Knicks look complete on both sides of the floor

The New York Knicks achieved their third victory so far this season by beating the Philadelphia 76ers, one of the so-called contenders in the Eastern Conference, 99-112 Tuesday night, and they did so with the authority that their long history deserves. .

It seems that so far in the nascent 2021-22 campaign the boys of coach Tom Thibodeau have learned that in this ‘modern’ NBA the certainty from the range of three makes the difference to be a simple cheerleader or a candidate.

For now, the residents of MSG have found the formula for their first unit to potentiate their triple shot. New arrivals Kemba walker and Evan fournier, next to the spoiled Julius Randle they are carrying the weight of triples.

The Knicks entered the game against the Sixers with a total of 54 3-pointers this season, the most over 3 games for any team in NBA history. The record (in 4 games) is 70 triples and belongs to last season’s Bucks, according to data from ESPN Stats & Info.

For example, during the first three quarters of Tuesday’s game, Randle, Walker and Fournier had collaborated with 10 triples (2-4, 5-8 and 3-5 respectively) to put the Big Apple with a difference of 72 -90 before the end of the third quarter.

The point guard, Kemba Walker, deserves a special mention, as it is the fifth time that the former Hornets and Celtics have recorded at least five 3-pointers in three quarters since the beginning of last season.

FACT: This is the third time in the past 15 seasons the Knicks have outscored the 76ers by more than 15 points in either half.

During the game, the Knicks went ahead by more than 20 points in the first half, marking the second time they have done so this season (they outscored Magic 30 in the first half on October 22). What’s remarkable about these Knicks is that they only accomplished the same feat once in all of last season, when they led the Washington Wizards by 20 points in the first half on March 23).

Part of the recent success of the Thibodeau coach is the variety in the distribution of points, because in the first half against the 76ers, the Knicks had 8 different players with more than 5 points, while their rival only had 4 players with that same score. figure.

Likewise, the New Yorkers managed to keep the 76ers star, Joel embiid, with low numbers, because they did not allow him to hit a single field goal in 17 minutes of the first half, in part thanks to the double mark exerted by the locals.

At the end of the game, Walker had 19 points (5-10 on triples), Fournier had 18 points (4-6 on triples) and Randle went with 16 digits (2-5 on triples), and Knicks limited Embiid to 14. Product points of 2-7 from the field, 0-2 in triples and 10 of 11 from the line in 30 minutes.