Getty Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle of the New York Knicks.
The New York Knicks have been one of the hottest teams in the league since the start of the new year. As the postseason approaches, they are looking to make some serious noise, and all indications should lead to the belief that they are going to be a tough out come playoff time.
On Monday night, however, they faltered, losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Julius Randle put up incredible numbers, dragging the Knicks back into the game after being down 17 points, but they couldn’t finish the job. After the game, Jalen Brunson spoke about Randle’s performance and how it made the loss even tougher.
“That has a little bit to do with it,” Brunson said when asked if Randle’s showing made the loss sting more via MSG Networks. “He played so well. He brought us back. He played unbelievable. We just got better as a team to help him make that career night feel like something special. But, I mean, when you lose, that kind of just trumps all the feeling out of everything. So, I’m thankful for him bringing us back in the game, but as a team, we got to be better collectively.”
Randle had a career night against the Timberwolves. He finished the game with 57 points, four rebounds, and one assist on 19-of-29 shooting from the field and 8-of-14 shooting from behind the three-point line.
Meanwhile, Brunson also had a solid night against the Timberwolves. The Knicks point guard ended the night with 23 points, two rebounds, and 10 assists on 9-of-18 shooting from the floor and 1-of-3 shooting from beyond the three-point arc.
Mike Malone Sounds Off on Tom Thibodeau
The Knicks’ loss to the Timberwolves followed a big-time win over the Denver Nuggets. After that game, Nuggets head coach Mike Malone showed love to Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau.
“You know what’s really interesting, what happens in this business is everybody wants to pigeonhole people. They said that Tom Thibodeau is just a defensive coach, and he doesn’t know that there’s a scoreboard and that you have to score points in this league,” Malone said via Newsday’s Steve Popper. You look at their stat, their efficiency, their offense has been terrific. It’s been almost reversed. They’re top five in offense and outside of the top 10 right now in defensive efficiency. Last five games, they’re the No. 1 running team in the league. So, I think it just gives credit — coaches change, they adjust, they get better. We always ask our players to get better. And all the good coaches are not afraid to look themselves in the mirror and challenge themselves to get better.”
Mitchell Robinson Discusses Recent Knicks Drama
In other news, after making headlines for some posts he made on social media about his usage, Mitchell Robinson spoke about what’s been going on with him behind the scenes.
“Yo it’s come real asf for the pass few weeks I been going through the perfect storm as I call it after the game against Portland I just snapped like I got a baby on the way I got family issues i just got to figure a way to get back under control when my mind was free I was good after I had 3 bad games I just started thinking about all the stuff I had going on and kept it going I’ll figure it out tho I’ll be fine my bad should’ve handled it differently and didn’t want no bad blood just gotta find myself,” Robinson said via Knicks Fan TV.