Representative defense is often a key element of success in the NBA and a distinct quality that should translate to whether games are played at home or on the road.
Since the Knicks have learned several times already this season, however, it’s almost impossible to cover a poor night of shooting at the other end.
Tom Thibodeau’s Knicks stalled again on the defensive end and scored three straight wins to deny most of the previous five-game skidding loss, but slipped below 0.500 for the season, with a frustrating 103-94 loss. Friday at Kings in Sacramento. , Calif.
Julius Randle scored 26 points with 15 rebounds despite a consistent double-header, but the Knicks (8-9) ultimately failed to overcome a 5-for-22 shooting night from 3 points or a 12-point deficit points in the fourth quarter, failing to build on Thursday’s strong defensive victory at Golden State, with a second straight win to open a four-game trip west.
“From the middle of the first quarter and the second quarter, I thought I played well. The third quarter started OK, but then we got stuck and obviously we didn’t finish well “, said Thibodeau. “They were swarming and obviously we were not firing. And when you don’t take pictures, sometimes it gets hard. I liked the fight, but obviously we would like to end it better than we did “.
De’Aaron Fox won 22 points, Harrison Barnes had 21 and the impressive novice goalkeeper Tyrese Haliburton – 12th overall in the 2020 draft, four picks after the Knicks grabbed Obi Toppin – contributed 16 points, four blocks and two steals in 31 minutes from the bench, while the Kings stopped their loss by four games.
The Knicks were just 3-for-18 from long distances through three quarters and watched 76-72 entering the final 12 minutes. A 3 by Glenn Robinson III and a jump by Cory Joseph just four minutes into the fourth increased Sacramento’s lead to 12, 86-74.
A 3-pointer from Alec Burks and a piece converted into three points by Randle marked a 13-3 run and recovered the Knicks within two, with 4:30 left. Haliburton’s No. 3, with a 2:35 final, highlighted a 7-0 run from Sacramento, to regain the advantage at 96-87.
“We will always do that. We will always try to fight to the end, no matter what, “said RJ Barrett. “It simply came to our notice then. I think we are still trying to learn and figure out how to win and as a team to bring it in every night. ”
Barrett finished with 21 points on 8-for-17 shots in one evening after a 28-career career against the Warriors, while Mitchell Robinson contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks. Toppin had six in 12 minutes for the Knicks, whose trip continues Sunday night in Portland before ending Tuesday in Utah.
The Knicks came in first in the NBA with the fewest points allowed (102.8 per game), while keeping opponents with the lowest percentage of field goals (43.0 percent) and the percentage of 3 points (30.7 percent).
Meanwhile, Kings Walton’s Walton came in after allowing the most points in the league – 123.0 per game – in the first 15 games. But they recorded a maximum of 14 blocked shots this season, including six from center Richaun Holmes.
However, the intensity of the Knicks decreased, after bringing a 54-49 lead in the third quarter. Barnes’ layup and Buddy Hield’s triple in the middle of the period helped the Kings regain the lead, 68-67, and wear a four-point cushion in the fourth.
“It simply came to our notice then [in the third quarter]”Thibodeau said. “Sometimes, when you’re in a back-to-back, you have to fight through those things. I liked the fight in the fourth trimester, but I didn’t finish it. ”