The New York Knicks are already in the playoffs, but they just don’t want to crash the party. They want to host a first-round series for their fans.
With Miami and Atlanta costing to easy victories earlier, there was immense pressure in New York. And with their backs against the wall, the Knicks delivered just like they always did throughout this season.
Down 17 late in the third quarter, RJ Barrett rediscovered his shooting touch as the Knicks turned back San Antonio Spurs, 102-98, Thursday night in their return to The Garden.
Barrett waxed hot with 12 points in a 21-2 Knicks run, bridging the last 3:45 of the third quarter and the first minute of the fourth.
Alec Burks punctuated that run with a 3, finishing off what Barrett has started.
Burks scored 16 of his season-high 30 points in the fourth quarter. He didn’t show any rust in his return from a three-game layoff due to contused knee.
His three-pointer with 3:16 remaining broke the 90-deadlock. He hit another one to extend the Knicks’ lead to four after a DeMar DeRozan basket.
Burks’ explosion off the bench cushioned the impact of Derrick Rose‘s absence. Rose (ankle) was a late scratch, but Tom Thibodeau later revealed it’s nothing serious, and they decided to rest him with Burks and Immanuel Quickley coming back.
They almost regret it with the Spurs staggering them behind DeRozan’s sweet midrange game and Dejounte Murray hunting the Knicks’ backcourt.
Then Barrett and Burks decided to take over and kept the Knicks’ homecourt bid alive.
Julius Randle clocked in his usual all-around game (25 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists) and knocked down a clutch jumper with 56.4 seconds left for a 98-94 Knicks’ cushion.
After Keldon Johnson’s three-point play closed the gap, 98-97, Burks and Barrett sealed the win with four free throws.
Barrett finished with 24 points, nine rebounds, and five assists to bounce back from his eight-point dud against the Los Angeles Lakers. He was 5-for-9 from the three-point zone.
Burks added 10 rebounds to finish with his first double-double of the season.
Taj Gibson was also exceptional off the bench as he tallied nine rebounds, four blocks, and six points in 22 minutes.
The Knicks are looking to sweep their back-to-back matinee games against the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday and Boston Celtics on Sunday while hoping for a Heat loss to jump back to No. 4.
Follow this writer on Twitter: @alderalmo
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