The Knicks jumped out to their usual big lead against a good team, and then saw that lead sliced from 26 points to only 12 points entering the 4th quarter. But coach Tom Thibodeau put in the youngest lineup he could muster — including Cam Reddish and point guard Miles “Deuce” McBride — to start the 4th, and that team blew the Clippers out of the water — increasing the lead to 32 points as the Knicks rolled.
“He’s going to be in trouble now!,” kidded Walt Frazier at the time. “He gave the fans what they’ve been asking for — playing the young guys like McBride and Reddish — and they’re playing great!”
The team at start of the 4th consisted of McBride, Reddish, Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, and Jericho Sims.
“You can’t stop us (that team) running,” said RJ Barrett afterwards. “It was fun playing like that. I was really happy — especially Deuce and Cam, Quick really played well; Jericho was amazing today.”
NY broke a 7-game losing streak and is now 26-38.
1. Reddish Stars
Cam Reddish was brilliant — driving to the basket for athletic and at times spectacular layups, or getting fouled and hitting his free throws with ease (lifetime over .800), or popping 3’s with nothing but net. He’s a shooter. And he’s 6’8 and athletic. On defense he was denying the entry pass and coming up with steals in the passing lane.
WHAT A MOVE BY @camreddish pic.twitter.com/HTOYUomggn
— KNICKS ON MSG (@KnicksMSGN) March 7, 2022
Reddish had 17 points in 25 minutes — and was 4-7 from the floor (2-4 from 3, 7-8 in free throws) and had a +22.
2. Quickley Energy — and Finishes at the Rim
And there was Immanuel Quickley pushing the ball up court with energy, penetrating all night — and finishing at the rim — something he has not done throughout his NBA career (almost always going with the floater).
Quickley finished with 21 points (8-15 shooting, 3-5 from 3), 10 rebounds, and 6 assists in 28 minutes.
That @IQ_GodSon-Jericho connection pic.twitter.com/2rTpjkmNsX
— KNICKS ON MSG (@KnicksMSGN) March 7, 2022
3. DEFENSE
Quickley played in tandem with young point Deuce McBride and their Defensive energy drove the offense.
Jericho Sims was dominating inside — ripping down offensive rebounds, and guarding the paint. Against the Knicks D, the Clippers started to resemble the Knicks during their bad stretches — coming down and yanking up contested 3’s.
4. Barrett Dominates
And RJ Barrett was a big part of the 4th quarter run as well — with his Defense. Barrett dominated all night — and was the primary reason for the Knicks building their big lead. He attacked the rim as if he was playing against school kids. Every time down you knew he was going to motor to the basket against the half-court Clipper defense — and he did — for a bucket or a foul.
RJ Barrett getting whatever he wants out there pic.twitter.com/GiRPthrVcz
— KNICKS ON MSG (@KnicksMSGN) March 7, 2022
Barrett scored at will against Robert Covington — who is considered a terrific defensive player.
Barrett finished with 24 points (8-18 shooting, 1-2 from 3, and importantly, 7-7 from the free throw line to bring his season’s pct back up to .700), 9 rebounds, and 4 assists. Barrett had a team high +36.
.@RjBarrett6 TOO STRONG 💪 pic.twitter.com/xKxfW00ULU
— KNICKS ON MSG (@KnicksMSGN) March 7, 2022
5. Other Knicks
Mitchell Robinson had another strong showing — 12 points on 6-8 shooting, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks, and a steal in 28 minutes. He crashed the boards from the opening tip — both the offensive and defensive glass. Robinson dominated Clipper center Ivica Zubac all evening.
.@23savage____ OWNING the glass
12 PTS – 11 REB (8 offensive) now pic.twitter.com/Tlw9XyTWmj
— KNICKS ON MSG (@KnicksMSGN) March 7, 2022
“I thought the tone of the game was set in the first 5 minutes with the starters,” said coach Tom Thibodeau afterwards. “The defense was real good, and offensively, their willingness to make the extra pass, got good rhythm shots for everyone. And then the bench came in and was just terrific. They built on the lead; they played tough with the lead. And the rebounding was terrific; taking care of the ball — all of the things that you have to do. I thought our starters played really well, and our bench played really well. Tonite we played well from start to finish.”
Alec Burks was a big part of the Knick dominance of the first 2.5 quarters — Burks had 15 points on 5-10 shooting (4-8 from 3).
The only seeming downer on the evening was Julius Randle struggling with his shot early, finishing 4-16 for 10 points. The good news: at one point he was 0-8, but then in the 3rd quarter lit up and went 4 for his next 8. In the 4th quarter, when coach Tom Thibodeau motioned him to get back in the game — he waved Thibodeau off and told him to let the kids keep playing.
Evan Fournier played decently — 7 points on 3-8 shooting in 29 minutes. Fournier hit a HUGE 3 near end of the 3rd quarter to quell Los Angeles momentum at the time — and push the Knick lead back to 15 when it had narrowed to 12 based on some all-of-a-sudden, red-hot 3-pt shooting by the Clippers’ Covington, Terance Mann, and Luke Kennard.
Reggie Jackson of LA helped NY all evening with poor shot selection — coming down and yanking 3’s and at one point ripping to the rim for a slam that he missed, the ball bounding out for a Knick fast break in the other direction. Jackson was 4-18 (0-8 from 3) for 10 points and a -33.
Etcetera
After the game, Mitchell Robinson continued his comedic wordplay with NY Post reporter Marc Berman, which has become a fun after-game ritual.
On tonight's edition of @23savage____ postgame interviews 😂 pic.twitter.com/bf3MDVXHDH
— KNICKS ON MSG (@KnicksMSGN) March 7, 2022
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