After going 1-3 in last week's action, with all three losses coming against beatable opponents, the Knicks could not afford another night where they played down to their competition in Philadelphia against the 76ers on Monday night.
Sure, Philadelphia came in as the top team in the Eastern Conference, but with Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris, Matisse Thybulle, and Isaiah Joe all in COVID-19 protocols, New York was facing a Sixers squad that was painfully shorthanded.
For a brief moment, it looked like the Knicks might once again blow a lead to a shorthanded and inferior team, as a 19-point first half lead shrunk down to one in the fourth quarter, but New York pulled away late and avoided another disastrous loss.
"We came out with a lot more intensity," head coach Tom Thibodeau said. "Our guys were flying around. was a big concern going into the game was with the guys they had out , putting more shooting on the floor and spreading us out, that was a bug concern. But I thought our guys did a really good job of getting to the ball and flying around making a second and third effort and challenging shots, so that makes a big difference."
Thibodeau and the Knicks, losers of three of their last four heading into Monday's game, will take wins however they can get them, regardless of the optics. Yes, it likely could have been a very different outcome if Embiid and Harris were on the floor, especially after New York ruled out center Mitchell Robinson before the game and lost Nerlens Noel in the first half, but the Knicks, plagued by slips against teams they're supposed to beat, took a step forward by simply taking care of business.
"They're playing hard as heck, they're playing great defense, they're sharing the ball, and their shot profile is terrific," Thibodeau said of the shorthanded 76ers. "To me, you can never underestimate that in this league. There's usually a player or two out almost every night now. You don't know who is gonna be out. But teams that are shorthanded pay incredibly hard, and if you don't match that intensity, there's a good chance you're gonna lose."
The Knicks almost let their intensity slip away on Monday night, but Julius Randle got the team back on track down the stretch to avoid disaster and more questions about the group's struggles to finish games. Instead, Monday can be seen as a much-needed win against a very beatable team. Regardless of how it looked at times, New York got the outcome it needed to help put behind a frustrating week.
"We took a step forward today," Randle said. "All of us, learning and figuring it out. It was really good, and we just have to continue building on it."
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