The Knicks blew three 20-point leads in 11 days shortly before the All-Star break, including a 28-point meltdown against the rival Nets backups at Madison Square Garden.
Late-game collapses have been a glaring difference between this year's version of the Knicks and last year's surprising playoff team, and Tom Thibodeau suggested that youth could have something to do with New York's struggles holding big leads.
"We've got a lot of young guys," Thibodeau said. "It's understanding how different the fourth quarter is, and that's a big part of it. When you have a big lead, you don't want to overthink, but you have to play with a poise, but a toughness that goes along with that. Managing the game is a big part of that."
The Knicks were outscored by 24 in a bad loss to the Trail Blazers on Feb. 12, and blew an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter in an overtime loss to the Thunder two days later. One game after that came the debacle against Brooklyn, one of the worst losses of the season.
"It was disappointing that we didn't close those games out, but we did a lot of good things to build those leads, and then you have to finish the game," Thibodeau said.
As for youth playing a role in the Knicks' recent late-game meltdowns, it's hard to pin that as the key culprit. In the loss to Portland, aside from rookie Quentin Grimes, the only Knicks to play more than five minutes were Taj Gibson, Kemba Walker, Evan Fournier, Alec Burks, and Julius Randle, all established veterans with several years of NBA experience. Against Oklahoma City, Grimes again logged heavy minutes, but Burks played all 12 minutes, Randle and Mitchell Robinson played roughly nine, while Fournier played more than half of the quarter. Against Brooklyn, the top-three players in terms of workload were Burks, Randle, and Robinson, with sophomore Immanuel Quickley playing over seven minutes.
Regardless of the youth on the floor, New York's late-game woes are a huge reason the team is on the outside looking in at a playoff spot. With veteran point guard Derrick Rose soon to return, Thibodeau hopes a veteran presence at point guard will help prevent future meltdowns from his group.
"When you have leads like that, it's control and manage the game," Thibodeau said. "Your point guards, that's a big responsibility."
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