The New York Knicks finally have a road win, but it was far from an easy endeavor on Wednesday against the Dallas Mavericks. Taking every second to pull out a win, they survived and held on to defeat Dallas 113-111 to move to 9-5 on the season.
Landry Shamet came through in the clutch
It was a brutal shooting night for the Knicks all night long, as they shot just 28% from beyond the arc. However, the unsung hero in Landry Shamet came through once again as his magical week continues.
With the Knicks down by two and under two minutes to play, Shamet got open for a catch-and-shoot corner three that he nailed to give the Knicks a 109-108 lead. It was Shamet’s first made three-pointer of the night.
With the game tied at 109 two possessions later, Shamet came through again, knocking down a pull-up three to give the Knicks a 112-109 lead. New York would ultimately hold on despite missing five straight free throws following the second three-pointer, with Shamet forcing an offensive foul on Mavericks’ guard Brandon Williams with 0.7 seconds remaining to seal it.
Without his heroics, the Knicks would not have ended up winning that game. It took a lot out of New York to get the win, but Shamet came through in the clutch once again to save the Knicks from what would’ve been a devastating loss.
Jalen Brunson was sharp in his first game back from injury
This game was also Jalen Brunson’s first game since suffering a grade 1 ankle sprain last Wednesday. Despite missing two games, Brunson looked like he didn’t miss a beat against his former team.
Brunson led the way in scoring with 28 points and five assists while shooting 11-for-23 from the floor. Brunson was huge in the third quarter for New York to help them gain an eight-point advantage, with 12 of his points coming in that period on 5-for-6 shooting from the field.
The Knicks were certainly happy to have him back on the floor, as they were clearly missing his offensive prowess while he was out. They’re going to need him even more with OG Anunoby sidelined for a few weeks with a hamstring strain.
The Knicks had horrific shooting splits
Despite coming out victorious, the Knicks had by far their worst shooting night of the season on all levels of the floor. They shot just 44% from the field, 28% from three, and 54% from the free throw line.
The three-point struggles in the loss to the Heat on Monday carried over in the first half, as they shot a ghastly 3-for-22 from long range in the first half, including 0-for-11 in the second quarter. Things picked up for them in the second half as they shot 9-for-20 from downtown in the latter half, which ultimately helped them stay in control of the game.
The fourth quarter saw the Knicks miss a huge opportunity to ice the game. Shamet and Mitchell Robinson both missed two free throws with a chance to go up two possessions, and Brunson missed the first of his two foul shots with a chance to go up three in the final seconds. New York shot 3-for-10 on free throws in the fourth quarter, and they are lucky to come out of Dallas with a win despite that.
Perhaps more alarmingly, the Knicks allowed the Mavericks to shoot 16-for-44 from three despite them entering the game as the third-worst three-point shooting team in the league in terms of shot percentage. New York’s defensive struggles on the perimeter have been a major issue for most of the season so far, and it was even more evident against Dallas.
Overview
The Knicks will take the win regardless of how ugly it was, but there is no denying that they have a lot of things that need to be worked on. They’ll have a few days off before they head out to Orlando to play the Magic on Saturday.