Six different rotation regulars have missed time in January with injuries for the Knicks, making one of the best months in team history that much more impressive.
Lineup linchpins Julius Randle and OG Anunoby both sat out their second consecutive game, but Tom Thibodeau’s sizzling Knicks closed out a 14-2 month Tuesday night by rolling to their eighth straight win, 118-103 over the Jazz at the Garden.
“One, I think we have a deep team, but two, I think it’s the blueprint that Thibs has given us,” Donte DiVincenzo said. “Guys can step up and play the roles without trying to do too much.
“We have an identity here, and everybody buys in and there’s a joy that we have with our team right now. Everybody is celebrating one another, but also, everyone is holding everyone accountable.
DiVincenzo shot a blistering 9-for-15 from 3-point range and scored 33 points, while should-be All-Star Jalen Brunson contributed 29 with nine assists — and heard more rounds of “MVP” chants — as the Knicks reached as many as 14 victories in one flip of the calendar for the first time since a perfect 14-0 month in March 1994, the season Pat Riley’s squad lost in the NBA Finals.
The glory-days Knicks won a record 15 games (15-3) in December 1968, and they went 14-1 in November 1969.
“I knew we were on a trajectory to go forward, and go upward. But I’d be lying if I said I saw this coming,” Brunson said. “It’s just our depth. We have a couple guys out, and when people are called upon they are ready to go. … Whether they’re playing three minutes or 30, they’re ready to go.
“We have a good collection of guys that think that way.”
To that end, Precious Achiuwa (18 points) and Josh Hart — who posted his first career triple-double with 10, 10 and 10 in 43 minutes — filled in seamlessly again while starting for the second straight game in place of Randle (dislocated shoulder) and Anunoby (sore elbow).
“I think the big thing is you don’t replace guys individually, particularly a guy like Julius,” said Thibodeau, who went with an eight-man rotation for the second straight game following Monday’s win in Charlotte. “So it’s our defense, our rebounding, taking care of the ball.
“Those three things put you in a position to win.”
The Knicks’ recent stretch — which has seen them go from a middling 17-15 overall to 31-17 and surpassing the 76ers for the No. 3 playoff seed in the Eastern Conference after Philadelphia’s road loss to Golden State later in the night — has coincided with Anunoby’s arrival in a transformative late-December trade that sent RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley to the Raptors.
With Randle expected to miss at least a few weeks after suffering the shoulder injury Saturday against the Heat, the Knicks also brought back trusted veteran big man Taj Gibson on a 10-day contract after he’d been waived on Jan. 7.
The crowd loudly chanted “We Want Taj” multiple times in the closing minutes, and the Brooklyn native checked in to a standing ovation with 29 seconds remaining.
“Right before I was gone, I felt like the team was really coming together,” Gibson said. “The guys were really coming together as far as having that compatibility, and working together, playing for each other.
“And now, it’s been taken to a new level. Everybody is a lot more confident, and the guys are playing together. So it was a great thing to see and I’m just happy to be back.”
The Jazz got trounced Monday night in Brooklyn, but they jumped out to a quick 15-6 lead on the second night of back-to-backs for both teams.
Nevertheless, the Knicks caught fire and closed the quarter on a 23-7 run to grab a seven-point lead through one, with DiVincenzo netting a team-best 11 in the period.
The Knicks led by as many as nine early in the second, but let the Jazz hang around until a traditional three-point play by Achiuwa and DiVincenzo’s fifth trey of the half helped them carry a 57-49 into intermission.
Brunson only had eight points but six assists in the half, with DiVincenzo netting 19 and Achiuwa scoring 11.
Brunson heated up in the third (13 points) and DiVincenzo nailed two more triples to help the Knicks push the cushion to 25 late in the period.
“We’re playing well, and we’re playing to our strengths,” Hart said. “We’re just having good vibes right now, and I think that’s the biggest thing.”