NEW YORK – With 3:25 left in the second quarter, Karl-Anthony Towns whipped a ridiculous pass that, on a normal night, would drive New York Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau mad.
KAT was in his BAG with this pass pic.twitter.com/IqNQxW20kL
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) December 4, 2024
But Tuesday night (Wednesday Manila time) wasn’t anything but normal for the Knicks.
It was magical.
The Knicks’ top-ranked offense overwhelmed the best defensive team as they cruised to the quarterfinals of the 2024 Emirates NBA Cup with a 121-106 blowout win over the Orlando Magic.
Unbeaten in four NBA Cup games, the Knicks topped Group A and will host the Atlanta Hawks in the quarterfinals next week. They also improved to 13-8 overall in the standings for the regular season.
Towns’ outrageous play epitomized how the Knicks toyed around the Magic, who won 12 of their last 13 games entering the game.
The Knicks’ offense hummed after a slow start, falling to an early 14-6 deficit.
But as the Knicks kept the ball moving in dizzying fashion, the Magic’s top-ranked defense could not keep up.
The Knicks finished with 30 assists and shot 50.6% from the field.
“I love how unselfish we were,” Thibodeau said after the Knicks notched their third straight win. “I thought they made great reads when we got into the paint, just making the extra right space and then cutting, which got us going downhill. And when you do that, everyone finds a rhythm, and you find good shots. You're creating good shots for each other. And it's everyone working together. And I think that's important.”
Six players scored in double figures for the Knicks, including all their starters.
Towns led the way with 23 points and 15 rebounds as he bullied his way around the decimated Magic frontline that was missing Paolo Banchero (torn right oblique) and backup center Goga Bitadze (sprained right ankle).
Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby added 21 and 18 points.
Josh Hart notched his second triple-double of the season with 11 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists.
After a rocky start to the season, Mikal Bridges has found his rhythm over the Knicks’ last two games. He had his second straight efficient scoring night, dropping 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting.
Miles McBride fired 18 points as he and Cam Payne, who added seven points, brought the energy off the bench, which blew the game wide open in the second quarter.
The Knicks were leading by only four, 27-23, when McBride and Payne entered the game with 1:58 left in the first quarter. By the time they returned to the bench at the 7:14 mark of the second quarter, the Knicks were up 50-34, and they never looked back.
But while the Knicks’ offense is taking center stage after the acquisition of Towns and Bridges in the offseason, their defense is starting to catch up.
Over their last three wins, the Knicks had the second-best defense, allowing only 99 points per 100 possessions, per NBA advanced stats, during that span.
“Honestly, we're just playing off each other,” Brunson told MSG Network’s Alan Hahn during his postgame interview. “We're trying to find the right play at the right time, and, I mean, we're jelling. We're trying to get the chemistry right, and we're getting there.”
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Alder Almo is a former senior sportswriter for Philstar.com and NBA.com Philippines. He is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey, and writes for Heavy.com.