The Heat rotated, but RJ Barrett got another open corner 3 on the opposite side of the floor before Robinson could get there … With two on the ball, Brunson got off it. Robinson hedged out, but Caleb Martin (Brunson’s defender) stayed with his man, not leaving Robinson alone with the Knicks’ most dangerous offensive player. Two possessions later, Grimes (being guarded by Robinson) set a ball-screen for Brunson. On New York’s first possession of the second, Obi Toppin (guarded by Robinson) handed the ball to Brunson, who dribbled at Robinson and drew Kyle Lowry off the strong side corner, leaving Grimes open. And one key to their success was putting Duncan Robinson into a couple of pick-and-rolls early in the period. And if that success were to continue, the Knicks would have been in a big hole at halftime, because they were down 10 after the first 12 minutes, having scored just 14 points on 22 first-quarter possessions.īut the Knicks proceeded to score 18 points on their first seven possessions of the second, turning that 10-point deficit into a six-point lead. In each of the first four games of this series, the Heat won the second quarter by at least five points. The Knicks couldn’t capitalize on the other end, but the Heat couldn’t make the shots they needed after that. Then he stayed in front of Butler and took the ball away … That’s when Grimes, the other guy who played all 48 minutes, made the biggest defensive play of the game.Īfter banging knees with Bam Adebayo on a screen, he limped back into the play … The Knicks’ lead was again six points with a little less than two minutes left. Mental toughness, physical toughness, ability to think on his feet, ability to lead, ability to connect with people, bring the best out of people. “What can you say about the guy? He’s just incredible, all-around player. He conditions himself to play big minutes. He never has to adjust in a game because of the way he prepares himself. He does it in our gym, does it all summer long. “I’ve never seen anyone work the way he does. “The thing I love about him is you prepare yourself for that,” Thibodeau said. Thibodeau is a defense-first coach and Brunson can be a defensive liability, but the former was about as effusive as a coach can be about his star player in the aftermath of an exhausting and exhaustive performance. “This time of year you’re going to see guys get big minutes.” “If he needed a blow he would have told me,” Thibodeau said. And he still had gas in the tank in the fourth quarter, hitting two of the biggest shots of the night, a pick-and-roll pull-up 3-pointer to put the Knicks up seven with 7:30 left and an isolation pull-up jumper that put them up six with 4:10 remaining. The Knicks’ star played all 48 minutes on Wednesday, rewarding his coach with a game-high 38 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Through Game 4, the Knicks had been outscored by 21 points ( 29.1 per 100 possessions) in 30 minutes with Brunson off the floor.Ĭoach Tom Thibodeau’s solution for that problem was to never take Brunson off the floor. It’s also been shorthanded, with Kia Sixth Man of the Year runner-up Immanuel Quickley missing the last two games. The New York bench, which was terrific in the regular season, has not been good in this series. Here are some notes, numbers and film from a game that had New York fans chanting “Knicks in 7!” as they exited Madison Square Garden … The Heat had cut a 19-point Knicks lead down to two, but New York would not let their season die, and they sent the series back to Miami with a a 112-103 victory. Jalen Brunson scored 10 of his team’s 28 points in the final period, while Quentin Grimes came up with the biggest defensive play of the night. And despite the lack of rest, they each came up big in the fourth quarter. With the New York Knicks’ season on the line, their two starting guards played all 48 minutes of Game 5 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Miami Heat on Wednesday night. NEW YORK - When you’re facing elimination, there can be no holding back. Playing all 48 minutes, Jalen Brunson scores 38 points and New York withstands Miami's late run to stave off elimination.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |