Fun game full of twists and turns between the Knicks and Blazers, which ended after 53 minutes of play with the return to victory after four defeats in a row for Portland, which responds blow for blow in the battle fought at Madison Square Garden without the injured Damian Lillard . Simons and Grant take care of giving success in New York: the first author of the basket who, 9 seconds from the siren of the regulations, puts everything back on par, the second with the free throws who close the accounts in extra time.
The last triple of the evening by Anfernee Simons instead gives the Blazers +8 in the score in overtime, a definitive shot in the arm at the end of a long marathon during which the shooter from Portland collected 38 points with 13/ 25 shooting, 4/13 from the arc, 4 rebounds and 5 assists (and an eloquent +16 plus/minus, demonstrating his impact in the 47 minutes spent on the parquet). In the rotation reduced to a minimum for the Oregon team, his presence on the pitch becomes essential.
The Knicks, on the other hand, have little or nothing left: the returning Mitchell Robinson who plays 23 minutes off the bench and finishes with 12 points, 8 rebounds and a couple of blocks in the second game after the knee injury, while still leading the charge once Jalen Brunson – author of 32 points with 10/22 shooting, 3/8 from the arc, 5 rebounds and many game-winning passes for RJ Barrett (19 points and 10 rebounds) and Julius Randle (23 points with 8/19 from field).