Could the New York Knicks finally be turning the corner?

Oct 28, 2019; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks power forward Bobby Portis (1) celebrates with center Julius Randle (30) after shooting the go ahead three point shot against the Chicago Bulls during the fourth quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Knicks scored their most points in a game in 31 years.  They defeated the Atlanta Hawks 143-120.  This was by far the Knicks best overall team game of the season.

The Knicks did play well in both games against the Mavericks, struggled to maintain the lead at times.  But against the Hawks, they led from the very beginning and didn’t let up.

They scored 77 points in the first half and had Knicks Twitter buzzing.  Fans were wondering what team they were actually watching.  Yes, they were playing another struggling team in the Hawks but the Knicks were the superior team and fed off one another’s energy.

There was no clear leader in this game for the Knicsk as everyone contributed.  The Knicks shot the lights out of the Garden and the fans responded.  Cheering after almost every positive thing the team did.

The biggest and most positive takeaway from the game was Mike Miller’s coaching.  At one point, the Knicks went up 31 points, yes you read that correctly.  When the Hawks would cut the lead below 30, Miller would call a timeout.  That was brilliant because even the Hawks have shooters to get hot and get them back into the game.  Miller wasn’t going to let that happen.  Trae Young led the way pouring in 42 points.

However, this game was all Knicks.  They could finally finding their groove under Miller.  His rotations have been on point and the players are responding.  They also continue to play well when Elfrid Payton comes into the game as he pushes the pace, creating plays for himself and others.

RJ Barrett, who has struggled of recent, had his best game as a pro.  He had a career-high 27 points and was aggressive throughout.  Mitchell Robinson also had his career-high of 22 points while adding 13 rebounds.  He was all over the court with flying dunks, alley-oops, steals, everything.

Marcus Morris, 22 points, and Julius Randle, 17 points & 11 boards, also played well.  Randle had a rocky start to the game with two very poor shot selections but finally settled down and only went to iso-ball when appropriate.  Case-in-point, when Vince Carter was on Randle he made the correct decision to take him one-on-one when he knew he could take him.

One of the brightest spots of the game was the emergence of Dennis Smith Jr.  We all know he has struggled mightily this season but had his best outing of the season.  Smith has 8 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in 13 minutes.  He looked like he had more pep in his step as he too was skying in the air, making correct decisions and shooting with confidence.  It was good to see and hopefully he can build off this strong performance.

The New York Knicks played like a team last night and it was great to finally see.  At times, the ball wasn’t in players hands for more than 2 seconds as they moved it quickly to find the open man, like here.  The team finally might be onto something under Miller, as they’re playing substantially better.  The only thing is can they continue this much improved play.