Mesmerizing. Unparalleled. Historic. Choose any of those adjectives and it would aptly describe Luka Doncic’s performance versus the Knicks on Tuesday night.
Crushing. Improbable. Maddening. These are descriptors fitting of the Knicks’ 126-121 overtime loss to Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks on the road.
The Knicks seemingly had complete control of what would have been perhaps their best and most resourceful win of the season. Instead it became one of the franchise’s most distressing in recent memory. They held a nine-point lead with 33 seconds remaining but shockingly made a series of mental and physical errors in the last half minute of regulation, creating a pathway for Doncic to put back his own intentional miss on a free-throw with one-second remaining to tie the game at 115 all.
Doncic snatched the victory with seven points in the extra five-minute session, to end the game with the NBA’s first-ever 60-point, 20-rebound triple-double. The 23-year-old Slovenian phenom, who made his pro debut in Europe at the age of 16, registered 60 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists.
“It’s a shame not to come out of here with a win,” Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau dejectedly said after the defeat. “Disappointed.”
Doncic did his remarkable work against a Knicks squad that played without starting point guard Jalen Brunson, who was inactive due to a hip injury, and the departure of guard RJ Barrett two minutes into the contest with a lacerated finger on his right hand caused by Doncic attempting to knock the ball out of Barrett’s hand from behind on a drive to the basket.
Yet several Knicks rose to the challenge. Guard Quentin Grimes scored a career-high 33 points. Julius Randle continued his All-Star candidacy with 29 points and 18 rebounds playing in his hometown. Center Mitchell Robinson was stellar with 20 points and 16 rebounds, and guard Immauel Quickley executed an excellent floor game starting in place of Brunson, dishing out a career-high 15 assists and adding 13 points although he shot just 5-21.
“I promise I was trying to [guard Doncic],” maintained Grimes, who along with Randall as the primary defenders did as much as they could to slow down the league’s second leading (33.6) scorer. “I’m trying to go over every pick and roll, he’s in almost every action. It was a lot on me, trying to get over everything. He’s crafty with the ball, without the ball. I need to know where he is at all times on the court.”
The Knicks’ ongoing self-inflicted adversity was illuminated again by crucial misses from the foul line. It has been a recurring issue in recent games down the stretch that could have cemented wins. They finished 15-26 from the line in a 118-117 home loss to the Chicago Bulls last Friday and guard Miles McBride left three on the table in the last 30 seconds against the Mavs. The Knicks were 15-24 overall. They also gave two 3-pointers to Dallas in the final half-minute. But in the end, the night was defined by Doncic’s brilliance.
After winning eight straight, the Knicks have lost four in a row going into tonight’s game against the San Antonio Spurs in the second of a three-game road trip through Texas. They’ll meet up with the Houston Rockets on Saturday before returning home to host the Phoenix Suns on Monday and a rematch with the Spurs on Wednesday at Madison Square Garden.