NEW YORK — The gritty Knicks pulled off another one.
They were shorthanded Wednesday, they were trailing early and big. But Julius Randle continued his supreme start to the season and Austin Rivers was clutch again in a 112-100 victory over the Jazz.
Randle, the play-making forward, dropped 30 points with 16 rebounds and seven assists in 40 minutes. He was incredible in the second half. Rivers, meanwhile, sealed the victory as a struggling RJ Barrett watched from the bench. With the score tied with five minutes left, Rivers dropped 14 straight Knicks points.
The Jazz (4-4) couldn’t keep up. After the final buzzer, the players briefly celebrated and cleared empty MSG. If only the fans could see this start.
The Knicks (5-3) have won five of their last six games and represent one the NBA’s most pleasantly entertaining surprises. They looked overmatched in the first half against Utah, which was coming off a humbling blowout defeat the night prior in Brooklyn despite Kevin Durant being inactive for COVID-19 protocols. The Jazz led by as many as 18 in the first half and went into the break with a 12-point advantage. Barrett was the poster guy for the Knicks' woes in the first half, managing just one point on 0-of-6 shooting.
But they turned it around immediately after the break, with Randle and point guard Elfrid Payton leading the charge.
Coming off a breakthrough performance two nights earlier in a win over the Hawks, Immanuel Quickley was scoreless in just six minutes. Payton (22 points) and Rivers (23) carried the load at point guard with a combined 45 points. Before the game, Payton expressed optimism that the overachieving Knicks would get him a first playoff appearance. It’s early but the bet looks increasingly better.
“Very important. It’s a goal to get in every year. We have a good chance this year;” he said. “It’s still early. That’s the goal and we work for it every day.”
Rivers has earned Thibdoeau’s trust in close games and has been a late catalyst in three consecutive victories.
“Thibs has a respect factor. Some of the stuff he says — there’s no negotiation. It’s Thib’s way or the highway,” Rivers said. “If you’re going to play, you’re going to play his way. His way just means hard. He’s not forcing us to not take shots or you cant do this. Thibs is just about effort and knowing your role. Once everybody bought into that — OK this is the way you need to be successful here — I got to give up this. That’s what he demands. So every day you do that, you end up buying into a team concept. Then it becomes fun when you see a little bit of success.”
The Knicks’ infirmary line kept growing with four key players inactive Thursday. The most troubling news arrived with a re-evaluation of reserve guard Alec Burks, who was fitted for a walking boot and will be out at least another week with a sprained ankle.
“There’s still some tenderness there from the sprain so we just felt another week to 10 days to see where he is,” Thibodeau said, “but it’s early in the season and we don’t want it to be something that lingers.”
Backup center Nerlens Noel added a sore left knee to his sprained left ankle. He didn’t play. Frank Ntilikina (sprained knee) and Obi Toppin (calf strain) remained out as well.
Dennis Smith Jr. (contused quad) and Omari Spellman (sore knee) returned to the active list but never moved from the back bench and logged DNPs.
