Heat Check: Knicks Look to Silence
The New York Knicks are picking up the pieces from their most recent loss at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Knicks had a double-digit lead, but couldn’t hold on as the Cavs roared back to steal a game at Madison Square Garden. The loss has the team hungry for their next game against the Miami Heat.
“I thought it was honestly just a weird game from start to finish,” Brunson said of the loss h/t Posting and Toasting. “It was kind of a grind-it-out game. Had a 13-point lead and then let it slip away. It’s no excuse. We’ve got to play our best basketball in the fourth quarter and we didn’t tonight.”
The Knicks were out-scored 36-26 in the fourth quarter, but they were also beat on the boards, which was another reason behind the loss.
“I thought the first half [against the Cavs] the rebounding was good, I thought the defense was good,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “But you’ve got to strive to be a 48-minute team and we’re nowhere near that. But we’ve got to keep working at it and keep our focus on improvement to get better each day. I think it’s just consistent effort. You’ve got to keep going.”
Another thing the Knicks will look to improve on is communication, which went flat against the Cavaliers towards the end of the game, which led to the surrendering of the lead.
“I think when [the Cavs] were making their run, we just stayed a little silent. It’s tough. I think we all know it’s just a run, so we will be OK,” Mikal Bridges said. “Sometimes you have to vocalize to each other and listen—‘Are we good?’—and talk to each other on the court when things happen. I think we got a little quiet and they felt that and they got kind of a little loud and got a little momentum. I wish you could learn from a win. But sometimes it doesn’t go like that.”
If the Knicks can find a way to crash the boards and communicate better against the Heat, they should be able to get back in the win column.
