When the Knicks (30*-18) battled the Portland Trail Blazers (23-26) earlier this month, they had struggled a bit to contain the youngsters, only putting the game away late in the fourth quarter. Tonight, New York was clearly intent on putting a stamp on the game early, and so they did with a 24-point first-half lead. As is usually the case, they let the rope slip after building such a comfy cushion. Still, Portland never cut the deficit to single-digits in the second half and instead watched it reach 33 points before the final, merciful buzzer. Their 127-87 wire-to-wire win was New York\u2019s fifth straight and marked the fifth time in seven games that the Knicks have held an opponent under 100 points. Vibe check: pretty, pretty, pretty good.<\/p>\n
At the start, the Knicks charged the paint to set a physical tone. Eight of their first fifteen points came in the paint, with Josh Hart acting as a primary bulldozer. He took 17 shots tonight and finished with 20 points, six boards, six assists, two steals, and a block. The rim was also where the league\u2019s top two rebounders squared off, with Karl-Anthony Towns outperforming Donovan Clingan 2:1 on the glass. School was in session tonight! Towns finished the game with 14 points, 20 rebounds, and one foul\u2014two nights after grabbing a season-high 22 boards and committing no fouls in Toronto. 42 rebounds in two games is impressive, no? Clingan ended the game with just six boards and seven points.<\/p>\n
From the tip, Portland heaved a bushel of threes (as is their nature) and missed most of them (as is their nature). Overall, they would shoot 13-of-43 from downtown.<\/p>\n
Jalen Brunson (26 points, 5-of-12 3PT) met little resistance tonight and, in Q1, he executed a four-point play, getting fouled on a made three. Portland did not look like a very disciplined team. Midway through the quarter, Mohamed Diawara, Mitchell Robinson, and Landry Shamet subbed in and, with them on the floor, New York pushed the lead to nine. From there, the Blazers unraveled quickly, Mitchell Robinson picked up where KAT left off, and the home team was ahead 37-22 heading into the second period.<\/p>\n
Tyler Kolek must be back in Mike Brown\u2019s good graces. The sophomore led the troops to start the second quarter, giving Brunson a blow. Over the first leg of the frame, the Knicks rolled their lead out to 24\u2014but the Oregonians answered a 12-0 Knicks\u2019 run with a 15-2 stretch of their own, cutting the deficit to 13. Portland had a chance narrow the score even further, but couldn\u2019t stop giving the ball away. By halftime, they\u2019d committed eight turnovers to New York\u2019s four.<\/p>\n
As the second quarter progressed, New York\u2019s shooting regressed. That gave Portland some oxygen and Shaedon Sharpe provided the spark, knocking down a couple of threes. Jerami Grant chipped in a few, too, and soon the visitors had cut the leash to eight with a minute left. During that stretch, New York went over five minutes without a bucket, taking their contractually obligated post-big-lead respite. With the relief of a triple from Brunson, New York crept into intermission up 59-49.<\/p>\n