Thumbnail: Gamba The Bard (@GambatheBard on X)
The New York Knicks lost games against the Sacramento Kings and the Golden State Warriors on consecutive nights. They came out flat and never got going while losing to Sacramento 112-100. Then the Knicks visited Golden State, where poor defense led to a 126-113 loss.
The Knicks’ back-to-back started with a nightmare. Jalen Brunson left the game against Sacramento injured after just five minutes, and the team looked shell-shocked. They shot 1/19 from three in the first half, and spent virtually the entire game trailing by double-digits. The team never played enough defense to have a chance at a comeback.
The Knicks got their offense going against the Warriors, but their defense haunted them. New York came out of the gate with a three-point barrage and a 17-point lead, before the Warriors got going and reclaimed the lead by halftime. Once again, the Knicks fought and scored plenty, but never compiled enough stops to make a meaningful run.
Without Brunson, New York’s only hope was to mount enough defense to make up for his absence. But they looked as bad or worse defensively without the Captain as they have while he’s on the floor.
Let’s look at the disastrous two games through the player performances.
