In Memphis, Brunson-Less Knicks come back to defeat the Grizzlies.
The New York Knicks rebounded in more ways than one on Saturday night.
The Knicks, who suffered their first defeat of the year on Thursday in Dallas, defeated the severely depleted Memphis Grizzlies 106-94 at FedExForum to return to a season-high seven games over.500.
With the victory on Saturday, head coach Tom Thibodeau made NBA history by becoming the 36th coach to win 500 games in his career. 148 have arrived with the Knicks thus far.
The Knicks dominated the interior game with a plus-21 edge on the glass, while Memphis placed seven men on their injured list. Julius Randle matched 11 rebounds with a game-high 24 points, while Isaiah Hartenstein grabbed 20 more rebounds, tying his career-high set on January 3 and now averaging over 15.6 over his last six games.
Jalen Brunson missed Saturday’s game for New York (23-16) due to a calf injury. Miles McBride, who started the season for the first time in his place, scored a career-high 19 points, mostly thanks to a flawless 3-of-3 performance from three-point range in the first half. When McBride played 38 minutes, the Knicks had a plus-13 team rating on the scoreboard, a team-best performance.
The Knicks will probably count their blessings despite the victory because they played the injured Grizzlies a little too close for comfort: Memphis suffered a severe injury that rendered several of its key players, including Ja Morant (out for the season), ineligible. Following a Friday loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis was forced to field a makeshift squad that looked like its G League team in Mississippi, sans Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr.
To their credit, the replacements forced 14 turnovers from the Metropolitan in the first half and even managed to take a 57-53 lead into the half. Three different Grizzlies recorded at least four assists, while Luke Kennard and Vince Williams Jr. each finished with a dozen points.
New York got its act together in the second, mustering a familiarly stifling defensive effort that allowed only 15 points in the third period, one that saw the visitors lead by as much as 12. The path to that fateful advantage was paced by Donte DiVincenzo, whose singular 8-0 run more or less placed momentum into the Knicks’ corner from there on out: after a three-point with 2:55 left in the third, Memphis (14-25) never got close than eight, and that was in the penultimate minute of regulation with the result more or less decided.
Memphis at least forced the Knicks into a season-high 23 turnovers during the loss. That was undone by a 34 percent shooting performance in the second half, although rookie reserve GG Jackson scored a team-high 20 points in his breakthrough performance after scoring just 12 in his first six NBA games. On February 8, New York and Memphis will square off in Manhattan.
In the interim, the Knicks will play their holiday matinee at Madison Square Garden (3 p.m. ET, MSG) against the Orlando Magic on Monday afternoon.
