At halftime in Minnesota on Tuesday night, Knicks head coach Mike Brown lit into Tyler Kolek. The coach watched Kolek miss seven of his 10 shots in the first half and he wasn’t happy about it.
“You’ve taken 10 shots, the second most on the team, only made three; three or four of those shots were airballs,” the coach said. “If you want to take that many f—— shots, you gotta make (them).”
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Kolek didn’t wilt from the criticism. He embraced it, going 6-for-12 in the second half of the Knicks’ loss.
At one point in the second half, he knocked down a three-pointer that led to a Timberwolves timeout. Walking over to the bench, Kolek looked Brown in the eye and delivered a message.
“I’m gonna knock that m———er down,” he said to his coach.
Kolek carried that confidence with him back to New York. He entered the fourth quarter of a nationally televised game with the Knicks down 12 and 7:42 to play.
Five minutes and three Kolek three-pointers later, the Garden crowd was engaged in long, loud ‘Ty-ler Kol-ek’ chants.
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Every fan in the building seemed to be stunned watching the Kolek show.
His teammates weren’t surprised though.
“It’s a testament to his mental strength, his mental fortitude and the work that he puts in,” Karl-Anthony Towns said.
Kolek’s 11 points in the fourth quarter were pivotal in the Knicks coming back from 17 down with 10:26 to play.
What you saw on Christmas Day was consistent with how Kolek has been playing of late.
He entered Christmas Day averaging nine points, five rebounds and five assists in his previous five regular season games. Those numbers don’t include Kolek’s 14-point, five-rebound, five-assist night in the NBA Cup title game against San Antonio.
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You wonder how this run from Kolek will impact the Knicks’ approach at the trade deadline. Based on his recent playing time, logic tells you that Guerschon Yabusele is a candidate to be moved. The Knicks have also had interest in backup guards like New Orleans’ Jose Alvarado – an NYC native.
But does Kolek’s recent surge change how they view the backup point guard position? Does it make the team less inclined to spend assets on a backup guard? We’ll find out answers to those questions over the next six weeks or so. Right now, sit back and enjoy the Tyler Kolek show.
TOUGH TEAM
Kolek and the Knicks showed remarkable resilience and fortitude against Cleveland on Christmas Day. They trailed by 15 points with six minutes to go in the first quarter. They were down 17 with 10:26 to play.
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The Christmas comeback featured strong play from all rotation players, but it doesn’t happen at all without Jordan Clarkson.
The veteran had 25 points off the bench, hitting five three-pointers on 10 attempts. Kolek (16 points, nine assists) and Mitchell Robinson had four huge offensive rebounds in a three minute span of the fourth quarter. He assisted on two threes off of offensive rebounds in that stretch, which saw the Knicks cut Cleveland’s lead from 13 to three.
Josh Hart had challenged the bench after the Minnesota game to play aggressively. They obviously responded well on Thursday.
“Our group is extremely, extremely connected,” Brown said after the Christmas Day comeback. “Everybody believes in each other no matter who is out on the floor. When you feel that type of belief from your teammates, from your peers, the sky’s the limit.”
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HART CONCERN
Hart exited the game in the fourth quarter with a leg injury. It’s rare to see Hart leave a game due to injury. The Knicks had no update on Hart after Thursday’s game. Losing Hart for any period of time would be difficult for New York. The club is already playing without Miles McBride (ankle) and Landry Shamet (shoulder).
