McBride-al Shower! Knicks' Bench Pounds Portland
The New York Knicks' bench put forth a stand-up on Tuesday night against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Each of the four metropolitan reserves that partook in the visit to Moda Center reached double-figures in a major category, an effort paced by a career-best showcase from Miles McBride and a victorious homecoming for former Blazer Josh Hart. Their work and more set the pace in a dominant second half that built a 123-107 final.
With Jalen Brunson (foot soreness) missing his fifth contest over the past six, McBride took full advantage of his resulting reinsertion into the nine-man rotation, scoring a career-best 18 points (6-of-8 from the field) that accompanied his brand of shutdown defense. Hart, warmly welcomed back in his first visit to the Pacific Northwest since a trade deadline deal sent him to Manhattan, put up a near triple-double (16 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists). Obi Toppin had 11 points while Isaiah Hartenstein pulled in 11 rebounds.
With the win, the Knicks (41-30) earned a split of their four-game Western Conference tour that began last Thursday in Sacramento. New York also improved to 5-4 when Brunson sits and moved back into the Eastern Conference's fifth seed as a result of its win and Brooklyn's loss in Oklahoma City.
The Knicks' starters came through as well in the win: Immanuel Quickley once again kept Brunson's spot in the starting five warm by leading all New Yorkers with 26 points and, with 10 rebounds, earned a double-double alongside Julius Randle (24 points, 10 boards). RJ Barrett had 22 points on 8-of-13 from the field.
Portland (31-38), paced by a 38-point tally from Damian Lillard, took an early lead at 21-6 in the opening frame and pushed that lead to as high as 16 in the second quarter. But the Knicks wound up shooting an astonishing 68 percent in the second half en route to victory, outscoring Portland 74-52 over the latter 24 minutes.
Cam Reddish, Portland's primary yield from the trade that sent Hart to New York, struggled in 19 minutes off the bench, earning two steals but shooting a mere 1-of-6 from the field. New York improved to 11-3 with Hart in its lineup.
The Knicks get to return home to Madison Square Garden this weekend but a formidable challenge awaits them in the form of the Western Conference-leading Denver Nuggets (1 p.m. ET, MSG).
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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