Scottie Barnes took one dribble, covered half the court in two long strides, and elevated for an uncontested, two-handed, showboating dunk.
It’s exactly the kind of play that has triggered a Mike Brown rage-timeout more than once in his first year as Knicks head coach. Brown refuses anything short of full effort. If he senses slippage, he’ll burn timeouts on consecutive possessions without hesitation.
But this time was different. There was no whistle. Instead, applause — a nod of approval from a coach to a group starting to look less like a team that cracks under high-pressure moments and more like one that sharpens in them.
Barnes’ dunk represented two of just 13 points the Raptors mustered in the second quarter of New York’s 117-101 NBA Cup quarterfinal win. His highlight paled in comparison to the process that surrendered it: a Knicks defense that shifted into a higher gear the moment they lost the first quarter, 39–35.
And the truth is this: The Knicks may have a terrible road record. They may have their lapses, their inconsistencies, the weak spots they have to compensate for as a group.
But they are dangerous when they care.
The NBA Cup — with all its quirks, constraints and questions — has a way of pulling that care factor out of teams. Not for the money. Not for a soon-forgotten banner or a shiny cup-shaped trophy.
It’s about December games feeling like they actually matter, because when the games matter, the Knicks play for keeps.
And if their defense is finally catching up to their offense, the poker chips and high-stakes moments won’t be the only souvenirs these Knicks can collect this season.
“We’re starting to figure out who we are,” Brown said after the victory on Tuesday. “I know it sounds crazy, but we still have a lot too to grow on both sides of the floor. We could be an extremely high level defensive team, and two of our top defenders in Landry [Shamet] and Deuce [Miles McBride] are out, and they’re phenomenal on the ball. And they bring a level of physicality on the ball that not many guys around the league can bring, but we can be a phenomenal defensive team.
“That second quarter we were really good defensively. To hold a team like that to 13 points in a quarter, that was the difference in the ball game.”
IN SYNC
Of course Brown can live with Barnes gliding in for a walk-in dunk midway through the second quarter. How could he not? It was Toronto’s ninth scoring action of a 30-second possession after the swarming Knicks defense erased the Raptors’ first eight tries.
Brandon Ingram tried to lose Mikal Bridges on a high screen, but Karl-Anthony Towns cut off his driving lane. Ingram then tried to take Towns one-on-one, but Bridges recovered to bring the hard double. Ingram, under duress, lofted an entry pass to Jakob Poeltl, who had the size advantage on the low block against the smaller Josh Hart, but Jalen Brunson darted in from the corner to knock the ball free on his first dribble.
“We were definitely on a string, and every time the ball moved, all five guys moved,” Brown said. “All five guys were in sync.”
Three scoring actions down. Three more followed in rapid succession: Poeltl recovered the loose ball and kicked it out to Ingram for a clean look at catch-and-shoot three, but Bridges — who had already leaked out in transition — exploded back into the picture for a rear-view contest. Ingram declined the jump shot and put the ball on the floor, and Bridges funneled him towards Towns at the rim, then peeled off to take away the skip pass to the corner shooter.
And with the shot clock winding down, Ingram attacked Towns and missed the layup at the rim.
“I just thought we played much better defense than we played in the first quarter. Their fast break points in the first quarter were great. We did a great job of recovering in the second,” Towns said after the game. “We did a good job playing Knicks basketball, getting turnovers, playing fast, getting out on defensive rebounds and steals and capitalizing it into points.”
The Raptors secured the offensive rebound. On possessions like this, of course they did. Ochai Agbaji thought about a put-back, but Jordan Clarkson beat him to the thought. Instead of shooting the ball, Agbaji left his feet and kicked it out to the perimeter.
And that’s how the ball finally found Barnes at the three-point line for Toronto’s eighth and ninth cracks at a field goal in a single possession.
Brunson sprinted at him for the closeout. Barnes pump-faked, put the ball on the floor and walked into the paint for an uncontested dunk. That play happened at the 6:56 mark of the second quarter. The Raptors didn’t make another field goal until more than three minutes of game time ticked off the clock. And their ensuing basket didn’t come until the final minute of the first half.
By then, the Knicks had blown the NBA Cup quarterfinal wide-open. They did it with a defense improving under pressure, one that could be well on its way to catching up to a potent offense already leading the league in 40-point quarters.
And if these Knicks can be proficient on both ends of the floor, an NBA Cup banner might not be the only new piece of fabric hanging from the rafters at Madison Square Garden this season.
“With the weapons and skill sets we have offensively, we can be a phenomenal offensive team, too,” Brown said. “So I don’t think it’ll be just one side of the ball. I think we have a chance to be a high level team on both sides, and it’ll be interesting when we get there.”
