The Knicks have found pretty much every way to win a game. During their 13-game playoff win streak, they’ve blown out teams by as much as 51 points. They’ve also had some nail-biters.
Added to the win streak was another close affair on Friday night. The Knicks won Game 2 of the NBA Finals 105-104 in dramatic fashion. New York blew a 14-point fourth quarter lead, came up with a steal after a surprising Victor Wembanyama gaffe, took a one point lead after Jalen Brunson made a free-throw and narrowly avoided a loss after Wembanyama missed a mid-range jumper in the closing moments.
New York is now up 2-0 after taking both games on the road. The Game 2 win continued a mesmerizing postseason run. As the Knicks look to push to a 3-0 series lead on Monday night in Madison Square Garden, let’s touch on three keys to the third game.
Top performer
Through two games, Karl-Anthony Towns has been the best player on the floor. His numbers of 19.5 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 4.0 assists through the first two games seem modest. But his impact has been loud in this series. He’s picked apart the Spurs defense in a variety of ways. He’s knocked down three-pointers, attacked closeouts with drives to the rim, and he’s ducked in for post-ups against smaller defenders. Towns has done all of that with efficiency. On defense, he has held up containing Wembanyama in the pick-and-roll.
In Towns’ 68 minutes during the Finals, New York has a net rating of plus-14.9 according to NBA Stats. When he’s off the floor, the Knicks have been outscored by 16.2 points per 100 possessions. It’s a small sample size, but it shows how important having Towns on the floor has been to New York during the finals.
Towns is playing the most well-rounded basketball of his career, and it’s been a driving force in New York’s 2-0 series lead.
Defensive disruption
The Knicks are winning this series mainly on the strength of their defense. Through two games, the Knicks have held the Spurs to 100.5 points per 100 possessions per NBA Stats. It’s a far cry from the 115.4 points per 100 possessions the Spurs averaged during the first three rounds of the postseason.
New York’s defense has made offense a chore for Wembanyama. The seven-footer is averaging 27.5 points in the series, but he’s shooting just 40.5 percent from the field. New York centers Towns and Mitchell Robinson have been effective in one-on-one situations against Wembanyama.
The Knicks have also overloaded the paint with help defenders who have consistently slowed down Wembanyama’s forays to the rim as the roll man in the pick-and-roll. The Spurs haven’t been able to take advantage of New York’s extra help in the paint, shooting just 30.6 percent from three in Games 1 and 2.
Wembanyama played better in the second half, putting up 22 points. He made a few three-pointers, and relied more on his faceup game. The turnaround could give him some momentum going into Game Three.
Corner pocket
One adjustment the Spurs made in Game 2 was applying more pressure to Brunson. San Antonio’s perimeter players checked Brunson full court and there were more double teams and traps on the Knicks’ All-Star guard. With that aggressive defense comes more opportunities for Brunson’s teammates.
As San Antonio doubled, it left the Knicks many opportunities to attack from the corner. New York is 15-for-28 (54 percent) on corner threes in the first two games. The Knicks have thrived from the corners over the past few years. New York was sixth in corner three-point percentage during the regular season (41.6 percent) and the club is third in the category (43.8 percent) in the postseason.
Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, and Landry Shamet are three players who do most of their damage from three in those two areas. Bridges and Anunoby were number one and two respectively in total corner three attempts during the regular season.
Will the Spurs dial back the pressure going forward? Brunson has struggled from the field during the first two games. But he still is playing a part in generating good looks for other Knicks. If the Knicks continue to accumulate corner threes, they should be in good shape for the rest of the series.
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