MEMPHIS — Technically, the Knicks fulfilled Josh Hart’s “must-win” decree.
But it wasn’t exactly the cakewalk it should’ve been after a historically dominant first quarter, as the Knicks needed to battle through Wednesday’s 130-119 victory over the tanktastic Grizzlies.
Without a resting Jalen Brunson, the Knicks tied a franchise record with 48 points in the opening quarter.
It left the impression they were ready to breeze past Memphis, but they cooled off considerably in the second half — allowing the lead to dwindle to three in the third quarter — and coach Mike Brown was forced to run his starters until the final buzzer.
OG Anunoby led the way with 25 points and 13 boards.
Mikal Bridges added 24 points. Karl-Anthony Towns collected his fourth career triple-double with 20 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, but also committed seven turnovers and was benched by Brown for a big chunk of the second half.
So the effort was far from perfect, but the baseline of a victory was achieved after a three-game losing streak and a humiliating defeat a day prior in Houston.
Immediately after that loss to the Rockets, Hart, the team’s leader and spokesman, declared the Memphis matchup a “must-win.”
The Knicks responded exquisitely from tipoff with that powerful first quarter.
Everybody ate. In the opening 12 minutes, the Knicks shot a ridiculous 81 percent — going 5-for-5 from deep — while collecting 14 assists.
Nine Knicks scored in the first quarter. Six of them had at least five points.
They led by 18 after that opening period, then by 17 at the break.
The Grizzlies launched their comeback in the third quarter, and Anunoby carried the Knicks to victory with 17 points in the fourth.
It was an impressive offensive performance across the board, which will inevitably lead to pundit chatter that the Knicks play faster and freer without Brunson.
But context matters.
The Knicks (49-28) were playing the miserable Grizzlies (25-51), who are among the NBA’s preeminent tankers and deployed a lineup of G-Leaguers.
Ja Morant, Zach Edey, Santi Aldama, Ty Jerome, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Jaylen Wells were all out with injuries.
Brandon Clarke, who was also an injury DNP, was reportedly arrested in Arkansas on Wednesday on charges of trafficking a controlled substance.
The Grizzlies starters included two rookies (Cedric Coward, Javon Small), two former second-round picks (GG Jackson and Cam Spencer) and a player who started on a two-way contract this season (Olivier-Maxence Prosper).
They also had three players in the rotation Wednesday on 10-day contracts.
It represented their 15th loss in their last 17 games.
The Knicks? They’re still third in the East — 2 ½ games behind the Celtics for No. 2 and 1 ½ games clear of the Cavaliers at No. 4.
They’ve also won 10 straight against teams with losing records.
They’ve dropped five straight to opponents with winning records, including that blowout Tuesday in Houston that had Hart sounding alarms in the postgame locker room.
“We’re not going in the right direction,” said Hart, who had just five points Wednesday in 25 minutes. “We’re not trending upwards. So we got to figure it out. … Got another one (on Wednesday in Memphis). That’s a must-win for us.”
Brown appreciated the sense of urgency. His team responded well — but only in the bookends of a victory.
“I’m OK if our players have that attitude, for sure. You try to manufacture pressure on yourself, especially during the regular season. I said this back during our NBA Cup run, it was a good run because it helped us manufacture pressure during that time of the year when you’re just playing games and you don’t have the pressure of, ‘OK, we lose and we’re out.’ So it’s good to have that mindset. I don’t mind that our players have that mindset.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com
