The train keeps rolling at 1 Penn Plaza.
The Knicks made it five straight wins and remained undefeated at Madison Square Garden (7-0) with a 133-120 rout of the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday night — and they did it without starting center Mitchell Robinson, who sat out the first leg of the back-to-back under his left-ankle load management plan. Robinson is expected to return Wednesday against the Orlando Magic.
Without their anchor in the paint, rim protection was shaky at times. But it hardly mattered, because Memphis — mired in dysfunction — didn’t put up much of a fight. The Grizzlies looked as lifeless on the floor as their current situation off it with All-Star guard Ja Morant, whose frustration has become the team’s defining storyline.
That, of course, isn’t New York’s concern.
The Knicks opened the night with their seventh 40-point quarter of the season, racing out to a 42-30 first-period lead and never letting go. The advantage ballooned to 111-83 late in the third, as the Knicks’ offense once again clicked into overdrive under Mike Brown’s fast-paced system.
Memphis made two brief pushes — cutting a 19-point second-quarter deficit down to 12 before a Brown timeout, then again in the fourth when a 28-point Knicks lead shrank to 10 with under five minutes left. But the rally never had teeth. Seven Grizzlies scored in double figures, including four reserves who combined for 53 points, yet the game was never truly in doubt for New York.
“[The Grizzlies are] really good in transition,” Brown warned pregame. “Everyone looks at Ja as a highlight — and he is. He’s explosive, athletic, dynamic. But what’s underrated about him is he throws the ball ahead. They’re obviously missing guys due to injury, but when you have two All-Stars on your roster, anything can happen.”
Perhaps not this time.
In 34 minutes, Morant finished with 16 points and 10 assists on 4-of-14 shooting, undone by eight turnovers as the Knicks’ pressure defense swarmed him at the point of attack. Jaren Jackson Jr. added 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting but spent much of the night in foul trouble. With Brandon Clarke, Zach Edey, Ty Jerome, and Scottie Pippen Jr. all sidelined, Memphis never found stability.
New York, meanwhile, looked the part of a contender.
All five starters scored in double figures. Landry Shamet, starting in Robinson’s place, had 10 points in 21 minutes. Jalen Brunson led the way with 32 points, 10 assists, and five rebounds on 11-of-19 shooting, including 6-of-9 from deep. The Knicks’ captain has tallied 56 assists over his last eight games and is averaging just as many points as last season (27) while playing two fewer minutes a night under Brown.
“I think he’s gonna get better as time goes along and he continues to find his spots and we find spots for him,” Brown said. “At least as of now — or a game ago — he’s averaging 27 points in fewer minutes. My thought process in this whole thing is I don’t want people to sit on him in the pick-and-roll or in a specific action. I like moving him around so it’s harder to deny or be physical with him because he’s not in the same place all the time.”
Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges each crossed the 20-point mark, while Jordan Clarkson continued his steady rhythm off the bench with 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting in 17 minutes. Guerschon Yabusele, given an extended look in Robinson’s absence, chipped in two points and six boards with a plus-13 net rating in 15 minutes of play.
The win kept the Knicks firmly atop the Eastern Conference’s early-season leaderboard and further cemented their identity as one of the NBA’s most balanced and explosive home teams.
Next up: another Garden test.
The Knicks host the Orlando Magic on Wednesday — a team that added Desmond Bane in the offseason and entered 5-6 but remains one of the East’s most intriguing young threats. And another opportunity for the Knicks to add to their undefeated home record before another trip on the road, where they are 0-3.
