Sports
Jalen Brunson, Knicks stars give NYC fans taste of what’s to come at Nike Pro City
Jalen Brunson received a standing ovation from the New York home crowd as he trotted onto the court alongside teammates Julius Randle and Obi Toppin — though the Knicks’ big free-agent acquisition wasn’t donning the blue and orange.
Instead, the 25-year-old guard sported a purple jersey with the words “pro city” spread across the chest. And while his New York City debut didn’t come in front of thousands of screaming fans at Madison Square Garden, the several hundred who gathered in the Hostos Community College facility titled “The Swamp” in The Bronx surely provided him with a warm welcome.
Brunson, Randle and Toppin made a cameo appearance Monday night in the Nike Pro City playoffs — a premier indoor basketball league based in the Big Apple — and gave hopeful Knicks fans a glimpse into what the future may hold.
Minutes after the first whistle had blown, the trio turned in their first of many highlight-reel plays of the night. While running the point on a fast break, Brunson dished the ball behind the back to Randle, who stood unguarded several feet behind the three-point line. Though his shot bounced harmlessly off the back of the rim, it was corralled by a high-flying Toppin, who slammed the ball down with authority and sent the crowd into fervent uproar.
Toppin continued to torment the rim throughout the early portion of the contest en route to posting 11 points in the first quarter. Moments after putting back another one of his teammates’ missed shots, the 24-year-old forward picked up a loose ball at mid court and pulled off his signature between-the-legs dunk, nearly tearing the rim down and the entire roof off in the process.
Brunson took over in the second quarter with three straight soft finishes at the rim, pulling his team within three points at 35-38. His chemistry with his new Knicks teammates was hard to miss, as the former Maverick tossed a no-look, behind-the-back pass to Toppin, who finished the dish with a two-handed slam.
As the pair ran alongside one another moments later on a fast break, Brunson went up for a dunk only to realize he didn’t have enough height. He instead settled for an awkward layup, sending himself and Toppin into a fit of laughter.
Randle additionally got in on the fun, deploying a stutter-step move in the corner that broke his defender’s ankles and led to an easy dunk along the baseline.
The Knicks stars entered halftime down by one, with the score being 52-53. After a strong start to begin the second half that featured two deep threes by Randle and Brunson, they took their first lead of the game at 60-59.
Tensions began to rise in the closing minutes of the third quarter after an opposing player finished in Randle’s face and flexed on the Knicks big man. Several light pushes ensued to the pleasure of fans in attendance and play soon after continued.
Not long after, Randle found himself in another sticky situation. Hunting for a block on the opposing team’s point guard, he went up with the shooter but garnered the foul and landed hard on the court. After several seconds on the ground, Randle was able to walk off under his own power and remain in the game.
The Knicks’ starters ended up on the losing end of the final 110-97 score, though played well throughout the contest. Toppin led the pack with 25 points, followed closely by Brunson with 24 and Randle with 18.
Following the game, Nike Pro City director Bernard Bowen commended the Knicks trio for the great performance.
“It’s a playoff atmosphere, New York City bragging rights on the line. Guys want to come out and leave it all on the floor, put on a good show for the city,” Bowen said. “You have a lot of kids [here] who can’t afford the opportunity to go to a Knicks game, so for those guys to come and play in that atmosphere where it’s free for the kids, it’s a blessing.”
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The NBA’s longest win streak is finally over after the Knicks suffered their first loss in nine games on Wednesday. Expect New York to start a new streak Friday against a team it dominated the last time they faced off.
The Knicks were playing like the best team in basketball during their lengthy win streak, posting the league’s best net rating (+17.3) with six double-digit victories in that eight-game run. That included a 23-point beat-down of the Bulls exactly a week ago, when New York drained 17 3s and saw three players score at least 22 points in an easy win.
Knicks vs. Bulls (7:30 p.m. Eastern) prediction: Knicks -5.5 (Caesars Sportsbook)
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That game marked the worst offensive showing of the season for Chicago (91 points), which has struggled with chemistry and spacing issues all year long. The Bulls rank dead last in 3-point attempts per game (28.8) and third-worst in offensive rebounding rate (23.6%), which leaves very few easy scoring chances for one of the NBA’s worst offenses.
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It’s the opposite story for the Knicks, who boast three legitimate shot-creators and also rank among the league leaders in points in the paint. Julius Randle (31 points) relentlessly attacked this Chicago defense in their first meeting before allowing RJ Barrett (27 points) to lead the way in the second affair — his fourth of five straight games with at least 22 points.
I don’t see this Knicks attack slowing down against one of the league’s most inconsistent defenses. And until Zach LaVine returns to his All-Star form, I’m skeptical of the Bulls’ offense showing up on Friday, too.
Knicks vs. Bulls pick: Knicks -5.5 (Caesars Sportsbook)
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After starting the season 21-4-1, it looked like the New Jersey Devils were going to run away with the Metropolitan Division as one of the very best teams in the NHL.
Not only were the Devils cruising, but their underlying metrics were elite. New Jersey was the best 5-on-5 team through the first quarter of the season.
Three weeks and one six-game losing streak later, and the Devils have fallen back to earth and are now two points behind the Carolina Hurricanes in the Metropolitan Division.
The Devils were able to get off the schneid with a win over Florida on Wednesday, but the task doesn’t get any easier with the league-leading Boston Bruins in town.
New Jersey is a slight +102 home underdog against Boston starting at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+ and the NHL Network.
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Bruins vs. Devils prediction
Even though the Devils have struggled to get results over their last 10 contests, their underlying numbers don’t suggest there’s all that much wrong with how they’re playing. New Jersey isn’t posting the pace-setting numbers it did through Thanksgiving, but it’s still skating to the fifth-best expected goals rate and high-danger scoring chance rate in the league over its last 10 contests.
Those numbers should help ease any sense of panic that New Jersey could continue to fall back further into the pack as we head toward the New Year.
So if New Jersey is still tilting the ice in the right direction, what is the issue for the Devils?
For one thing, the Devs are struggling to find the back of the net like they did when they were rolling. New Jersey has scored just nine goals in its last five games, and four of those tallies came in a 4-2 victory over Florida on Wednesday. Over their last 10 games, the Devils rank 25th in the NHL with a 6.56% shooting percentage.
Additionally, the Devils are not getting the goaltending needed to stabilize them. New Jersey’s netminders were always thought to be the team’s biggest weakness, and that has started to show lately as the Devils rank 23rd in the NHL in 5-on-5 save percentage over the last 10 games.
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The Bruins, meanwhile, continue to roll. Boston is 7-1-2 over its last 10 contests and ranks third in the league over that span in expected goals rate and fourth in high-danger chance percentage. The Bruins pace the NHL with a +54 goal differential, which is 25 goals better than the team in second (Toronto).
But as impressive as Boston has been over its first 31 games of the season, the Bruins are playing on a back-to-back on Friday, while the Devils were off on Thursday night.
The Bruins are the better team in a vacuum, but this is a good buy-low spot on the Devils, who are still playing solid hockey but are just not getting the results.
Devils vs. Bruins pick
New Jersey Devils +102 (FanDuel)
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