All over the court, in the most significant minutes of the game, were signs of development.
Jalen Brunson, a zero-time All-Star whom the Knicks placed a bet on last offseason to make a leap, could slice into the lane or knock down a step-back and scored eight of his game-high 29 points in the fourth quarter.
RJ Barrett, up and down for the entirety of his solid, if not spectacular, short career, consistently forced his way through the defense and poured in 10 fourth-quarter points by never settling for jumpers.
Obi Toppin, no longer a threat solely on the fast break, wound his way into the lane for a big bucket to extend the Knicks’ lead to seven halfway through the fourth quarter and consistently cleaned up, with five final-quarter rebounds, and was willing to do the dirty work.
During an electric 102-93 Game 4 victory over the Cavaliers Sunday afternoon, at the fully charged Garden, another sign of progress led the Knicks from their bench.
Tom Thibodeau, who is known for sticking with his close circle of trusted guys until the very end, abandoned his lone All-Star. The Knicks are on the brink of the second round, which would be the second time in 23 seasons they advanced past the first, in part because Julius Randle was left on the bench.
Randle did not step foot on the court for the entire fourth after he became a clear liability in the third. He was either hobbled or disinterested, watching as Darius Garland drove right past him and dished to Evan Mobley to bring the Cavs within six early in the third; watching as Garland and Jarrett Allen ran a pick-and-roll that ended with an Allen slam in which Randle should have been the help, but didn’t slide over; watching as Mobley grabbed an offensive rebound over Randle, which led to another Allen dunk that gave the Cavs a 63-61 lead.
The Knicks were up two at the end of the period, which would be the last that Randle, who finished with seven points on 10 shots, would be seen.
Instead, Toppin played all but 41 seconds of the fourth. Barrett and Brunson were never lifted. Those three, along with Josh Hart and Isaiah Hartenstein, saw the majority of the crunch-time minutes because the lineup was rolling.
“That group got going,” Thibodeau said. “At some point you make your decision, probably at the 5-minute mark, the 6-minute mark, and we rode that out. Those guys built the lead. Obviously, whatever you think gives your team the best chance to win.
“We got a number of guys that are sacrificing and putting the team first.”
Among those appears to be Randle, who was ineffective but still active. Thibodeau alluded to Randle’s troublesome left ankle, which was sprained March 29 and forced him to miss the final five games of the regular season, as part of the source of Randle’s struggles.
“Julius is our horse. He’s given us everything that he has,” Thibodeau said of Randle, who exited the locker room before reporters were allowed in. “A lot of guys probably wouldn’t even be playing.”
Why Randle did not play in the game’s most critical moments is less meaningful than the fact he did not play in the game’s most meaningful moments. Thibodeau has leaned heavily on veterans wherever he has gone — to extremes with Derrick Rose in Chicago before he asked for a lot from Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins (who were Nos. 1 and 2 in minutes in 2016-17) and briefly Jimmy Butler in Minnesota — but has evolved.
That much became apparent in December, when Thibodeau dropped Rose and Cam Reddish from a tightened rotation that allowed more minutes for Quentin Grimes and Immanuel Quickley. That much became crystal clear when Randle — a bulldog Thibodeau loves, and one who wants to play every second — could not get off the bench as the Knicks took a commanding, 3-1 lead over Cleveland.
The Knicks are on the verge of rare territory for many reasons beyond Randle sitting for 12 minutes. Brunson was the main catalyst Sunday. Barrett, too, played like a star. Mitchell Robinson (11 rebounds) and Hartenstein can bang with anyone. Hart and even Deuce McBride made significant contributions that did not show up in the box score. Especially during an afternoon in which Donovan Mitchell — for whom the Knicks did not push in all their chips this offseason — went 5-for-18 for 11 points, GM Leon Rose deserves plenty of credit.
So does Thibodeau, who is showing that the players are not the only Knicks developing well.
Today’s back page
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🏀 VACCARO: Knicks show they can take a punch in pushing Cavaliers to the brink
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⚾ Justin Verlander ‘all good’ after latest rehab step as Mets debut inches closer
🏀 Nets could have eyes on Damian Lillard with Sean Marks not ruling out a splash
An offensive offense
Some offensive stats from the Yankees’ first 22 games.
Runs scored: 93 (19th in baseball)
Home runs: 30 (tied for fourth)
OPS: .706 (18th)
OPS vs. lefties: .645 (25th)
The offense has been in a deep funk, scoring three or fewer runs in six of seven games. Part of the problem is injury-related, the Yankees missing Giancarlo Stanton, Josh Donaldson and Harrison Bader.
Part of the problem is probably luck-related because more of those home runs should come with runners on base at some point. Part is because the lineup, predominantly righty, has not hit southpaws yet. And part is simply that the Yankees, especially the bottom of their lineup, are not hitting enough.
Entering yesterday’s 5-1 loss to the Blue Jays, the Yankees’ Nos. 6-9 hitters were the third-worst in all of baseball in terms of OPS (.564). Against Kevin Gausman, and the Blue Jays’ bullpen, Oswaldo Cabrera, Oswald Peraza, Kyle Higashioka and Isiah Kiner-Falefa proceeded to go 1-for-13 with five strikeouts.
The Yankees, 13-9 and fresh off their very first series defeat of the season, are not in trouble, but their offensive issues have been obvious thus far.
Devilish question
Did the Devils happen upon a nice story that will be forgotten, or did they find a realistic path to surviving this first-round series?
Entering tonight’s Game 4, the Rangers hope it’s the former.
The Devils, presumably, will again turn to goalie Akira Schmid after the 22-year-old starred in his first ever postseason game, in which he stonewalled the Rangers in Saturday’s Game 3. The Rangers, up 2-1 in the series, will have to figure out Schmid to reclaim momentum and eventually the series.
After two games of Rangers domination, the desperate Devils pulled Vitek Vanecek and inserted Schmid, who has started a grand total of 18 games in the NHL. Schmid, showing no signs of nerves that he would later acknowledge, made 35 saves and kept the Devils in the game until Dougie Hamilton won it in overtime.
The Rangers outshot the Devils but could not bury those opportunities, notably going 0-for-5 on the power play. The Rangers are not publicly concerned and believe those chances will turn into goals soon enough.
Just like the Devils are hoping their new goalie can turn into this year’s Hot Goalie who can carry a team through the postseason.
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