Pete coach Tom Thibodeau had his first win and a 90-84 first season game of the season over the Pistons at the fan-less Little Caesar Arena in Deckit Rot.
The entire Knicks franchise was benched for exactly nine months due to the COVID-19 epidemic, but Thibodeau’s new defense was disruptive and topin dynamic so it was almost worth the wait.
Designed with the No. 8 pick last month, the Brooklyn-born, 6-foot-9 forward was silky smooth, as it came off the bench. He scored 11 points, shot 4-for-9 off the field, and made seven rebounds at 20:11 while spelling power forward Julius Randle spelled.
Picton shot only 32 percent and committed 22 turnovers as the Knicks hit the passing lanes and hit the ball. During a timeout, ib 35૨-446. Thibodeau, who has a career record, faltered in defense after hitting his team and allowed Black Griffin to drill a huge open poin-pointer.
The Knicks led 18 points early in the fourth quarter before catching, Randall hitting a 14-footer with a clean sweep of 34.8 seconds, which led to eight points.
Toppin entered the first quarter with 4:17 left, sabotaging Randall. When he showed nerves in the opening minutes, missing his first two shots, including a wildly bent 3-point miss, he went rolling.
The 22-year-old scored on two assets directly at the post-ups – the first spin moving in the basket for a lap and the second a soft turnaround in the lane.
At just 10:30 of the first half’s action, he dropped nine points with five rebounds and threw 3 of 4 free throws.
Nerlens Noel, who started the center from Mirchel Robinson, batted first in the first half for a 10-point team in the first half. But Robinson came out of the bench to protect the two steals.
The Knicks’ 2019 lottery pick, RJ Barrett, stabilized after a 0-for-6 start and finished with a strong second half with 15 points (7-for-16 shooting).
Before the game, Toppin makes a ready sound, saying he has no nerves.
“It looks a little different,” Toppin said. “I have been training for a very long time now. And the time is finally here. ”
Barrett, meanwhile, struggled halfway through, missing his first six shots and not coming close to a 3-pointer series, throwing two airballs. It was 2 out of 10 by halftime – 3 to 4 wickets.
The Knicks led 48-47 in disruption to the defense of Thibodeau, who pushed for 11 turnovers, keeping Picton at 34 per cent shooting.
.
