Being clutch doesn’t always mean scoring a game-winning basket. Sometimes, the game-winning play is moving the ball.
And sometimes, it’s being in position defensively just enough to force an all-world scorer to miss a layup.
The Knicks came up clutch on Friday night and punched a 114-113 victory over the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.
This time it wasn’t only their captain who pulled out the cape.
The Memphis Grizzlies thought that might be the case. So when Jalen Brunson had the ball in his hands with less than 15 seconds left in the fourth quarter of Friday night’s showdown and his team down two, Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins called for the double team.
Brunson responded by knifing into the paint, then kicking the ball out to OG Anunoby, whose three put New York up by one.
“Just make the shot. I work on it so much,” Anunoby said in his walk-off interview after the game. “I trust my work. Just being confident in my shot.”
On the next possession, the Grizzlies made a predictable move: With the game on the line, they cleared the court out for their All-Star guard Ja Morant. Mikal Bridges used his length and athleticism to force a miss on Morant’s attempt at a buzzer-beating game-winner.
“That was a big win. We were down most of the game,” Anunoby said. “We got big stops, big rebounds, scored in transition, pushed the pace. JB hit big shots. Everyone hit big shots. Everyone made big plays. The whole squad.”
The Knicks trailed by as many as 12 in the third quarter after the Grizzlies — who rank No. 1 in pace and No. 2 in points in the paint this season — put the pedal to the metal to start the game.
New York clawed back, however, to break a tie between the two teams that walked onto the FedEx Forum floors with identical records on Friday.
The Knicks left Memphis, however, with 39 wins after handing the Grizzlies loss No. 21.
Mitchell Robinson‘s return was a big reason why.
Robinson made his season debut on Friday after missing the first 58 games recovering from offseason ankle surgery. On a strict minutes restriction, he finished with six points, five rebounds and one assist in 12 minutes of action. Robinson first checked into the game at the 7:17 mark of the first quarter after Karl-Anthony Towns picked up two early fouls. He also stepped onto the court on the final possession and was in the paint during Morant’s attempt at a game-winning layup.
“It’s huge. He’s a monster out there offensively and defensively, and as the season goes on, as he gets up to speed, he’s gonna keep getting better and better,” Anunoby said. “We missed him and we need him.”
Thibodeau wanted to temper expectations ahead of Robinson’s first NBA action since Game 1 of New York’s second-round playoff series against the Indiana Pacers on May 6.
“It’s his first game back so it’s hard to say. Obviously games are a lot different than practices, but he’s a vet, so I think he understands exactly who he is,” said Thibodeau. “Just play to your strengths, go as hard as you can, and then it’ll be a short stint, so his timing will come around, but the defense — anticipating that being there right from the start.”
Brunson finished with a team-high 23 points on 10-of-23 shooting from the field and made a key floater to tie the game at 108 apiece. Anunoby finished with 19 points on 4-of-10 shooting from deep, and Bridges shot 0-of-5 from deep for 15 points but was the lead defender helping hold Morant to just 9-of-22 shooting from the field.
Morant shot 0-of-6 from downtown, Desmond Bane missed all four of his attempts from deep and the Grizzlies shot 0-of-10 from three-point range in the second half.
New York’s bench also outscored Memphis’ bench, 34-33, thanks to 17 points from Miles McBride, who got hot from downtown on a three-of-five shooting night from deep.
The Knicks will now travel to Miami for a date with the Jimmy Butler-less Heat before hosting the Golden State Warriors at Madison Square Garden.
They will then embark on a five-game West Coast road trip.
