Knicks’ offense struggles without Jalen Brunson in 105-95 loss to Clippers

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The Knicks’ offense struggled without Jalen Brunson, shooting just 39 percent from the field and 27 percent from three in their 105-95 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.

It was the Knicks’ third straight loss, and the second of this back-to-back in Los Angeles. The Knicks (40-23) are now 0-2 on this five-game West Coast road trip.

Here are the takeaways…

-We got a look at life without Brunson early in this one as the Knicks got off to a 0-for-4 start from the field and let the Clippers get out to a 7-0 lead, thanks to two Knicks turnovers and Karl-Anthony Towns losing Ivica Zubac on defense, forcing Tom Thibodeau to call an early timeout. Out of the break, the Knicks found their rhythm on offense, going on a 10-2 run with every starter making a bucket.

The Clippers would find their groove again, largely due to Los Angeles switching up and getting the mismatch in transition for Zubac down low. They would end the first quarter on a 9-0 run to enter quarter two with a 31-25 lead. Josh Hart was the main man on offense, shooting 4-for-6 to score nine points.

-The second quarter saw Mikal Bridges become the aggressor on offense, getting to the free-throw line on back-to-back possessions and scoring six straight points, to lead the Knicks to a 10-0 run to start the quarter. They would build a lead as large as nine before the Clippers started hitting their threes — aided by lack of Knicks defense on three-pointers — to re-take the lead.

The Clippers went 6-for-9 from three in the second quarter as they took a 60-54 lead into halftime. LA was 11-of-20 from downtown while the Knicks were just 6-for-15 from three at the half. Towns was the only one with multiple made threes.

-New York started the third the same way the second quarter ended, shooting cold from long distance. This allowed the Clippers to get out to a nine-point lead, but just when it looked like Los Angeles would pull away, the Knicks started hitting threes to cut into the deficit. But then the lackluster Knicks three-point defense would rear its ugly head, and the Clippers would drain a few threes.

However, it wasn’t the prettiest quarter for either team….

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/knicks-offense-struggles-without-jalen-055545963.html

Author : SNY

Publish date : 2025-03-08 05:55:00

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