Knicks score 143 for second straight game, extend winning streak to four
Mikal Bridges #25 of the Knicks reacts after a basket in the second half against the Memphis Grizzlies at Madison Square Garden on Monday, Jan 27, 2025. Credit: Jim McIsaac
The debate about the Knicks’ rotation and the minutes piled on the starting five has seemed endless. Tom Thibodeau’s success in turning around the franchise has not been enough to shield him from criticism.
The easy retort for Thibodeau and his supporters has been the best one: Look at the record. The Knicks were a dysfunctional mess when he arrived, and in his first four seasons as coach, he led the franchise to three playoff berths, including two straight trips to the Eastern Conference semifinals.
But then there are nights like Monday when a challenge can be put on display. The Knicks faced the Memphis Grizzlies at Madison Square Garden, and you could take your pick: the Knicks’ starter-heavy lineup or the Grizzlies’ desire to hand out participation trophies, spreading out minutes almost equally up and down the lineup.
It would be hard to convince any observer that the Knicks, in their 143-106 victory, didn’t look like the fresher, better-conditioned and sharper group than the waves of players the Grizzlies sent out.
The win was the fourth straight for the Knicks (31-16), who moved within one game of the second-place Celtics in the Eastern Conference, and was another convincing performance against a tough Western Conference opponent. The Grizzlies (31-16) had their winning streak snapped at six.
The Knicks scored at least 140 points for a second straight game, the first time they have accomplished the feat since December 1965. They also had 143 against the Kings on Saturday night.
Mikal Bridges, who leads the NBA in minutes per game and total minutes played this season, looked tireless as he scored 28 points, repeatedly running past the fast-paced Memphis defenders. He also stifled Ja Morant, limiting him to 10 points.
“Playing against Ja all these years, tough matchup,” Bridges said. “Especially being in the West, playing and scouting against him, always tough every time we play him and their team is playing well. Just team defense, helping each other out. And trusting my brothers behind me.”
“I thought Mikal really worked,” Thibodeau said. “I thought our team did. And a guy like that, you try to make him work.
“[Morant’s] a superstar. He’s an offense unto himself. Some shots he just missed that were good shots for him that didn’t go in. But I thought our team really worked together and I really like the effort Mikal put forth.
“It’s not an easy job. There’s constant pressure when he has the ball and he plays incredibly fast.”
Karl-Anthony Towns had 24 points and 11 rebounds for the Knicks. Jalen Brunson, with four first-half fouls, played only 25:26 but still managed 20 points. OG Anunoby added 15 points and six of the team’s 20 steals. Josh Hart played only 26:30, his lowest since opening night in Boston.
The reason the Knicks didn’t pile on the usual minutes count was that they turned this game into a blowout in the third quarter and never relented. With 3:55 remaining, Thibodeau emptied the farthest reaches of the bench.
There was little drop-off with the second unit. For one night, you could interchange Precious Achiuwa, Deuce McBride or Cam Payne, who totaled 39 points between them, and see the lead continue to balloon.
“It was fun,” Brunson said of watching from the bench in the fourth quarter while the reserves continued to roll. “You see how we react on the bench. It’s always fun when you see everyone out there playing great. It’s fun.”
The Knicks have four starters in the top five spots in total minutes played this season, including the top three spots (Bridges, Hart and Anunoby), with Brunson fifth. Towns has dipped to 28th overall. He is last among the Knicks' starters in minutes per game and still is at 34.7.
Contrast that with the Grizzlies, who don’t have a single player on the roster averaging 30 minutes per game. They boast 10 players who have averaged at least 20 minutes and actually have 16 players averaging double figures in minutes, although some have been limited in terms of the number of games played.
Nevertheless, the Knicks controlled the action and made a mockery of the NBA’s pace stats. The Grizzlies entered the night first in the NBA and the Knicks were 27th, but you’d never know it after watching the Knicks race out to a 31-9 edge in fast-break points and force 26 turnovers.
“The thing is, we don’t like to play slow either,” Thibodeau said. “If you dug into the numbers and you look at fast-break points and the things that we do, the thing is you have to attack and beat their side down the floor.
“We want to play a certain style. We’ve got to be strong on both sides of the ball. That’s the challenge. They’re very good defensively as well.
“The game tells you what to do. Just take good-quality shots, that’s what you have to do to win. And understand what we have to get done defensively.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
