And then there was one.
The Knicks were already down their top-two point guards entering Wednesday’s matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers, the second leg of a back-to-back following Tuesday’s victory over the Dallas Mavericks.
Then veteran guard Cameron Payne — starting for the injured Jalen Brunson — tweaked his right ankle after playing the first quarter against Los Angeles.
Payne went on to play six more minutes in the second quarter but never emerged from the locker room after the halftime break. Minutes into the third quarter, the Knicks ruled him out with a sprained right ankle. They went on to lose to the Clippers, 126-113, via a James Harden masterclass at Madison Square Garden.
Ankles are tricky. So are groins. Just ask Brunson, who is still walking gingerly after his March 6 injury in Los Angeles against the Lakers.
Ask Miles McBride, too.
McBride is still limited in practice after last playing on March 20 against the Charlotte Hornets, according to head coach Tom Thibodeau.
So Thibodeau’s options have been whittled down to just one: Tyler Kolek, the rookie selected out of Marquette 34th overall in the 2024 NBA Draft. Playing behind Payne, Kolek became the first rookie to ever record 17 assists with no turnovers through two consecutive games — Tuesday vs. the Mavericks and Saturday against the Wizards.
Kolek started the second half against the Clippers for the injured Payne. His turnover-less streak ended 92 seconds of game time later.
The Knicks led by as many as 14 in the first half, thanks in large part to Payne’s early hot shooting: 15 points in 19 minutes on six-of-nine shooting from the field and three-of-six shooting from deep. The Clippers then went on an 18-6 run in the third quarter and ultimately outscored the Knicks, 40-29, to open up a double-digit lead.
Los Angeles led New York, 94-84, after three quarters. The lead ballooned as large as 19, as the Knicks never mounted a serious rally to cut into the deficit.
Meanwhile, Thibodeau pulled Kolek at the top of the fourth quarter. He searched for roster combinations that could work given the team’s new reality: no Brunson, no McBride, and now, no Payne.
Nothign, however, can compensate for the Knicks’ glaring weakness: no paint protection. The Clippers got what they wanted at the rim all night, no player more than James Harden, who finished with a team-high 29 points and six assists on 8-of-16 shooting from the field. Harden buried the Knicks beneath a 6-of-9 shooting night from downtown plus another seven points on eight attempts at the foul line.
Thibodeau went to his dual big lineup of Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson, but that didn’t help matters.
He subbed Landry Shamet and Delon Wright into the game for Kolek and Josh Hart for defensive intensity on the perimeter and left Mikal Bridges in the game for an added scoring punch.
That didn’t help much, either.
Healthy bodies are the only thing that can make a difference at Madison Square Garden, but where there is great demand, misfortune would have it there is also a great shortage.
Towns finished with a game-high 32 points and 12 rebounds on 11-of-20 shooting from the field. OG Anunoby added 23 points, and Bridges scored 15 of his total 17 points through the first three quarters (including nine in the second quarter alone) before going scoreless on 0-of-4 shooting in the final period.
The Knicks got just 12 points from their bench — or what’s left of it. Kolek posted his third consecutive seven-plus-assist game in 18 minutes against the Clippers on Wednesday but missed all three of his attempts from the field plus a pair of free throws.
Suddenly a Knicks team so depleted it is leaning on a second-round pick must now hand that pick the keys to the offense. Thibodeau could bump Shamet into the starting lineup and play Hart at point guard. He could start Towns and Robinson together to create a size advantage. The Knicks could also call Boo Buie up from Westchester, the 6-foot-2 guard signed to the roster on a two-way contract.
Buie averaged 10.5 points and 3.1 assists as a 36.5 percent three-point shooter through 11 G-League games this season.
Thibodeau could also do what he did in the third quarter on Wednesday: play the rookie.
It’s trial by fire, but it’s all the Knicks have if Payne’s injury keeps him sidelined next to Brunson and McBride.
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