Less than 24 hours after the historic night in which Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart became the first pair of Knicks teammates to record a triple-double in the same game, the Knicks will host the 40-31 Clippers. Los Angeles’ last game didn’t go quite as as New York’s as they’re coming off of a close two-point loss to the consensus best team in the west, Oklahoma City.
But the Clippers have been playing some excellent basketball over the last three weeks, going 8-2 since March 5th. And included in that very strong 10-game stretch is their March 7th win against the Knicks that came just a day after the Knicks lost Jalen Brunson to an ankle injury, and suffered a heartbreaking overtime game to the Lakers.
During that stretch, the Clippers are the only team in the league with both an offensive rating, and a defensive rating in the top five, and they are second in the league in net rating only behind the aforementioned Thunder.
They’ve been led by James Harden, who has found his old form, averaging 28 PPG, 9.1 APG, and 5.9 RPG in the last 10 games, while Kawhi Leonard, who has managed to play in eight of those ten games, is averaging 24.4 PPG, and 7.3 RPG and Ivica Zubac is averaging 2 0PPG, and 12.5 RPG during that span. And making their well-oiled offensive machine all the more impressive is the fact that not only do they have three different players averaging 20 or more points per game over the last three weeks, all of them are shooting over 44% from the field, with two of them shooting over 52%.
Prediction
The Knicks will have a tough task tonight. There’s no doubt about that. Not only have the Clippers been one of, if not, the best, and hottest teams in the league, New York will be on the back end of a back-to-back, while the Clippers come in fresh, having the luxury of not having played since Sunday.
That being said, with Harden being listed as questionable with a foot injury, the Knicks will have an opportunity to even the season series and get another impressive win on their resume. It may be a difficult task to completely stop the Clippers, but if their improved defense, especially when Mitchell Robinson is in the lineup, can at least slow them down, then they’ll have a shot. But it’ll rely heavily on the offense being able to find the kind of cutting lanes and passing lanes they found against the Mavericks last night, while also having a good, maybe even a great, night from beyond the arc. I think the game will come down to if Harden plays, and with it being his first, and only trip to The Garden this season, I think he’ll play. And if he does, I have the Knicks putting up a valiant fight, but ultimately falling short in a close, and somewhat ugly affair. Clippers win 115-110.
If the Knicks do win tonight though, they would clinch a playoff spot, and it would also leave Tom Thibodeau just three wins shy of surpassing Pat Riley on the franchise’s all-time wins list.
Game Details
Teams: New York Knicks vs Los Angeles Clippers
Location: Madison Square Garden, Manhattan, NYC
Date and Time: Wednesday, March 26, 2025, 7:30 PM ET
Broadcast: MSG
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