The Knicks put on their Grinch costumes and stole Christmas away from the Cavaliers.
Down by 16 with 8:11 left in the game, the Knicks ripped off a 22-6 run to tie the game at 113 apiece with 3:48 left.
Tyler Kolek drilled two 3-pointers during that span. Then a few minutes later, when the deficit had grown to four again, he nailed another 3-pointer to bring the Knicks within one. Donovan Mitchell had what appeared to be a wide-open layup two possessions later, but Kolek sprinted back to block him – with a foul call overturned after a Knicks challenge. After a subsequent Mitchell miss, Kolek grabbed the rebound, dribbled down the court and assisted a Mikal Bridges 3-pointer that gave the Knicks a one-point lead.
“Ty-ler Ko-lek” chants rang around Madison Square Garden and the Knicks subsequently put the Cavaliers away with a 126-124 win Thursday afternoon.
Jalen Brunson, who thrives in front of national audiences, poured in 34 points – his 90th 30-point game for the Knicks, behind only Patrick Ewing and Carmelo Anthony. His 3-pointer with 1:05 left re-established a two-point lead after the Cavaliers had pulled back ahead. The Knicks led the rest of the way.
Karl-Anthony Towns was on the bench the entirety of that 22-6 run and didn’t check back in until 3:07 left. But his putback layup with 27.3 seconds left gave the Knicks a four-point lead. Mitchell Robinson, in for Towns, grabbed four offensive rebounds in that run and finished with eight.
He was part of a bench unit that changed the game.
Kolek finished with 16 points and nine assists, continuing his stunning breakout of late. Jordan Clarkson finished with 25 and was in for that fourth-quarter run as well. And both were also key to a huge 24-3 run to start the second quarter, after the Knicks entered the quarter down by 15. Clarkson scored 11 points in that second quarter, and Kolek had seven assists in eight minutes in the period.
The Knicks keep talking about their ability to just find a way. And they keep proving themselves right.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
