On Tuesday night, the Knicks closed their win over the Sacramento Kings with Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Miles McBride, OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson on the floor.
“This was a tight ball game and so I just rode that group,” Mike Brown said postgame.
Advertisement
Brown’s decision worked well; the Knicks went on a 13-0 run over four minutes late in the fourth to close the victory.
On Saturday, Brown also didn’t hesitate to put Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns on the bench late in New York’s road win over the 76ers.
Brown has not shied away from benching his starters down the stretch of close games in his first 40-plus contests as Knicks head coach.
“We needed to get the win,” Brown said after the team’s third straight victory following a 2-7 stretch.
Towns played 27 total minutes on Tuesday after playing just 16 minutes on Saturday.
He said following the matchup that the wins mean much more to him than his minutes totals.
Advertisement
“He saw what he saw,” Towns said of Brown. “We got a win. That’s the most important thing…That’s all I care about, this team cares about, New York cares about — the wins.”
TRADE WINDS
There will be rumors about Towns and other big-name Knicks ahead of next Thursday’s NBA trade deadline.
One player that remains squarely on New York’s radar ahead of the deadline is Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado.
We noted New York’s interest in Alvarado last month and can say that nothing has changed on that front — the Knicks still see the NY-native as a player who can help bolster their bench/rotation.
Alvarado is averaging 7.9 points and 3.2 assists across 36 games for New Orleans this season.