The New York Knicks were unable to secure a statement win over the Boston Celtics as their struggles against the top teams in the league continue, losing to the defending champions Sunday afternoon 118-105. New York falls to 37-20 on the season while Boston improves to 41-16.
The Knicks’ slow start cost them a chance to win
Slow starts have been killer for the Knicks in recent weeks, and they once again haunted them in this one. New York trailed for essentially the entire game and trailed by as much as 27 in the third quarter.
The Knicks do deserve credit for mounting a comeback and cutting the deficit to just four early in the fourth quarter, but it was not long before Derrick White and Jaylen Brown caught fire and pushed the lead back up to 17, a lead that wouldn’t be relinquished.
The Knicks struggled to get much of anything going offensively in the first half. The offense was stagnant and littered with one-and-done possessions, and they got very little contributions from any starter not named Jalen Brunson.
Karl-Anthony Towns was able to pick it up in the second half to finish with 24 points and 18 rebounds, but he struggled defensively once again which led to easy Celtics buckets. Boston shot 49.5% from the field and 38.6% from three on the afternoon.
Miles McBride’s impact amplified Mikal Bridges’ struggles
Mikal Bridges’ role has changed frequently this season as he has struggled to fully adapt to playing with this group. More recently, he seems lost on offense and isn’t making a large enough impact on the defensive side to mask those struggles.
Miles McBride, meanwhile, has started to blossom into a great energy piece. He struggled offensively against Boston with just two points in 27 minutes, but his high-level energy on the defensive side was a catalyst in the Knicks’ comeback effort.
On the other hand, the Knicks were outscored by 23 with Bridges on the floor. It would appear that Bridges is not fully in sync with the rest of the team on either end of the floor, and those struggles have hurt the Knicks in the last two games.
While a lineup change is unlikely to occur, McBride has started to play his way into more playing time. The Knicks should experiment more with lineups that include McBride with most of the starters to help provide a spark on the defensive end, an area that badly needs fixing for them.
Overview
The Knicks are now 0-7 against the top three teams in the NBA (Celtics, Cavaliers, Thunder). If they envision being serious contenders this year, they need to figure it out against the league’s best.
New York will have a few days to salt the wounds from this awful weekend and will get back to work on Wednesday against the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden.