Led by Jalen Brunson’s 32 points, the New York Knicks’ offense scored 114 points through three quarters before coasting to a 133-120 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday. The Knicks improved to 7-0 at home and 7-3 overall this season under new coach Mike Brown. The loss was the Grizzlies’ sixth in their last seven games, dropping them to 4-8.
New York has averaged 130 points per game during their current five-game winning streak. The team was rolling early on Tuesday, dropping 42 on Memphis in the first quarter and leading 77-54 at halftime. The Knicks took control at the end of the first, going on a 12-0 run to turn a tie game into a double-digit lead. That run stretched to 19-0 through the opening minutes of the second quarter before a Jaren Jackson Jr. layup finally got the Grizzlies on the board again. New York was raining three-pointers all night, making 22, and shooting them at a 40% clip.
Jalen Brunson led the offense, putting up 32 points, ten assists, and five rebounds. Karl-Anthony Towns filled up the stat sheet with 21 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, three steals, and two blocks. Mikal Bridges also had a big night with 22 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and four steals. The team did all that without starting center Mitchell Robinson, who Brown was resting for the first game of a back-to-back.
The Grizzlies’ star point guard, Ja Morant, was held to just 16 points and ten assists. He also had eight turnovers in front of the Madison Square Garden crowd on Tuesday night. Morant has been vocal with both coaches and the media over the last week about his frustrations on offense. The 2019 first-round pick has complained that the team is not running enough pick-and-rolls and that he is not getting foul calls when he is getting to the basket.
Coming into Tuesday’s game, Morant was hitting just 15% of his three-pointers, and his shooting percentage as a whole has dropped almost ten percent from last season. He shot just 4-of-14 from the floor against the Knicks. Jaren Jackson Jr. and Santi Aldama led Memphis with 19 points apiece, and Jalen Wells added 18. Vince Williams Jr. had 14 points, nine rebounds, and six assists off the bench.
New York hosts the Orlando Magic (5-6) at MSG on Wednesday night. The Grizzlies, meanwhile, will travel to Boston for a Wednesday matchup with the Celtics (5-7).
If you love sports, download Stadium Rant from the Apple App Store and join one of the fastest-growing social sports communities. Be sure to follow us on socials too — you can find all our profiles on our Linktree.
