The Knicks trailed the Cavaliers by 17 points with 10:26 to go in the fourth quarter of their early Christmas Day game on Thursday, and their chances of wrapping up the holiday with a win were down to less than 3%, according to ESPN’s metrics. That’s when newfound Knicks hero Tyler Kolek, the second-year guard from Marquette, kicked into gear and teamed with MVP candidate Jalen Brunson to lead New York on a wild comeback that yielded a 126-124 win.
It was bench scorer Jordan Clarkson who started the comeback with a layup, but then Kolek hit a 3-pointer, and would later hit two more 3-pointers plus a long 2. Kolek had 11 points, and Brunson had 10, in a nine-minute stretch that saw the Knicks finally take the lead on a Mikal Bridges bucket with 1:29 to play.
Just before that Bridges score, though, the Cavaliers had the chance to pump up their one point lead when Donovan Mitchell got the ball alone no a breakaway after a turnover. Kolek caught him from behind and blocked the shot on a critical play. More on that in a moment.
Knicks Fell Behind Early, Fell Behind Again Late
It was a rough game for the starters (the Knicks trailed by 15 after one quarter), but the second unit kept bringing the group back. And it was the bench trio of Clarkson with 25 points, Kolek with 16 points and nine assists and center Mitchell Robinson with 13 rebounds who pushed the team through to a victory.
Brunson had 34 points and bolstered the scoring during the Knicks’ comeback, but he also struggled with his shot (10-for-25) and was a minus-17 on the box score on Thursday. It was the bench that came in and changed things for the Knicks–twice, once each in both halves.
GettyJalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks
Tyler Kolek’s Advice for Knicks Bench: ‘Change the Game’
Kolek said that after a rough first half, he leaned on some advice he got from one of last year’s bench point guards, a simple three-word motto. “I looked at Jordan,” Kolek said, “and I said, ‘Change the game.’ That’s what I always say. Cam Payne actually taught me that last year. Whenever you go in the game, you gotta do something different, make the game flow differently.”
The block on Mitchell certainly did that–though Kolek and his bench mates certainly changed the game for the 21-9 Knicks even before that.
Kolek kicked a bit of dirt on Mitchell after the game, pointing out that if the Cavs star had made the simply play in that situation, he would not have gotten the blocked shot.
“I saw him running,” Kolek said. “Honestly, if he ran and did a regular layup, I wouldn’t have caught up to him but he wanted to do some windmill (expletive), he slowed down, he was trying to do something crazy.”
Tyler Kolek’s ‘Confidence Has Grown’
Instead, he got blocked by Kolek and even took a bit of trash talk. Teammates have taken notice of the Knicks guard’s growing confidence.
“Experience has taught him well,” Karl-Anthony Towns said. “And I think one of those things you either got or don’t, is confidence. And I think with all the work he’s put in, his confidence has grown in the league, and not diminished. And I think one of things you see in the league is confidence being stripped away. And his is growing.”
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