Cameron Payne shot two threes off the side of the backboard.
Then he made the game-swinging three that shifted momentum away from the surging Washington Wizards in a 122-103 victory at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.
Not half bad for a player who filled in for two injured point guards on Saturday with Jalen Brunson (right ankle sprain) already out before the Knicks scratched Miles McBride (left groin contusion) ahead of tipoff.
“Cam Payne stepped in like a true professional and led us,” added Karl-Anthony Towns.
The Knicks led by as many as 33 points against the league-worst Wizards (15-55) before Washington came out firing in the second half, outscoring New York, 35-26, in the third quarter before starting the final period on an 11-0 run.
It was a Marcus Smart three that made it a 92-88 game with 9:14 left in the period.
“I didn’t even know it was a four-point game,” Payne said in front of his locker after the game. “I just honestly just came back out there and play solid basketball, not looking at the score.
“I’d probably just say that’s the NBA for you. They were on a back-to-back. Took ’em a while to get going. The young guys started playing well. We’ve just gotta make sure we play 48 minutes. But that’s just the NBA for you. You can get beat any day.”
On the very next possession, Payne hoisted a three to put the Knicks back up seven. New York closed the game on a 21-6 run.
“He’s not afraid. Cam is gonna let it fly, which is what we like about him,” said head coach Tom Thibodeau. “We were fortunate because we had the big lead, so we’ve gotta be tougher but that was a big shot.”
In his only start of the season, Payne finished with 13 points and seven assists on 4-of-12 shooting from the field. He scored 10 points in the first quarter alone then missed his next five shots before hitting the sealing shot on Saturday.
“It feels good, especially after hitting the side of the backboard twice in a row,” Payne said. “But it felt good. It was cool to see it go through. Glad I found a way to help us to get the lead back up.
With McBride’s status uncertain due to a groin injury, the Knicks may need to lean harder on their veteran guard.
Payne is ready for the moment — though he was quick to note his body had to adjust to playing 30 minutes against the Wizards.
“Honestly man just staying in the gym, make sure I keep getting my reps. For me, when I get out there I play super hard, so I always get tired so I play so fast,” he said. “I be building my own conditioning during the games.
“Man 29 [minutes]. I told ‘Kal I ain’t gonna be able to get my [postgame] lift in today. I played 29.”
EXPLOSIVE MIKAL
The Knicks may have blown a 33-point lead, but they built it on the back of an explosive performance from Mikal Bridges, who scored 20 points in the second quarter alone, tying the third-most points scored by a Knicks player in a single game this season.
Towns holds the season-high (25 points), and Brunson ranks second with 24 points scored in a single quarter.
“[He was] special,” the All-Star center said of Bridges’ performance. “I think it’s something we’ve all seen those moments where Mikal shows why he’s so coveted in this league. [Like on] Christmas [against the Spurs]. It was one of those times where you look up like, ‘man he can score the basketball.’
Towns said Bridges deserves more credit for sacrificing his scoring for the good of the team.
“He’s always possessed that but he does so much for our team and he sacrifices so much so we can be the best versions of ourselves,” he said. “So shoutouts to Mikal. He does a lot of things that don’t show up on the stat sheet, and the ones that do, he doesn’t get enough credit for.”
Bridges finished with 27 points after scoring 24 in the first half. Thibodeau credited Wizards’ adjustments.
“He did a really good job. When someone gets hot like that, usually there will be an adjustment to put two on them, and then we’ve gotta adjust and play off of that as well,” he said. “So it was good for him to get going.”
Payne, who finished with seven assists, joked that Bridges only missed shots when the passes came from him, not from rookie Tyler Kolek.
“Can I talk bad about him [Mikal]? Man I needed some of them assists and he ain’t make none when I was giving him the ball,” Payne said. “Nah i’m glad he got going. We’re always tryna look for him and try to get him going. I’m proud of him, glad he got going from the three. He pushed our lead up. Once he made one, he made another one. It was big-time for us.”
TOWNS DISAPPOINTED
Towns said the team is not pleased with its performance after losing to two bottom-four teams in a row, then nearly dropping a third to the Wizards, who own the worst record in basketball.
“Any time you get a win [you’re happy], but there’s a lot of things where I look at this game and look at the tape that I’m not gonna be happy about,” he said. “I’m not gonna be happy about the first half not translating to the second half, and for us to be the team we want to be and the goals and aspirations that we have, we’ve gotta be a team that plays 48 minutes. We can’t afford to have those moments where we have those lulls and good teams, they take advantage of that and keep the momentum rolling.”