NEW YORK — It was little more than a glorified scrimmage at Madison Square Garden Sunday afternoon, nothing on the line for either team and with stars sitting on both teams the highlight perhaps coming when Jalen Brunson appeared in street clothes at center court before the start of the game on Fan Appreciation Day to thank the Knicks fans.
“On behalf of my teammates and the organization we are really thankful for your support all year,” Brunson said. “You guys make this the best place in the league, the best fan base in the league. We really appreciate it. But we are not done yet. We’ll see you guys in the playoffs.”
And with that skeleton crews took the floor for both the Knicks and Pacers as Indiana prepared for the summer and the Knicks focus could officially turn to the playoffs. The Pacers took a 141-136 decision in a game that would have Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau tearing out his hair if the playoffs resembled anything like this.
Obi Toppin pleased the crowd with an assortment of dunks and three-point field goals, leading the Knicks with 34 points, and Immanuel Quickley added 30. The only intrigue came with RJ Barrett entering the game needing 44 points to average 20 for the season, which would have given the Knicks their first trio of 20-point scorers in a season in franchise history, and he never hunted it — taking just 16 field goal attempts and fouling out with 18 points.
The Knicks still showed some fire. Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau was calling timeouts and challenging calls to the end and Josh Hart was ejected with a pair of technical fouls in the fourth quarter. But mostly it seemed like a summer league game with fans needing to check score cards to recognize some of the players.
The Knicks finished the season with a 47-35 record, their most wins since they were 54-28 in the 2012-13 season, which was also the last time the franchise won a playoff series. If they always believed — as RJ Barrett indicated they did in a preseason prediction and Garden Chairman James Dolan set as expectations in February — there were no prognosticators picking the Knicks for anything near this. Las Vegas lines had them at 38.5 as an over/under before the season began.
“You play 82 games,” Thibodeau said. “Tells you a lot. At the conclusion of the season, you know exactly where you stand. And then you get ready for whatever is next. So the next step for us are the playoffs. So, I think we’ve made great strides, but this is a greater challenge and it’s the next challenge that’s in front of us. So, we got to tackle it. We got to understand how important studying is, preparation is and go from there.”
What perhaps few predicted was just the effect Brunson would have on the team, averaging 24 points and 6.2 assists per game on the floor and setting a culture change off the court. Fellow free agent pickup Isaiah Hartenstein played in all 82 games and solidified a second unit, along with Sixth Man of the Year candidate Immanuel Quickley and trade deadline acquisition Josh Hart.
“That’s the challenge every year,” Thibodeau said. “When you go into a season you virtually never come back exactly the same. So then it’s how quickly can you adapt and get everyone onto the same page. It’s been steady progress throughout. Jalen has been seamless. It was a big part of what our needs were in terms of controlling and managing the team. Jalen brings out the best in everyone. I think when you add in Isaiah’s passing, his rim protection, and you add another guy in Josh Hart, who is an all-around type of player, that adds to your team. Then the growth of the guys that have been here. Our young guys have done a terrific job.”
