Knicks’ offense explodes in 143-106 drubbing of Grizzlies to extend win streak to four

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The Knicks extended their winning streak to four games on Monday night, humiliating the red-hot Memphis Grizzlies, 143-106, at Madison Square Garden.

Here are the takeaways…

— While both teams entered Monday ranked top-five in scoring, they found their offensive rhythms during different stretches of the first quarter. It was the Knicks that started the night strong, taking advantage of missed shots and careless turnovers from the Grizzlies. By the midway point, New York’s lead jumped to 13 points, which forced Memphis to burn a timeout.

— The break in action was useful to the Grizzlies, however — they built momentum by attacking the paint, and managed to cut their deficit to only three after 12 minutes of play. But the Knicks applied enough pressure on defense to force the Grizzlies into committing six first-quarter turnovers.

— Tom Thibodeau expanded the first-half rotation to nine for a fourth straight game, and the decision paid off. Precious Achiuwa and Miles McBride combined for 17 points off the bench, and Mikal Bridges was the only starter to reach double-digit points (14) in the first half. The depth was ultimately required, too, as Jalen Brunson committed four first-half fouls for the first time in his career.

— A top pregame storyline was Memphis’ propensity for mistakes, as they entered The Garden with the second-most turnovers in the league. New York continued to exploit that vulnerability in the second quarter, forcing another eight turnovers to bump their point total to 21 off of those miscues. The Knicks also held Grizzlies stars Ja Morant and Desmond Bane to 18 combined points. At the half, New York led 60-52.

— If the Grizzlies strategized a way to clean up their mistakes at halftime, they didn’t employ that plan in the third quarter. They committed another five turnovers and watched the Knicks increase their lead to a whopping 27 points at the 3:20 mark. The difference in effort between the teams was glaring, and New York went a two-minute stretch with 13 unanswered points. After three, they led by 18.

— The Knicks opened the fourth quarter with four reserves in, and the move from…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/knicks-offense-explodes-143-106-025806312.html

Author : SNY

Publish date : 2025-01-28 02:58:00

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