Tyler Kolek showed out in two different arenas on Sunday.
In G-League duty, he erupted for 42 points — going 9-for-14 from 3-point range — along with 11 assists in the Westchester Knicks’ 141-131 win over the Greensboro Swarm. He was then recalled by the Knicks and bolted for Madison Square Garden, where he was available for the Knicks’ 145-113 rout of the Wizards.
As the blowout grew, the Garden crowd chanted “We want Kolek” during the fourth quarter. And coach Mike Brown eventually obliged. Kolek played the last five minutes and put on a show, scoring 11 points and drilling three 3s.
“That’s an amazing feat,” coach Mike Brown said. “To play in a G-League game in the afternoon and come play in an NBA game, it’s gotta be a weird feeling. But these guys are pro athletes, they do a great job taking care of their bodies and our performance group does a good job with them in that area too. For them to be able to do that, to me, is an amazing thing.
“And then the group came out and I thought they played well. It was fun to see Tyler hit some shots and hear the crowd cheering his name.”
“Tyler Ko-lek, Tyler Ko-lek” chants rang around MSG as a fun exclamation point for an easy Knicks win. Kolek posed with a sign in the Knicks locker room that had 53 written on it after the game, representing his combined point output from the two games.
“It’s tough,” Jalen Brunson said of Kolek. “He was able to play well down there and then came here and continued it. That’s just him being professional, that’s him being himself. We have a lot of guys on this team that are very high character, very good work ethic and he’s one of them.
“That’s just who he is.”
Pacome Dadiet also pulled double duty, scoring 32 points in Westchester before getting some garbage time minutes for the Knicks at night.
Brown said that Landry Shamet, who missed Sunday’s game due to knee soreness, “banged” his knee during the Knicks’ win over the Nets on Friday. He’s still being evaluated.
With a Knicks win and Celtics loss, the Knicks are now just a ½ game out of the No. 2 seed in the East.
“Honestly, I’m not even looking at the standings,” Karl-Anthony Towns said. “I didn’t even know that. I’m just focused on this locker room and this team. We can’t control Boston losing, Detroit losing.”
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