It’s one thing to beat up on a Philadelphia 76ers team missing two perennial All-Stars in Joel Embiid and Paul George. It’s another thing entirely to face the reigning Western Conference runner-ups at full strength.
The Knicks learned that the hard way Thursday night.
Their starting five was outclassed in a humbling performance against the Minnesota Timberwolves — but a late push from New York’s second and third units flipped the score into a 100-95 overtime victory to open the preseason at Madison Square Garden with a win.
The Knicks shot just 12-of-45 from the field and 4-of-27 from three through the first half, including an anemic 2-of-15 stretch that spanned the entire second quarter. They entered the final period with 63 points on 69 shot attempts, and the starters had combined to shoot 15-of-45 from the floor and 6-of-22 from downtown before head coach Mike Brown pulled the plug on his top group.
“I think [our starting lineup] has a chance to be pretty good,” Brown said ahead of tipoff. “They’re long, they’re big, they’re versatile and that’s what makes them exciting. So I think it has a chance to be pretty good, but at the end of the day, a lot of people want to start. A lot of people look at the starting unit as the be-all, end all, but, you know, to start is an honor but also to be able to finish games is an honor. Both hold a lot of weight.”
Yet while the Knicks trailed 71-63 heading into the fourth, it took less than four minutes for the reserves to tilt the momentum. By the 8:14 mark, New York led 76-74.
The final quarter, with the starters on the bench, featured the most competitive minutes of the night. That’s an issue because when the games start to count, it won’t be the bench logging heavy fourth-quarter minutes — it’ll be the starters, who are still adjusting to Brown’s new up-tempo system.
The good news: Brown’s offense manufactures catch-and-shoot threes at volume. The bad news: if the Knicks can’t knock them down, they’ll suffer the same fate as every team that lives — and dies — by the three.
Jalen Brunson tallied 11 points and three assists in 27 minutes but shot just 4-of-14 from the field and 1-of-6 from deep. Despite the poor shooting, Brunson showed a clear grasp of how the ball is supposed to move in Brown’s system.
Karl-Anthony Towns added 10 points but shot 2-of-11 and missed all three of his attempts from behind the arc, often looking lost or disconnected from the offensive flow. Mikal Bridges led the starters with 15 points on 50% shooting, adding four rebounds and three steals.
Mitchell Robinson — the lone starter who didn’t play in the second half — logged 13 minutes in the first, finishing with six rebounds, a steal, and a block without attempting a shot.
Meanwhile, the Timberwolves got 17 points from All-Star Anthony Edwards in 27 minutes and another 16 points and five boards from Julius Randle in his Garden return. Their bench — led by Naz Reid, Terrence Shannon Jr., and Rob Dillingham — combined for 47 points.
The Knicks’ bench had its own storylines. Josh Hart missed his second straight game due to lower back spasms and illness. Jordan Clarkson’s Garden debut opened with a transition heat check from well beyond the arc — the kind of early shot that evoked memories of Cameron Payne’s wild decision-making last season.
Still, there were bright spots. Second-year forward Pacome Dadiet finally saw a three-pointer fall after missing his first eight preseason attempts, including an 0-of-5 showing as a starter in the opener. Dadiet shot 1-of-3 from deep in 10 minutes Thursday. The Knicks were plus-eight with him on the floor, and plus-10 in the six minutes center Ariel Hukporti played.
Baby steps.
But based on Thursday’s performance, it’s the starters who need to make the biggest leaps before facing the Cleveland Cavaliers in the season opener on Oct. 22.
Next up: the Knicks host the Washington Wizards on Monday, then wrap up preseason play against the Charlotte Hornets on Oct. 17.
