Honestly, if you looked at the box score of the new york knicks game yesterday, you might just see another double-digit win against a struggling West Coast team. A 123-114 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers isn't exactly front-page news in a season where Jalen Brunson is playing like an MVP candidate every other night. But if you actually watched the game, you'd know it felt different.
The Knicks didn't just win. They finally looked like they knew how to share the ball again.
Lately, the offense has felt a bit "Brunson-heavy," which is fine when he's dropping 40, but dangerous when he's not. Yesterday in Portland, the scoring was almost perfectly symmetrical among the starters. We’re talking about Karl-Anthony Towns shooting a ridiculous 69%, OG Anunoby hitting 60% of his looks, and Mikal Bridges hovering around 53%. Nobody in the starting five scored less than 18 points. That’s the kind of balance Leon Rose envisioned when he mortgaged the future for this roster.
The KAT and Brunson Connection is Finally Clicking
For a while there, it looked like Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson were playing two different games on the same court. KAT would be floating on the perimeter while Brunson worked the mid-range, or vice versa. It was clunky. It was awkward. It was, frankly, a little worrying for a team with title aspirations.
Yesterday changed the narrative.
💡 You might also like: Navy Notre Dame Football: Why This Rivalry Still Hits Different
The high-post actions between them were crisp. When Portland tried to double Brunson at the top of the key, he didn't force the hero ball. He dumped it to KAT, who either finished at the rim or found a wide-open Josh Hart in the corner. Hart, by the way, finished with 18 points on 46% shooting, proving once again that he's the "glue guy" that holds this entire chaotic experiment together.
Why the Defensive Lapses Still Matter
It wasn't all sunshine and roses. Giving up 114 points to a Portland team that has been bottom-feeding in the West isn't exactly a "Thibs-approved" defensive masterclass. Tom Thibodeau looked like he was about to lose his mind on the sidelines during the third quarter when the Blazers went on a mini-run.
The Knicks are currently sitting 2nd in the Eastern Conference with a 25-14 record. That sounds great. But they’re 3.5 games behind a Detroit Pistons team that—believe it or not—is actually the class of the East right now.
If New York wants to catch Cade Cunningham and the Pistons, they can't keep having these defensive "siestas" in the second half. They let Portland stick around way too long. In the playoffs, a team like Boston or Milwaukee will turn a 9-point lead into a 20-point blowout while the Knicks are still trying to figure out their rotations.
📖 Related: LeBron James Without Beard: Why the King Rarely Goes Clean Shaven Anymore
The Impact of the Bench
One thing nobody is talking about is the stability Miles "Deuce" McBride provides. He put up 17 points in the previous blowout loss to Detroit, and while his role was quieter in the new york knicks game yesterday, his presence allows Brunson to actually sit for more than four minutes without the lead evaporating.
Here is how the main rotation shook out in the box score:
- Jalen Brunson: 26 points, 52% FG
- Karl-Anthony Towns: 24 points, 69% FG
- OG Anunoby: 24 points, 60% FG
- Mikal Bridges: 18 points, 53% FG
- Josh Hart: 18 points, 46% FG
It's rare to see that kind of parity. Usually, you have one guy carrying the load and everyone else chipping in. Seeing four players with 20+ points (or right on the cusp) is a nightmare for opposing scouts. Who do you double? If you help off OG, he burns you from the corner. If you leave KAT 1-on-1, he's too big for your power forward and too fast for your center.
What This Means for the Sacramento Road Trip
The Knicks are heading to Sacramento next. The Kings are struggling—sitting at 10-30—but the Knicks have historically been "vulnerable" on the tail end of West Coast trips. They've gone 2-5 in their last seven games prior to this Portland win.
👉 See also: When is Georgia's next game: The 2026 Bulldog schedule and what to expect
They’re currently 10.5-point favorites against the Kings. If they play like they did yesterday—moving the ball, letting KAT dominate the interior, and keeping the turnovers low—they should cruise. But as any Knicks fan will tell you, "should cruise" are the most dangerous words in the English language.
The team will be without Landry Shamet, who is still nursing that shoulder injury. It’s a bummer because his spacing would be huge against a Kings team that lacks perimeter depth. However, with the starters clicking like this, the bench doesn't need to be spectacular; it just needs to be competent.
Real Talk: Are the Knicks Contenders?
People get caught up in the highlights. They see the flashy duns and the Brunson step-backs. But the real measure of this team is their Net Rating, which is currently +4.6, ranking them 8th in the league. That’s "good," but it’s not "dominant."
To be a real threat to Detroit or Boston, that defensive rating (currently 17th) has to move into the top 10. You can't outscore your problems forever, especially in May and June. The win yesterday was a step in the right direction because it showed they can win even when Brunson isn't forced to take 25 shots.
If you're looking for what to watch in the next game, keep an eye on the first six minutes of the third quarter. That’s been the "danger zone" for this team all season. If they can come out of the locker room with the same intensity they start the game with, they might actually be as good as the Madison Square Garden hype suggests.
Next Steps for Knicks Fans:
- Monitor the injury report for the Sacramento game, specifically looking for any "rest" designations for Josh Hart, who has been playing heavy minutes.
- Watch the Eastern Conference standings closely; the gap between the 2nd seed Knicks and 3rd seed Celtics is razor-thin (only 1 game).
- Focus on the "points in the paint" stats in the next matchup; if KAT is aggressive early, the Knicks almost always win.