The New York Knicks were entering this match-up with the Portland Trail Blazers with a chance to make it five in a row since the acquisition of OG Anunoby. With a dominant defensive performance and efficient showing on offense, the Knicks routed the Trail Blazers in a dominant showing at Madison Square Garden, extending their winning streak to five and improving to 22-15 on the season. It was a beatdown from start to finish as New York outscored Portland 38-22 in the first quarter and didn’t look back.
It was a truly incredible team performance for the Knicks, as they saw multiple players step up and have big games, including OG Anunoby who had his best scoring performance as a Knick with 23 points on the night.
Knicks Get Excellent Team Performance In Huge Win
It was an effortless win for the Knicks as they had this game put away by the end of the third quarter, and they had multiple guys step up in this dominant win. Six different players had double-digit points on the night, with OG Anunoby leading the charge on offense by putting up 23 points, hitting nine of his 12 attempts (75%), and helping to play lockdown defense and hold Portland’s offense to just 84 points.
Julius Randle had 20 points albeit on 17 shots, but his seven rebounds and eight assists allowed him to tie for the team in +/- (31) and continue his stretch of excellent on-court impact. He wasn’t the only star having a poor shooting night, as Jalen Brunson hit just three of his 11 shots from the field for 12 points, but added seven assists for a +29 mark on the court, and a big reason for that was the aforementioned dominance on defense that made this a breeze for the Knicks throughout the night.
Donte DiVincenzo hit 45% of his shots for 12 points, adding four rebounds as well and continuing to add spacing on the court for the Knicks, who made up for spotty efficiency from the field (43.6%) with excellent sharpshooting from beyond the arc. Two guards who helped get the Knicks’ offense going were Miles McBride and Quentin Grimes, who were able to pair their brilliant nights from three with excellent defense as well.
McBride added 16 points, hitting four of his seven attempts from beyond the arc and giving the Knicks a spark off the bench, and looking like a much more confident shooter over the last week. The Knicks recently extended him on a three-year $13 million contract, and so far the investment has paid off for them, as he’s looked like a much better offensive contributor this season.
Quentin Grimes would go for 17 points with four makes on nine attempts from beyond the arc and three steals, helping the Knicks keep the Blazers’ offensive attack at bay as well. An unsung hero for the Knicks was the player who tied Randle for the team lead in +/- at 31, and that’s Isaiah Hartenstein, who has been incredible since Mitchell Robinson went down with his injury, adding 14 rebounds, three assists, and three steals on the night.
Precious Achiuwa struggled to shoot efficiently but added nine rebounds, with Josh Hart adding two points and seven rebounds and Malachi Flynn adding two points as well. The Knicks will look to make it six in a row on Thursday night as they go to Dallas to take on the Mavericks.