The Knicks face their first long road trip of the season
The Knicks spoiled James Harden’s Los Angeles Clippers’ debut on Monday night at Madison Square Garden, and hosted the San Antonio Spurs and their rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama’s first appearance at MSG last night ahead of a five-game road trip.
The long stretch away from home begins Monday in Boston versus the Celtics and ends on November 20 in Minnesota against the Timberwolves. The Knicks will travel to Boston after playing the Charlotte Hornets at the Garden this Sunday afternoon.
Their 111-97 win over the Clippers broke a two-game losing streak. They went into last night’s game against the Spurs with a 3-4 record. Guard RJ Barrett returned to the lineup after sitting out in the Knicks’ 95-89 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers at home on November 1 and then a 110-105 defeat in Milwaukee to the Bucks in their first of four group stage games in the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament.
The Knicks, in the Eastern Conference’s Group C with the Bucks, Miami Heat, Hornets and Washington Wizards, will play their second tournament game November 17 versus the Wizards.
Barrett’s 26 points against the Clippers was impactful and Julius Randle led the Knicks with 27 points and 10 rebounds, but continued to be less efficient than ideal from the field, shooting 9-21. Randle began last night’s game as a career 47% shooter but is just at 30% this year coming into the game against the Spurs. Center Mitchell Robinson’s strong play continued with 13 points and a team-high 15 rebounds against the Clippers.
Barrett became the youngest Knick in franchise history to record 5,000 or more points.
“That’s pretty cool, that’s pretty cool,” said the 23-year-old guard-forward. “Just a testament to all the work and the trust that the organization has had in me and all my teammates and all my coaches. Just going to continue to work and I’m grateful that it came on a night where we got a win.”
With the Knicks’ offense an inconsistent work in progress, they’ll have to lean into their defense to grind out wins. First-year Knick guard Donte DiVincenzo, who has established himself as a key reserve, acknowledged that defense has to be an area of focus.
“If we’re a top-10 defensive team, we give ourselves a chance every single night,” he said on Monday. “Make or miss shots, I think if we rely on the defensive end, I think we’ll be fine because the night shots are falling and we run away with it and the night shots aren’t falling, you still have a chance to win.”
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