This was the Mitchell Robinson Alley-Oop Slam Dunk Game. Knicks vs Detroit — the Kristaps Porzingis trade in the rear-view mirror — trade deadline looming — and an otherwise quiet night at Madison Square Garden until Mitchell Robinson entered the game and electrified the Garden with alley oop slam dunk after alley oop slam dunk after alley oop slam dunk — 13 points in 6 minutes; rebounds too.
Just do your thing, @23savage____ pic.twitter.com/ToBtSvvmjA
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) February 6, 2019
Aaaand again. pic.twitter.com/njkIV1cO9m
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) February 6, 2019
And as we tweeted at the time — this is why… you didn’t need Porzingis anymore. He and Mitchell Robinson play the same position. And if you go get Durant. And with Knox… Where’s everyone going to play? Answer: trade Porzingis while his value is high.
Here’s DeAndre Jordan realizing he won’t ask for a buyout because he needs to mentor Mitchell Robinson pic.twitter.com/my1iTE6D3R
— Jeremy Cohen (@TheCohencidence) February 6, 2019
Mitchell Robinson was knicknamed “Skinny Shaq” by Trey Burke and other Knick teammates before the season in camp, and has been knicknamed Mitchell Lobinson by fans on twitter.
And so it was Dennis Smith Jr penetrating, Allonzo Trier penetrating, and the alley oops to Robinson. Lot of fun at the Garden.
We've said it before and we'll say it again… That boy quick 💨 pic.twitter.com/CDZeFjFMBN
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) February 6, 2019
Knicks were around 10 points behind Detroit all night — pulled to within 6 points midway thru the 4th, but lost. And that was that.
The Center Matchup
Andre Drummond (17 pts, 16 rebounds, 5 blocks) vs DeAndre Jordan (24 min, 8 pts, 8 rebounds) and Robinson (24 min, ended with those 13 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks) was an interesting matchup.
The Scoring Forward Matchup
Blake Griffin played well (29 pts on 10-17). Mike Breen commented that Griffin was not the same player he used to be — his slam dunks have become less — but he’s a better all-around player now. Kevin Knox (4-12, 11 pts) had some nice forays and floaters, but once again his overall shooting percentage was low. He’s a good 3-pt shooter, and is good at hitting the floater in the lane.
How Everyone Did
Dennis Smith Jr finished 11-25 for 25 pts, 6 assists. Wesley Matthews with another poor shooting game (2-11 for 9 pts), and Damyean Dotson same thing (1-7, 4 pts). Noah Vonleh also had a poor showing (2-7, 7 pts in 21 min).
For Detroit, Reggie Jackson (5-14, 19 pts) and Reggie Bullock (7-14, 19 pts) played well.
Former Knick Castoffs Are Key Reserves for Detroit
Interesting to see Jose Calderon (15 min, 6 pts) and Langston Galloway (11 min, 3 points) be amongst the first 4 guys off the Detroit bench — Detroit a 24-29 team utilizing two guys who were not nearly good enough to play for the 10-43 Knicks.
The boxscore:
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