NEW YORK — For a New York Knicks team that rarely has cause to celebrate, Saturday night was a reminder that maybe not all is lost. There are still young, hungry players on the roster looking to prove they should be a part of the rebuild rather than fodder for trade.
Mitchell Robinson, who came off the bench behind Taj Gibson, scored a career-high 23 points to go with 10 rebounds against the Chicago Bulls to lead the Knicks to a 125-115 victory.
The 21-year-old center capped his performance by grabbing an offensive rebound after rookie RJ Barrett‘s missed free throw with 35.3 seconds to play, scoring and drawing a foul. When Robinson was at the free throw line, MVP chants from the Madison Square Garden crowd could be heard.
Robinson was just 1-for-3 from the free throw line, with one of the misses coming after the MVP chants. That has been a season-long issue for Robinson and the Knicks; the second-year 7-footer is making only 56.6% of his free throws this season, while the Knicks rank dead last in free throw percentage at 69.0%.
This was actually a good game shooting from the line for the Knicks, relatively speaking, as they made 69.7% of their 33 free throw attempts against the Bulls. After the game, Robinson fired off a tweet poking fun at his percentage from the charity stripe.
Damn bruh I got to make a damn free throw
— Mitchell Robinson (@23savage____) March 1, 2020
When asked about his motivation after the game, Robinson grinned slyly. It came from concern for his teammate.
“Taj, he old,” Robinson said, smiling. “So I got to kind of give my guy a break. So me and [Bobby Portis] really got to step our game up so Taj can really recover. Because we’re younger. Way younger. Way younger. Waaaaaaay younger than him. So we’ve really got to look out for him, too.”
The win snapped a six-game losing streak for New York. Yes, the Knicks are still 13th in the East and a far cry from making the 2020 playoffs. And yes, they were playing another struggling team that is on the outside of the playoff race looking in. But Saturday was a flash of promise in an otherwise suboptimal season.
Robinson spent much of the game backing down Chicago’s Wendell Carter Jr. and rookie Daniel Gafford. Saturday was Carter’s first game since Jan. 6, when he severely sprained his right ankle.
Overall, the Knicks outscored the Bulls 76-40 in the paint. That’s the most points in the paint the Knicks have scored in at least 24 seasons. Robinson said that playing against other young centers gives him a boost.
“I’m an energy guy,” Robinson said. “I’ll play hard against anybody.”