With about 90 seconds left in the third quarter, the Knicks had fallen behind by five points to the Nets. When things looked bleak, the Knicks remembered who they were and how they've had a stranglehold on their head-to-head matchup with Brooklyn.
Over the final 13:14 of the game, the Knicks outscored the Nets, 31-to-13. Mike Brown did what he does best : Find the best lineup solutions and see them work out. He's not afraid to pull guys when they're not performing and he trusts so much of the bench.
With that said, here are four winners and two losers from the Knicks' third win of the season.
Landry Shamet led the Knicks in scoring on Monday with his three-point shooting keeping the Knicks afloat. He had 22 points, going 6-of-8 from the field and 4-of-6 from three, while also making all six of his free-throw shots-coming off being fouled on two three-pointers.
For the second time in the last three games, Shamet proved to be one of the Knicks' best options for bench scoring and, in general, reliability on both ends of the floor. After playing 32 minutes in the Knicks' win in Chicago last Wednesday, he played 30 minutes Monday.
Josh Hart once again provided excellent impact for the Knicks, especially in the fourth quarter. He's not going to put up these crazy scoring outputs, but he's going to give you just about everything else when he's out on the floor. He was a team-high +22 in the win.
Hart scored just eight points, but he had six rebounds, seven assists (three in the fourth quarter), and three steals in the Knicks' win.
In the 26:54 where Hart was on the floor on Monday, the Knicks had a 121.6 offensive rating (62.0% TS%), 80.0 defensive rating, and +41.6 net rating. In the 21:06 that he was on the bench, the Knicks had a 105.1 ORTG, 131.6 DRTG, and -26.5 NETRTG.
The Knicks on the year have a +8.6 NETRTG in Hart's minutes and -15.4 NETRTG when he's sitting. That's a swing of 24 points per 100 possessions!
Tyler Kolek was a solid backup point guard during Jose Alvarado's absence, but he was relegated to third string with Alvarado's return on Monday. However, he still answered the bell when his name was called.
After not playing in the first three quarters of the game, Kolek played the first 5:29 of the fourth quarter and that's when the Knicks went on their run. The Knicks outscored the Nets, 18-to-5, in Kolek's minutes, posting a 150.0 ORTG (75.0% TS%), 45.5 DRTG, and +104.5 NETRTG in those minutes.
Bravo to Mr. Kolek for being ready to play.
Speaking of always being ready to play, once again, we saw Jordan Clarkson come into the game out of emergency. After not playing in the first half, Clarkson played 10:53 in the second half, including for seven minutes straight to start the fourth quarter.
The Knicks won Clarkson's minutes by 17 points, posting a 152.4 ORTG, 75.0 DRTG, and +77.4 NETRTG in those minutes. That's 11 straight games, dating back to last year's postseason run, that the Knicks have won Clarkson's minutes. He continues to find himself in the post-game winning category.
Mikal Bridges once again finds himself in this section following a game. He was subbed out of the game with just under nine minutes left in the third quarter and didn't return. He had six points on 1-of-7 shooting (made all four free throws) and was a team-worst -11.
The Knicks struggled mightily in his minutes with an 88.9 ORTG, 120.7 DRTG, and -31.8 NETRTG. With him sitting (31:54), they had a 125.4 ORTG (65.8% TS%), 93.2 DRTG, and +32.2 NETRTG. The guys behind him in the rotation have just continued to come in, take his minutes, and provide more impact on both sides of the basketball.
Through seven games this season, Bridges is averaging just 6.1 PPG, shooting 30.0% from the field (16-of-52) and 26.9% from three (7-of-26). He's just continuing his downward trend into uncomfortable conversations .
In 180 minutes where Bridges has been on the floor this season, the Knicks have a 96.1 ORTG (48.3% TS%) and -16.0 NETRTG. In the 154 minutes he's been riding the pine, they have a 128.4 ORTG (59.7% TS%) and +19.8 NETRTG. The numbers are telling a story.
After missing four straight games due to an ankle injury, Alvarado made his way back into the Knicks' rotation, taking most of Kolek's early minutes. However, the team struggled with him on the floor in the first half, posting a 93.8 ORTG (23.1% FG%), and -12.1 NETRTG in the 8:43 that he spent on the court.
In the second half, he didn't see the court once. Kolek came in for Brunson in the fourth quarter, and the Knicks went on a run.
Do we have a backup point guard controversy? It's looking very possible.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nba/knicks/onsi as Jose Alvarado Among 6 Winners and Losers for Knicks on Monday Night .
