Like the video arcade game Punch-Out!!!, the Knicks faced a new and more powerful opponent than the night before — this one the long and athletic Toronto Raptors — but figured a way to knock them out, 119-106 in Toronto on a Friday night. The Villanova Trio took over — Josh Hart turning a tight game in the 3rd with 15 straight points — repeat, 15 straight points — for the Knicks. Then Donte DiVincenzo — the Big Ragu — took it from there with 3 after 3 after 3 in the 4th — he went 7 for 10 on the night from 3 — and the Knicks rolled to an easy win. Jalen Brunson orchestrated, and Kentucky cat J ..read more

In the old days of a few years ago, Before Thibodeau, and Before Brunson, the Knicks would have lost this game. NY jumped out to a big lead early against the 2-16 Detroit Pistons — who had lost 15 in a row coming in — but the Pistons ate away at the lead and tied the game by the half, and took the lead entering the 4th quarter. Full of talented young players, the Pistons would just not go away. They kept hitting 3’s to stay in it and had a 2-pt lead with 9 minutes left. But this NY team is now an elite NBA team — and they put the game into win-mode in the final 6 minutes to easily vanquish Det ..read more

The Knicks jumped out to a huge lead and were looking to roll the LaMelo Ball-less Hornets off the court, but then fell asleep and allowed Charlotte to pull to within a point in the 3rd quarter. NY then put the pedal to the metal  — increasing their defense, powering the ball inside, kicking it outside, and spreading the ball around to blow the Hornets out — running up the score in the 4th quarter so that their overall point differential in the 4 in-season tourney games was as good as it could be. NY went 3-1 in the 4 games, but so did Boston, Brooklyn, Cleveland, and Orlando. NY and Bost ..read more

Devin Booker hit a contested 3 from the right baseline with 1.7 seconds left break a 110-110 tie, and Jalen Brunson‘s desperation 3 attempt out of a timeout from 35 feet rimmed in and out to give Phoenix the 116-113 victory on a Sunday night at Madison Square Garden. As losses go, it wasn’t a bad one. In a very entertaining game, Phoenix held a double-digit lead for most of the first 3 quarters based on some unconscious 3-point shooting from 35-year-old veteran Eric Gordon who was hitting from the parking lot — 6 of 9 from 3 for 25 points. But the Knicks stormed back late in the 3rd quarter, w ..read more

Down 19 points to the defending Eastern champ and rival Miami Heat early in the 4th quarter, the Knicks staged a historic comeback — outscoring Miami 29-8 from that point on to win 100-98 at a frenetic Madison Square Garden on a Friday night. Friday night Knicks! Immanuel Quickley triggered the comeback by reigning 3’s, and then Jalen Brunson took over down the stretch with HUGE bucket after HUGE bucket. RJ Barrett came up with huge buckets also, and the Knick DEFENSE clamped down; everyone played tough, clutch basketball. Miami had taken command of a tight game that the Knicks led at the half ..read more

The Minnesota Timberwolves pounced on the Knicks at the start of the 3rd quarter for 11 straight points to turn what was a close, physical game into a double-digit lead and never looked back, beating NY 117-100 on a Monday night in Minnesota. NY fought hard to stay in it, but couldn’t hit 3’s and even their layups inside kept rolling in and out. The Knick sharpshooting guards could not hit the 3 — as Quentin Grimes (0-6), Donte DiVincenzo (1-6) and Immanuel Quickley (1-7) shot a combined 2-19 from 3. “The first half we played pretty well,” said coach Tom Thibodeau afterwards. “The 3rd quarter ..read more

Mitchell Robinson was a Rock on the boards and the defensive end, and Jalen Brunson and Donte DiVincenzo lit up the scoreboard with 32 pts and 25 pts respectively — as the Knicks led by 10 to 15 points most of the night in beating the Hornets in Charlotte on a Saturday night, 122-108. Brunson scored 26 points in the 1st half, and DiVincenzo did most of his scoring in the 2nd half — finishing with 7 three-pointers made. Robinson ripped down 14 rebounds — 11 on the offensive glass giving the Knicks 2nd opportunities all night. Julius Randle bullied his way to 21 points and RJ Barrett, back after ..read more

The Knicks OWNED the boards, laid down a stifling defense, and moved the ball on offense to jump out to a 21-point early lead on the Wizards in Washington, and then laid it down again in the 4th quarter to blow the Wizards off the court. In between, the Wizards hung in — and had pulled to within 5 points entering the 4th. But in the 4th, the Knicks intensified their defense and Immanuel Quickley went nuts for 17 of his 27 points off the bench — with Jalen Brunson (32 points) and Julius Randle (22 pts, 7 rebounds, 8 assists) joining him on the offensive end. Quickley was doing it before 40 to 5 ..read more

The Knicks led this free-flowing game in Atlanta throughout most of the game, until Atlanta made a run midway thru the 4th to go up by 7 points with 5:20 left. The Knicks called timeout, regrouped, and rolled out of the timeout with 8 straight points to retake the lead. Down the stretch they made clutch play after clutch play to get the win — with Mitchell Robinson scraping for key rebounds, and Immanuel Quickley, and then Jalen Brunson, Julius Randle, and Josh Hart making Clutch bucket after Clutch bucket. The Knicks dominated the boards all night, and imposed their will at the end. They “fou ..read more

Jayson Tatum went Nuts in the 4th quarter to turn what was a dogfight into an easy Celtics win in Boston on a Monday night. RJ Barrett missed the game with a migraine headache — a late scratch. He would have helped — his length important in guarding a player like Tatum. The question is: would he have made the difference? That’s the big question for the Knicks — as they will have to go thru Boston to get to the finals. Last year the Knicks took 3 out of 4 from Boston during the regular season; both NY and Boston were defeated by Miami in the playoffs so never faced each other. In the off season ..read more