Two Motor City imports gave the New York Knicks quite the tune-up on Saturday in Sacramento.
Jalen Brunson was responsible for nearly half of the Knicks' scoring output against the Sacramento Kings, but he was afforded a well-deserved rest at the onset of the fourth quarter. Two surprising sources of offensive firepower paced the game-changing stages of a 98-91 interconference victory: Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks united to put up a 9-2 run at the onset of the final period to permanently place momentum in the Knicks' corner.
Both former Detroit Pistons, the headliners of the Knicks' trade deadline activities, have struggled to provide the depth that hyped their arrivals but things but the plan perfectly played out on Saturday.
A quick glance at the box score doesn't hint at much of a change:, as the two shot a combined 8-of-21 from the field including 3-of-10 from three-point range. Their timing, however, couldn't be better.
Combined with brilliant defense on the other side (the run capped off with OG Anunoby and Isaiah Hartensten rejecting a pair of layups from Kings star Domantas Sabonis), Bogdanovic and Burks helped grow the Knicks' slim lead with their timely makes.
Burks, scorer of 12 points, had hinted at what was to come earlier in the game, when he came off the bench to hit two triples in the second quarter, where the Knicks eventually built a five-point lead for halftime. Bogdanovic had nine tallies and paired them with four rebounds, part of a plus-10 advantage on the boards for New York.
These are no doubt exciting hours for the Knicks (40-27), who are closing in on a postseason spot, but the lack of bench scoring in the wake of the Immanuel Quickley trade has been cited as a part of a potential downfall. But head coach Tom Thibodeau, often chided by critics for relying on his starters too much, said that the late, clutch efforts of Bogdanovic and Burks allowed him an opportunity to give Brunson a rare rest. Such pacing will be vital at this point of the season, as the All-Star is averaging a career-high 35.2 a game (though admittedly making the most of all those opportunities).
“We were just buying time," Thibodeau said, per Stefan Bondy of the New York Post. "The group that was in there was going pretty good, so (we) thought (to) give (Brunson) an extra minute here, minute-and-a-half (on the bench). I knew they’d be loaded up on him pretty good so I wanted to make sure that he had the energy to finish.”
Bogdanovic and Burks will get a chance to generate more momentum in relief on Monday when the Knicks continue their road trip in San Francisco against the Golden State Warriors (10 p.m. ET, MSG/ESPN).
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