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Knicks bench comes alive in groggy win over Nets
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- Knicks bench comes alive in groggy win over Nets
For their second time in less than a week, the Knicks ' bench picked up the slack for an inconsistent New York team Monday night.
Led by Landry Shamet, Jordan Clarkson, and Miles McBride, the reserves combined for 41 of the Knicks' 103 total points against the Nets , replicating a performance that saved New York against the Chicago Bulls on Oct. 28.
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After not scoring a single point in Friday's loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, Shamet, who played for Brooklyn during the 2020-21 season, posted a game-best 22 points, tacking on one rebound and one assist in 29 minutes of play. He also went 6-for-8 from the field, 4-for-6 from beyond the arc, and 6-for-6 from the free throw line.
Clarkson added seven points and a block in 11 minutes, and McBride shot 50 percent both from field goal range and beyond the arc. Though he saw just five minutes of play time toward the end of the game, Tyler Kolekscored two, added one rebound and one assist, and finished the game plus-13.
"Our bench was fantastic," head coach Mike Brownsaid after the game. "I thought Landry came off and gave us a big lift on both ends of the floor. Jordan as well. And then Tyler — I thought Tyler's minutes were tremendous. He did a fantastic job running the team, getting us some easy looks, and then he was solid defensively."
In a back-and-forth game that saw the crosstown rivals trade leads the whole way through the first 36 minutes of play, the deep bench provided the boost the Knicks needed to get over their third-quarter slump that began before the half. In the 12 minutes after the break, New York allowed a 13-0 run from the Nets and got outscored 35-24.
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"When we went into a little funk was at the beginning of the second," Brown said. "Us not scoring gave [Brooklyn] a little hope because they were able to shrink that lead and tie it up, even take the lead. When you give a young team confidence, now it's hard to turn the water off ... So I just started searching at that point and went to Tyler, went to Landry, tried JC, and then we found a group that caught a little groove and helped us take the lead back and create separation."
Brown gave special praise to Clarkson, who recorded a season-high 18 points in 17 minutes, as well as two steals, three rebounds, and an assist against the Bulls. He finished that outing with a game high plus-15 plus/minus.
"You have a veteran that's been there, done that, and he's willing to accept a role that most guys wouldn't accept, even guys younger that haven't proved as much as he's proven in this league," Brown said. "... That's the ultimate team player. I will say this about JC — I've been around some good teammates. He's got to be the best. He's the definition of ultimate pro."
