record is 5-1. Therefore, it is clear that sharing the ball is a catalyst for winning. Currently, the Knicks are ranked 11th in the NBA for team assists, averaging 26.8 per game thus far.
Defense showed up
Fans surely remember the previous game against the Nets on Friday night, which led to a thrilling game-winner by Brunson. Although it was electrifying, it was a frightful sight to see the Knicks trailing in a game that they had initially led by 21 points.
This was the result of a fourth-quarter collapse by the Knicks defense, who gave up 40 points in that quarter alone. Fortunately, fans did not see the same pattern on Sunday night, as they had a splendid second half of defending the Nets.
Nets guard Cam Thomas had put up 43 points against the Knicks on Friday but was limited to just 16 points and shooting 36% from the field. A large part of that has to do solely with Anunoby, who did a splendid job guarding Thomas most of the night. It was expected that a critical key to winning Sunday’s matchup would be containing Thomas, and that’s exactly what the Knicks defense did, letting him score just one point in the fourth quarter.
The Knicks also out-rebounded the Nets 47-35. This team’s defense hasn’t been the most consistent this season, but this game was a great example of how the Knicks need to close out in future games, especially in the fourth quarter, when they’ve previously found themselves in trouble.
