New York, N.Y. – The New York Knicks hosted the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night in the second game of their back-to-back after beating the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday.
The Knicks were without their top two guards, Jalen Brunson and Deuce McBride, for the contest. This meant Cameron Payne would make his third straight start for the Knicks.
The game started well for the Knicks. They jumped out to an early 33-20 lead in the first quarter, getting point contributions from Karl-Anthony Towns, who had 13, and Cameron Payne, who had 10.
However, in the second quarter, the Knicks suffered a major blow as Cameron Payne went down with an injury that forced him to be out for the rest of the game. The Knicks were outscored by 12 points in the quarter and allowed the Clippers to score 24 points in the paint.
After being outscored in the second quarter, it was not much different for the Knicks for the rest of the game. The Knicks were outscored by 11 in the third quarter, and in the fourth quarter, it looked like the game could get out of hand for the Knicks after going down by as much as 19 points, but a late push by the Knicks was a little too late as they lost the game by a final score of 126-113.
Karl-Anthony Towns led the Knicks in scoring with 34 points, and he grabbed 13 rebounds. His teammate OG Annunoby also added 28 points while grabbing five rebounds.
The injury to Cameron Payne seemed to have played a role in the loss to the Clippers. Before going down, he was having himself a night. Payne had 15 points and knocked down three three-point shots before his night was cut short.
The Knicks seem to be running out of answers at the point guard position; last year’s second-round pick, Tyler Kolek, will be looked upon to step up to the starting spot if Payne or McBride can’t go, as they await the return of Jalen Brunson. Against the Clippers, Kolek played 18 minutes and racked up seven assists; there is no denying his playmaking ability. “He’s capable of getting in there and getting it done… we’re not replacing Jalen individually, we have to do it collectively… just have to find a way to get it done,” said New York Head Coach Tom Thibodeau.
The Knicks will travel to Milwaukee to take on the Bucks. As for now the status of Cameron Payne’s injury is unknown but Coach Thibodeau gave an update to Deuce Mcbride’s status describing it as “day-to day”. If the two can’t go on Friday, Tyler Kolek will likely be called upon for the start but Coach Thibedeau seems to have confidence in the young rookie.
