In a meaningless game for both teams, the New York Knicks snapped their losing streak in the regular season finale against the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday, winning by a score of 113-105. New York finishes the regular season with a 51-31 record while Brooklyn finishes at 26-56.
Landry Shamet had his best performance of the season against Brooklyn
All of the starters sat this game out (except for six seconds of Mikal Bridges to keep his games played streak alive), so the bench got plenty of much-needed experience. Landry Shamet, who has been the star of the second unit over the past month, continued his impressive run Sunday.
In 40 minutes of action, Shamet scored a season-high 29 points and shot 7-for-13 from outside the arc. He has really found his shooting touch over the past few weeks and may have just found his way into some serious action during the postseason.
Shamet averaged 12.2 points over the final 10 games of the season, and shot a blistering 49.3% from three-point range in that span. He could be very impactful as a shooting specialist off the bench and provide high-quality minutes in the games that matter a whole lot more.
Precious Achiuwa made a strong impact for the Knicks
Precious Achiuwa got the start with the rest of the starters sitting, and he made a strong impact in his action on Sunday.
Achiuwa played 33 minutes and posted 18 minutes with nine rebounds and two steals. He had the highest plus-minus out of any other Knicks players at a +19.
It is unclear if Achiuwa will be in the Knicks’ playoff rotation, as the need for him diminishes with Mitchell Robinson on the floor. However, it is still encouraging to see him perform the way he did on Sunday, as it gives head coach Tom Thibodeau the reassurance that he will be ready if his name ever gets called.
Overview
The Knicks finish the regular season on a high note and with some things to be encouraged about heading into the playoffs. However, they still have a lot of problems to correct before the start of the playoffs next weekend, with their first-round matchup being against the Detroit Pistons.