The New York Knicks overcame a strong push from the Clippers in the third quarter to win in blowout fashion.
- New York Knicks 107 (9-7)
- Los Angeles Clippers 85 (5-11)
- NBA, Final, Box Score
- Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
Six Knicks scored in double-figures—led by Kristaps Porzingis‘ 25 points on 7-of-20 shooting—as New York trounced the visiting Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night.
Both teams came into the matchup looking for bounce-back performances. The Knicks had just been blown out by the Raptors in Toronto, while the Clippers had dropped eight in a row.
The first quarter was one of the ugliest quarters of basketball you will ever see. Each team threw the ball away, clanked shots off the iron and did just about anything to upset the basketball gods.
The Knicks picked it up in the second quarter outscoring the Clippers 36-24 and entered halftime with a 12 point lead. Though there were some bumps in the road, the Knicks didn’t look back from there.
Strong end to the first half.@zteusa ?:
Porzingis: 13p
Hardaway Jr.: 13p
Kanter: 10r pic.twitter.com/qsbShg33MF— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) November 21, 2017
The Clippers went on a 15-0 run in the third quarter, but the Knicks were able to put out the fire and dominate the rest of the way, going on to win the game 107-85
Final ? pres. by @zteusa:
Porzingis: 25p
McDermott: 16p
Kanter: 16r pic.twitter.com/zoklrfR1MQ— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) November 21, 2017
Defense and hustle are what won this game for the Knicks. They didn’t let up the overall intensity and ultimately outworked the Clippers.
Key Stat
Rebounds. Rebounds. Rebounds.
As mentioned in the pregame, the Knicks needed to keep the Clippers off the glass and limit their second-chance opportunities.
The Knicks did just that, outrebounding the Clippers 51-36 and limiting DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin to a combined 13 rebounds. Jordan averages 14 boards a game, so that’s not an easy task. A dominant performance by the Knicks on the glass.
Key Player
Doug McDermott lit up Madison Square Garden from three-point land.
? City. pic.twitter.com/BxLKEAfYfE
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) November 21, 2017
McDermott scored 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc. “McBuckets,” as they call him, wasn’t limited to an offensive contribution, McDermott was intense on the defensive end of the floor, and disrupted the Clippers offense on multiple occasions.
McDermott was plus-24 tonight.
Up Next
The Knicks will host the Toronto Raptors Wednesday night at 7:30. Jeff Hornacek‘s squad will look for some redemption after Toronto blew them out on Friday.
