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Tim Bontemps
NEW YORK — The Knicks entered Friday night’s game here at Madison Square Garden against the Miami Heat without Jalen Brunson, who sprained his ankle against the Orlando Magic Wednesday. Then, five minutes into the first quarter, OG Anunoby exited with a left hamstring strain and was ruled out a short time later.
But it turned out to not be much of a problem due to one entirely predictable reason in Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns, and one entirely unpredictable one in reserve guard Landry Shamet.
Thanks to 39 points from Towns, who scored 31 in the first half, and a career-high 36 for Shamet, who scored 30 in the second half, New York cruised to a relatively comfortable 140-132 victory in the second NBA Cup group stage game for both teams.
«JB was missing today,» Towns said, «so we all had to step up and contribute to our team.»
Where the Knicks were going to get their offense from with Brunson sidelined was a significant question. Brunson was seen hobbling out of The World’s Most Famous Arena Wednesday night in a walking boot after turning his right ankle in the closing moments of a 124-107 loss to Orlando.
Entering Friday night’s action, New York had a 123.1 offensive rating with Brunson on the court – one equal to the Houston Rockets for the best mark in the entire NBA. But with Brunson on the bench? That number dropped all the way to 110.3 – in line with the No. 25 ranked Sacramento Kings.
Towns, though, was a one-man wrecking crew in the opening 24 minutes. He went 11-for-16 from the field, including 6-for-10 from 3-point range, to stake New York to a 78-68 halftime advantage.
«When he’s aggressive like that, and has things flowing for him early … good luck,» Shamet said.
«Him doing that opens up so much for us.»
And while Towns didn’t do much after the halftime break, taking several minutes to even register a point, it didn’t matter thanks to the boost Shamet gave them.
Shamet had 30 points on 10-for-14 shooting after the break, scoring 15 in both the third and fourth quarters, to give New York exactly the kind of scoring boost it needed besides Towns with two of its top weapons sidelined.
«It was huge, him coming out, being aggressive, knocking down shots, playing off the dribble,» said Josh Hart, who finished with a 12-point, 12-rebound, 10-assist triple-double. «He was amazing for us today. That’s something that was big for us. We need him to keep that confidence and continue to be rolling.»
With the win behind them, though, the focus shifted to the health of Anunoby, who quickly exited the game at the 6:52 mark of the first quarter shortly after missing a layup. He then headed to the locker room, and was ruled out of the game a short time later.
Anunoby, 28, entered Friday’s game averaging 17.1 points and 5.8 rebounds per game for the Knicks, and is coming off playing a career-high tying 74 games last season – one of two times in his career he’s eclipsed 70 games in a season.
The only update coming from the Knicks was that the team would see how feels Saturday, though it’s expected Anunoby will get imaging done to see what the severity of the injury is.
Considering New York’s overall lack of depth, losing Anunoby for any length of time under normal circumstances would be a problem. But that’s only compounded by the loss of Brunson, who remains out with that Grade 1 sprained ankle, as ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Thursday, and is day-to-day moving forward.
Before Friday’s game, Knicks coach Mike Brown would only reiterate that diagnosis, saying Brunson’s status would be reviewed on a daily basis when asked if there was any timeline for Brunson’s return. But, as Friday’s win, showed, the Knicks believe they have a group that can withstand injuries and continue to produce results. Now, they’ll find out if they’re right.
«It’s what it’s about,» Brown said. «It’s about the next man up. Who is that next man going to be? I don’t know.
«I just know we all go out and play the right way. We have a standard we’ve all bought into, and we’ve all embraced. If we stay within that, good things will happen.»
