Josh Hart’s triple-double lifts Knicks to 143-120 beatdown over Kings

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The Knicks opened their five-game homestand on a positive note, crushing the Sacramento Kings, 143-120, on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.

Here are the takeaways…

— New York provided an encouraging injury update before tip-off, listing starter Josh Hart (right knee soreness) as active. The veteran guard entered Saturday listed as questionable, and also recently dealt with neck/cervical compression.

— While the first quarter opened with both teams exchanging buckets, the Knicks caught fire midway through, orchestrating a fast-paced 14-4 run that forced the Kings to call timeout at the 4:15 mark. The break in action didn’t cool the Knicks off, either — they proceeded to score 12 more points and held a commanding 38-25 lead after 12 minutes.

— For a third straight game, Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau extended his first-quarter rotation to nine players, and this time it was Landry Shamet who provided a spark off the bench. He scored nine points on three-made threes, while six Knicks contributed at least one field goal. Shamet hadn’t scored nine points in a game all season.

— The Knicks kept their foot on the gas early in the second quarter, and OG Anunoby was undoubtedly the catalyst. The veteran winger drilled seven buckets for a whopping 20 points, which tied his season-high for a half. He entered Saturday averaging 16.0 points per game.

— While the Knicks increased their lead to 19 midway through the second, appearing in cruise control, the Kings proved resilient. In a four-minute span, they strung together a 23-6 run and stunningly cut their deficit down to two. The Knicks simply couldn’t contain Malik Monk, who caused fits by racking up 23 first-half points. At the half, New York led 72-67.

— Sacramento took advantage of lackadaisical defense from New York in the second quarter, and it took only three minutes of third-quarter action for Thibodeau to begrudgingly call timeout due to poor effort in transition. Some frustration also got the better of Hart, who received his seventh technical foul this season.

— In spite of the momentum shift and defensive miscues, the Knicks didn’t relinquish the…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/josh-harts-triple-double-lifts-031724641.html

Author : SNY

Publish date : 2025-01-26 03:17:00

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