Tom Thibodeau and the Knicks officially are headed back to the playoffs for the second time in three years following last year’s step-back campaign.
They won their second consecutive game with injured All-Star forward Julius Randle out of the lineup on Sunday night, dispatching the injury-riddled Wizards, 118-109, at the Garden to clinch no worse than the No. 6 postseason seed in the Eastern Conference.
Jalen Brunson followed up his career-best 48-point effort in Friday’s win in Cleveland with 27 points and eight assists, while Quentin Grimes drained six 3-pointers and also finished with 27 points as the Knicks (46-33) won their fourth straight game overall to avoid any potential of appearing in the 7-10 play-in tournament.
They also inched ever-closer to securing a 4-5 matchup in the first round against Donovan Mitchell and the Cavaliers, maintaining a 2 ½-game lead over the Nets with three to play.
“You go step by step,” Thibodeau said before the game. “There’s steps that you’re taking throughout the course of the season, whether it be let’s establish home court, let’s have a winning record at home, let’s have a winning record on the road. If we take care of each step, then those things are going to take care of themselves. And that’s what we have to understand. If we start skipping over things that’s usually when you slip.
“So if winning tonight takes care of that, obviously we’re pleased with that. But just keep moving forward. Don’t stop there, run through the entire season. That’s from start to finish. Don’t change the approach.”
With Randle on the bench wearing a boot to protect his sprained left ankle, and RJ Barrett also sidelined with a non-COVID illness, the Knicks’ improved depth shone through again, with fill-in starters Immanuel Quickley and Obi Toppin netting 22 and a season-high 21 points, respectively.
Corey Kispert scored 29 points to lead the depleted Wizards, who were without four starters, including three-time All-Star guard Bradley Beal and former Knicks forward Kristaps Porzingis.
Asked also about avoiding the 7-10 play-in scenario, Thibodeau added: “I think you deal with exactly what’s in front of you. I think overall the idea of the play-in has been very good for the league. There’s been great interest in every game virtually, and teams are jockeying whether you’re trying to avoid the play-in and get into the playoffs or trying to get into a play-in. I think it’s worked well … I think there’s more positive to it than negative. And for us just keep concentrating and don’t get lost. … Just lock into Washington, and then we go from there.”
Grimes knocked down an early 3-pointer and fed Toppin for an alley-oop dunk in the opening minutes, but Brunson missed his first three shots after netting 21 of his career-high 48 in the first quarter Friday night in Cleveland.
But Brunson’s first bucket on a baseline drive evened the score, and his coast-to-coast bucket off a Washington turnover put them ahead a few possessions later as the Knicks led 34-31 through one.
Popular former Knicks big man Taj Gibson (14 points) sank consecutive long-range buckets early in the second as the Wizards retook the lead.
Additional treys by Kispert and Deni Avdija extended the Knicks’ deficit to 10.
A traditional three-point play by Brunson and a feed from Josh Hart to Mitchell Robinson (eight points, 11 rebounds) for a flush sparked a 10-2 surge to pull the Knicks back within two. But Kispert rattled home his third triple, giving him 20 points in the half as the Wizards led 61-53 at intermission.
The Knicks recaptured the lead on Quickley’s transition dunk and Brunson’s two free throws just past the midway point of the third, before Grimes’ third 3-pointer of the game and Brunson’s weaving bucket made it a 74-69 game en route to a seven-point advantage entering the final period.
Consecutive buckets from beyond the arc by Toppin and Quickley extended the Knicks’ lead to 11 early in the fourth, and Grimes’ sixth 3-pointer of the night made it a 110-94 game with 4:01 remaining.