They say defense wins championships, but advancing in the NBA Cup was all about the top “O.”
The Knicks and their No. 1-ranked offense steamrolled the Magic’s No. 1 defense in the East on Tuesday night at MSG, 121-106, clinching the top spot in Group A and a berth in the knockout round.
The Knicks (13-8) had no mathematical chance for a wild-card spot so they faced the equivalent of an elimination game against the league’s hottest team.
They responded with a dominant performance, a blowout win forged early and solidified by Mikal Bridges’ buzzer-beating bank shot to take a 20-point advantage at the half.
The scoring was balanced and served as a shining example of the Knicks’ humming offense, which entered the evening as the NBA’s most efficient with the highest points per possession.
Karl-Anthony Towns was a wrecking ball with 23 points and 15 rebounds, feasting on an Orlando frontcourt without injured duo Paolo Banchero and Goga Bitadze. His chippy battles with Mo Wagner became a side story to the blowout. Josh Hart notched a triple-double with 13 rebounds.
Jalen Brunson dropped 21 in just 26 minutes of work. Bridges followed up his rejuvenating effort two nights prior with a solid effort, scoring 19 on 8-for-13 shooting.
OG Anunoby (7-for-10, 18 points) was again hitting shots after a deep two-game slump. Five Knicks scored in double figures just in the first half.
The Magic (15-8), a supposed defensive juggernaut, had their six-game winning streak snapped and lost for just the second time in their past 14 games. On offense, they provided no help for Franz Wagner, who scored 20 of his team’s 51 points in the opening half.
Wagner, a budding superstar, finished with 30. But he was alone with the Magic and the defense had no answers for the Knicks, who will face the Hawks next week at MSG in the NBA Cup quarterfinals.
A victory over Atlanta will mean a trip to Vegas for the semifinal (Dec. 14) and possible championship game (Dec. 17).
Despite the defeat, the Magic advanced to the NBA Cup quarters with the wild card. They’ll face the Bucks. There was a moment early in the fourth quarter — with the lead over 30 — when it appeared the Knicks would tip the point differential too far. A victory by 37 or more would’ve meant a quarterfinal matchup against the Celtics, who were instead eliminated after the Knicks pumped the breaks on the blowout.
From a players’ perspective, part of the appeal of Adam Silver’s beloved NBA Cup is the monetary prize — $515,000 per player for the winners, $206,000 for the second-place finishers, $103,000 for semifinalists and $51,500 for quarterfinals.
Brunson is taking an altruistic view of the money.
“It would mean a lot [to win]. It would mean a lot for us to get [to Las Vegas for the final] and do all that,” Brunson said. “You have guys on the team who may be on one-year contracts or two-way deals or whatever. And you get to go out there and try to win for them and it means a lot.”
As Brunson alluded, the prize money is flat across the roster and is disproportionately valuable to players earning less. For instance, the first-place money represents a roughly 50 percent bonus for Ariel Hukporti and just 1 percent for Towns.
Josh Hart, though, is thinking about himself.
“That’s found money, so I might buy a watch or something with it,” Hart said, presenting the quote with his usual humor. “I’ve been wanting a new car. That’s found money so I’ll do something foolish with it.”
The Knicks have to win three more games first. They easily got into the quarters Tuesday.