Just add it to the list. Tack it on. Yet another mind-numbing Knicks loss at the Garden — the 10th by single-digits already this season.
This was worse, because what a feel-good win it would’ve been, down 17 to the contending Clippers in the fourth quarter. A three-point lead in the final seconds of regulation.
All that was needed was a defensive rebound. The Knicks didn’t get it, Nicolas Batum sank a 3-pointer at the horn and the Clippers predictably overpowered them in overtime for a 134-128 victory.
The Knicks wasted a brilliant 41-point, seven-assist, one-turnover performance from All-Star snub Jalen Brunson and a fantastic fourth quarter in which they outscored the Clippers 34-19.
But they didn’t have much left in the extra session. They committed five turnovers in the final five minutes and didn’t produce a made field goal over the first four minutes.
Paul George and Kawhi Leonard combined for 65 points for the Clippers, showing just how badly the Knicks (28-26) need wing help at the trade deadline, and Los Angeles (30-26) sank 16-of-37 3-point attempts. Julius Randle added 28 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists for the Knicks and RJ Barrett had 14 on a dreadful 6-of-21 shooting performance.
Down 17 at one point early in the fourth quarter, the second unit got the Knicks momentum, reeling off a 13-2 run early in the stanza, but the Clippers answered with six straight to push the lead back to 12. It got cut down to four with 1:50 left after an Isaiah Hartenstein slam, and the Knicks went ahead on Quentin Grimes’ 3-pointer with 52 seconds left. When Geoge missed a 3-pointer on the other end, it looked like the game was over. But Ivica Zubac retrieved the carom and Batum forced overtime with his buzzer-beating 3-pointer that stunned the once-delirious crowd.
Before the game, coach Tom Thibodeau said he felt the Knicks’ offense was in a good place, but they had to tighten up on the other end of the floor. The first 24 minutes illustrated exactly that.
The Knicks scored 56 points. They hit eight 3-pointers. They had 14 assists on 20 made field goals. Seven different players scored. But they still trailed because their defense was soft, and that was being kind. The Clippers hit 11 of their first 17 3-point attempts and shot 61 percent from the field in the first quarter.
The Knicks had no answers for Los Angeles on the perimeter, shredded by George and Leonard for a combined 33 points, 21 from George, in the first half. They did well to be within striking distance at the break, cutting a 13-point deficit to seven. Brunson and Randle led the way with 15 apiece, making up for Barrett’s ugly 2-of-11 shooting start that included an 0-for-4 showing from 3-point range.
The Clippers left no doubt in the third quarter, piling it on to go up 15 heading into the final 12 minutes. Brunson kept the Knicks in it for a while, hitting three consecutive 3-pointers, but he didn’t get a shot over the final 6:49 of the period, and the Knicks couldn’t keep up with hot-shooting Los Angeles.
